Posts Tagged ‘Wedding Caterers’

Yes catering can be done cheaper than most people think or other caterers would
like you to believe.

The world of event catering never ceases to amaze us in terms of the pricing
and how caterers cost their products. Yes, we all have clients with varying
levels of budget and varying levels of expectation. But we do see some crazy
quotes that are often forwarded on from clients, prices that on the face of it
don’t stack up.

With clever menu writing a lot of the lower budgets can achieved with still an acceptable
menu, plus don’t forget it’s also down to how good your chef is and what they
can create with little ingredients.

We have catered for many events recently and as many believe we are still in
recession, the brief has been very similar in terms of a low budget to provide
an acceptable menu. A particular recent event saw us provide a three course
meal with a budget of £16 per person plus vat, I imagine some caterers have
just gasped with horror while others sighed in agreement, but yes it can be
done.

Firstly we agreed that a plated meal wasn’t an option and therefore agreed to serve the
meal as a buffet, not ideal for all guests but as the event was a charity
fundraiser, they got into the spirit of it. Serving the meal as a buffet saved
the need for 8 waiters.

Then the menu, ok I gave my chef £.90p to spend on the starter; he came up with a goat’s
cheese & roasted vine tomato tartlet, served on a bed of mixed herb leaf
with red pesto dressing. Some may say a dated dish but still plenty of positive
comments.

The main course, chicken is the safe bet and once served with leek mash,
crunchy veg topped with a Chablis sauce you’re pretty much there in terms of making
the event a success.

On too dessert to finish off the evening and a classic dish we haven’t seen for
while sticky toffee pudding with vanilla custard’ nice. Simple but also amazing
how many adults enjoy the custard.

Now what makes this evening significant is the fact that this meal was put together
using portable kitchen equipment housed in a room the venue uses as a child’s
play area, basically not a commercial kitchen in site. What is also worthy of a
mention is that the meal was prepared, served and cleared within 90′minutes
using two chefs and five waiters!

What I haven’t mentioned yet and is even more reason for praise is the number
of guests, 197 was the final count on the evening which also included a veggie
option and a couple of dietary requirements.

The reason I published this article was to show that catering can be done a little
cheaper than you may think, although the higher number of guests do make it
possible, the larger the number of guests, the easier the menu versus budget it
becomes. We couldn’t have catered for 50 guests at the same price for a banquet
or other event.

I hope the post was useful and if you have an event coming up and don’t think
your caterer can achieve the budget then email us chef@callthecaterers.co.uk
and we’ll see what menus we can pull together.

Www.callthecaterers.co.uk

It’s never too late to call the caterers, a last minute party or celebration, been let down by a venue or another caterer?

We received a call from a couple planning a last minute wedding reception, we’re not totally sure if it was last minute on their part but with only two weeks notice ahead of the wedding day it was certainly a little last minute from our point of view! To add to this, the couple were based abroad and had hired a venue, namely finsbury town hall as a central location for all guests.

With only two weeks to pull this together, we first needed to take a look at the venue and more importantly the kitchen. Kitchen space will often determine what menu is possible given the facilities available. Absolutely no point gearing up to a three course menu for a wedding if the kitchen can’t accommodate.

Kitchen inspected and venue viewed courtesy of the event manager, we then provided a few sample menus we the clients budget in mind.
Duck and chicken liver parfait with toasted brioche & balsamic onion chutney to start with, followed by a classic roast beef dinner with homemade yorkies and chateux potatoes. For dessert the client opted to serve up the wedding cake which we duly helped tp plate up and present with a plum compote.

112 guests made the trip from as far away as norway & argentina and helped make the day special.

Planning A last minute party or celebration, it’s always worth calling the caterers, it was slightly lucky we were available but as the wedding was in January a relatively quiet month we had two chefs available and could help cater the wedding.

Best wishes and congratulations to you both, dave and the team at catered-events

Www.callthecaterers.co.uk
Chef@callthecaterers.co.uk

Best

Dave

Thanks for all your hard work, professionalism and efforts on Friday and Saturday, both days were a great success.

The food on both days was also delicious.

Please also pass our thanks onto your waiters who were fantastic.

Kelly ACG Group, Company funday Bbq 300 and VIP open day

New wedding menus for the 2011 season are available from the chef@callthecaterers.co.uk ; many of last year’s dishes still remain as they proved ever popular and why change a good thing. The wedding menus have been designed into 3 categories to appeal to a wider audience in terms of costs.

The current economic climate is affecting most people and in particular young couples planning their wedding. We have found that enquiries for our services have increased but budgets still vary as people look at cheaper alternatives without compromising the quality of the food. Yes there will always be cheap caterers out there using packet soup or imported chicken full of water but with some clever menu writing  and talented chefs, acceptable menus can still be produced albeit slightly cheaper.

The menus are posted on the site www.callthecaterers.co.uk as with a few other new ideas, New Barbecue, canapé, bowl food and buffet menus have all been revamped to help with ideas for planning your event.

2011  looks like being a busy year so if you need to reserve a date do it ASAP, some dates are still available through 2011 but we can’t guarantee date availability.

Hi Dave,
I know Rob has already emailed you but I just wanted to tell you myself how grateful I am for helping to make our wedding day so special. We both had such a wonderful time and so many guests said the same.
Please feel free to use the following testimonial:
 
From the initial meeting to discuss requirements until the end of the evening on our wedding day, Dave and his team did everything they could to make it special. The food was outstanding and plentiful, the service second to none and so many of our guests commented on this. I did a lot of research before booking this company and I know I could not have made a better choice. For professionalism and value for money, Catered Events cannot be beaten! I cannot recommend Dave highly enough and want to say thanks for playing such a big part in making our day so perfect – can’t wait for another party so we can book you again! Many, many thanks, jackie and rob x
 
Glad you enjoyed the dance – we certainly did!!
 
Thanks again,
Jackie xxx

Thanks Jackie I’m only too glad we helped make your wedding day that extra bit special. It’s pretty typical of what we do, we take the catering at weddings extremely seriously as it’s always someone’s big day. Thanks again for booking us, glad you enjoyed the Barbecue menu and we look forward to serving you again. Happy New Year Dave and team.

Hi Dave

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your guy’s for a very well executed barbeque. Jackie and I thought the food was fantastic and we’ve had really good reviews from our quests. Also thanks for your very kind remarks on the email you sent Jackie, we certainly had a cracking day and fully enjoyed the dance.

Thanks again for making our day a very special.. It’s certainly a day we’ll never forget.

Very Kind regards

Rob & Jackie

Hi Dave

Thank you so much for Saturday, You, Rich and the girls really made it such a special night for us. Everybody commented on the food, especially the canapes. Well done us for convincing Martin to do that. He agreed after the event that it was amazing. Please also pass on our thanks to Sadie and Georgina for a job well done. I know it wasn’t easy negotiating the driveway and our lack of drinks trays was a nightmare but I think on the whole they did incredibly well.

I would love to write a testimonial to put on your website so just let me know what I need to do??

In the meantime dont work too hard and did you enjoy the Kasteel Cru??

Kind regards, Sally

Sally prothero- Husband Martins 50th Birthday party- Canapes and Barbecue

Hi Sally thanks for the email and don’t worry about the testimonial as i think you’ve already done it! Glad you enjoyed the party but let me know when you the plans for your 40th?

Best wishes, Dave & Team

Hi Dave – well despite my original concerns everything went fantastic on the night.

 Now I understand your concerns about sourcing a chef as I understand that you only use chefs local to you who you have used before – I did not appreciate that Richard would be making such a long journey.

 A big thank you for the organisation of the dinner party it couldn’t have gone better, if this is the standard of the chefs you employ they are all a credit to you.

 Richard was fantastic not only was the  meal  superb (every single guest was very impressed) but his professional manner, organisation and tidiness were fantastic and I can’t speak more highly of him. If ever we need any catering in future I will definitely be in touch with you again and request his services.

Again a very big thank you from a very satisfied client

Ron & Val

Thanks Ron, Val only to glad to be of assistance, glad you enjoyed the evening and the menu.

Best wishes, Dave catered-events

The Selfridges store in Exchange Square Manchester laid on a fashion show last night, 21st October to showcase the five by Rio Ferdinand range of clothes and accessories.  Catered-Events were asked to provide a selection of canapés for the evening as around 120 selected guests were expected, local celebrities and a few footballers including Rio himself, Owen Hargreaves and Jason Roberts to name a few. Liverpool’s Lucas was also in the store but we believe shopping and not on the guest list. 

The menu consisted of a Salmon and Avocado mousse roll topped with caviar, Asparagus tips served in shot glasses with a warm hollandaise sauce, also on the Menu, Thai Chicken with a sweet chilli dip and a mini Lamb kofta with raita. For sweet, mini Chocolate Truffle cakes and Strawberry & Champagne scones that proved very popular. We spent most of the morning preparing the canapés and most of the afternoon piecing them together in time for the reception

The Canapés went down really well on the evening with some great feedback and personal comments from guests and staff alike. Look forward to the testimonial.

www.callthecaterers.co.uk