Julie Abbs Catering

Apart from my own :) it must be working alongside the awesome Michelle Kelly (http://www.pocketfulofdreams.co.uk) at The Wilderness Reserve in 2016. So beautiful, complex and personal with a truly international guest list, many of whom I would love to name-drop. Perhaps when I retire!

Personal, Bespoke, Detailed, Fun, Reliable

The fact we say YES and deliver. I so seldom say no to a client's ideas, in fact I don't think i can remember the last time I did! We love a challenge and are constantly pushing the boundaries of event catering. Perfectly rare beef wellington to 185 guests in a marquee, trio of game (partridge ballotine, venison slider & pan-fried pigeon breast) to 270 at the EDP Food and Drinks Awards and medium-rare rib-eye steak & straw chips with béarnaise sauce for 220 come to mind.

Start early and take it easy.

A personally dedicated book for every guest, that makes sure you only invite people you like! Oh, and also a full-sized BB-8 droid cake as a surprise for the Star-Wars mad groom.

Initially talk over the phone or in person to get together the basic details for the event (itinerary, themes, plans, location, food tastes & plans). From this point I create a tailored quotation based upon these details. From this point on there is a pretty representative price and guide for the day which can be honed to suit your exact needs. We provide a menu tasting when we can discuss and adapt the menu and smooth over some further logistics. Within a year of the wedding we arrange a site visit, even if we've already done one already, to make sure we are all 100% on the same page. Me and my assistant are at the end of the phone to answer any questions you have, however trivial you think they might be, a calm couple is a happy couple! We take final numbers and dietary requirements 21 days prior to the event and then lock in all the details for your day. Then we're there, making the magic happen at your event. Simple really :)

Decide not to turn up and instead cook a lovely dinner party for my family instead! I find the whole thing contrived.

That is so difficult, we literally create every menu from scratch. A couple of favourites are: Potted pork and apple crumble with mustard custard (heartwarming, yet delicate and fund) Roasted peaches with thyme, cardamom banana cotta, cinnamon doughnuts, granola A summer beef Wellington (served in June) with a sun-dried tomato & olive tapenade in place of the mushroom duxelle. My head chef's favourite for the winter this year (2017) is our 'Surf & Turf' starter; Norfolk beef & monkfish medallions on toasted brioche Smoked Dapple rarebit, scallions & whipped lobster cream We've also done loads of 5-7 course tasting menus in the past few years, which are great fun!

Cheese!

Liquid smoke, an awesome family and hard work!