All “Up” in the Downs

Dear Paul

I would not hesitate to recommend Inside Catering to any organisation. Our first ever South Downs National Park Celebration Event took place on the 23rd of March 2012 with a high profile that could not afford error; Paul filled us with confidence from our initial meeting and it became clear that he is more than a caterer as he advised us on logistics, lighting, decor etc and became a part of the project team. He grasped the ethos and constraints within which we were operating and made our lives easier by dealing with local sourcing of the food and wine thus alleviating us of the politics so that we could concentrate on our bit.

Our initial quotation was excellent and Paul delivered …

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I Do!

In a beautiful barn in the stunning countryside outside Petersfield, on March 10 Paul, Sara and Vicky were joined in the kitchen by the newest member of the crew, Jane’s daughter Molly. A day of spectacular fun followed as everything was made by hand, from the smallest canapés to the full three-course sumptuous wedding breakfast. With all of us allocated stations in the kitchen, the production line got underway and Paul even allowed the radio to be on which meant we got to hear the delightful accompanying braying of Donkey (Vicky) in the corner while we worked!!

Molly waited with baited breath for her canapé Yorkshire puddings to rise – her first time making them under the gentle tuition of Chef Man Paulo and she …

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Bubbles and Black Tie

On February 4 the team arrived at an exquisitely decorated private marquee for 150 guests in Woking.

The very high-end black tie affair commenced with delicious Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2002 bubbles, a speech from the local dignitary, followed by  a selection of mouth-watering canapés – Welsh rarebit soufflés in crisp tartlets, red onion marmalade and crispy sage; wild mushroom tarts drizzled with truffle oil and sea salt; Mini Eggs Benedict Royale with smoked salmon, hollandaise and chives on a muffin; Roast Tamworth pork belly on a potato cake with apple sauce; Bangers & mash consisting of Cumberland sausages with a creamed shallot-scented potato mousseline,

There followed a splendid three-course feast. To begin it was smoked salmon parfait with toasted olive bread and …

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Say no more!!!

Hi Paul

Another great reference for you!

Subject: RE: Wedding caterer
Date: Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:40:31 +0000

Hi Verity

No probs at all – yes we hired Paul for our wedding catering in June last year and we were really impressed with him, he did a great job on both fronts – food was delicious and the service spot on. We had a hog roast and salads and also canapes for 115 and we ate the whole pig it was good! I would definitely recommend him and in fact my cousin is now booking him for her wedding of the back of mine.

Good luck with the planning and hope you have a fantastic wedding day!

Louise
> Subject: Wedding …

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Bellinis and Blinis in Kensington

It was a long drive into Kensington with the usual Friday night hell-on-earth traffic thanks to the M3, M25 & M4. Tonight’s adventure was a corporate canapé party with plenty of self back-slapping city folk. With mango Bellinis and champagne for arrival drinks then superb canapés prepared by the legendary head chef and bottle washer Paul, he treated them to Welsh rarebit soufflés in crisp tartlets, red onion marmalade and crispy sage, wild mushroom tarts drizzled with truffle oil and sea salt, mini eggs Benedict Royale with smoked salmon, hollandaise and chives on a muffin, Roast Tamworth pork belly on a potato cake with apple sauce and Bangers & mash – Cumberland sausages with a creamed shallot scented potato Mousseline. …

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2012 – and so it begins

Inside Catering’s 2012 began on Jan 7 in possibly one of our most glamorous and well-equipped ‘field kitchens’ to-date. In fact there was no field involved – a fully equipped working kitchen was the order of the day with, who would believe it, hot running water and a dish washer as an added luxury – what a treat!

A dinner for 60 for Farnham Cricket Club was the event and the menu was a true delight – a most delicious heart-warming winter broth to start, followed by delicately seasoned moist chicken breast accompanied by a parsnip mash, seasonal veg and a Chablis sauce – in this case I will allow the head of Chef Extraordinaire Boss-man Paulo to inflate as it was …

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Taste of Christmas 2011

So we were back in the van once again this time heading to the feat that is Taste of Christmas at Excel. I do not use the word feat lightly – the queues at this event are phenomenal, well for our stand anyway! Just so you can grasp the enormity of the said event, once Mr Boss had done the statistics he was able to ascertain that our service and turnaround rate was one customer every 16 seconds for 19 hours of service with only three chefs and three FOH staff! Three long days plus one day setting up the stand means even less food for us than at previous events – there is literally no time to eat and …

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From a poly tunnel to dining room

Three months in production and design we were ready to serve 300 very hungry gardeners. Gavin Jones Plantation in Addlestone was responsible for the latest challenge – turning one of the poly tunnels that usually houses many of the fine specimens of trees and shrubs into a glamorous dining room complete with chandeliers, a jazz band and special effect lighting on the trees. The usual suspects were around being Chewie and Donkey, and Harold breezed in at some point. One thing to mention is a big thank you t Vicky for peeling one carrot an hour,  The onsite management were to be my service team – interesting would be a bold term? With plates and soup all over the place Chef …

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MasterChef 2011

As far as I’m concerned there should only be one 6.30 in the day and it should definitely be the start of cocktail hour rather than breaking dawn. However, when it is the departure time for our Masterchef weekend the even more appalling 5.30am alarm barely needs to beep as I am leaping out of bed in anticipation.
Clothes thrown on, the suitcase and other bags – which the boss man still struggles to understand are necessary for three days away – are being loaded into the van and me, Mr Boss and Donkey are trundling down the road towards Olympia, London. I would say there is a slight feeling of trepidation of the long, busy days ahead but no …

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