Afternoon Tea Catering in Hardwicke, Gloucester

Forget the evening meal, the best thing next to a brunch menu has to be afternoon tea, surely?

Feedback from a recent wedding 😀

It's always good to know a chef! These guests that we know were having family over for afternoon tea, so we volunteered out services, if we could photograph the food we were serving.

They say less is more, but on this day it proved that actually, more is more.......

 Afternoon tea is all about the best sandwiches, but simple works best, as you don't want to confuse the taste of the tea too much. 

Here we have ham & watercress, Smoked salmon & chive marscapone, beef & rocket, cucumber & cream cheese and everyone's favourite egg & cress

Savoury style homemade crumpets with parma ham and lemon chutney

We normally serve  a couple of savoury items along with the sandwiches, scones and cakes - it's the way my Grandmother used to do it, so I kind of keep the family tradition going!

Homemade lattice sausage rolls - everyone's favourite when they go out slightly warm from the oven!

Melty chorizo and gruyère cheese danish. 

Last year I went on a croissant & danish pastry making day course. Making your own is time consuming, but infinitely better quality and taste. Plus you get to choose your fillings!

  

 Fondant fancies. 

Blue food!

 Chocolate eclairs - you can't beat them!

 Double chocolate torte - dark & milk chocolate

Chelsea buns. Tear them apart at the table.  

 Fruit tartlets

 Jammy dodgers

These should actually come with a warning label - HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! I finished off the spares in one go that night......

Recipe comes from Ms Marmitelovers Afternoon Tea book.

 Rose and lemon flavoured macarons

Individual lemon meringue pies

 Pecan pie

 Ubiquitous scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. 

At the end of the day the simple things are often the best, and you can't beat a good scone, right?

Vanilla, blackberry and pistachio danish. 

Also great to eat on the go. Just saying........

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Bring the bistro to your home for the night - bistro dinner in Churchdown, Gloucester || Pea & mint soup recipe

The lady of the house must have know I was coming.....

Sometimes simple things are the best, especially when made from scratch. The pea soup starter went down so well at a Sunday night family reunion dinner party the host asked for the recipe, so here it is!

Bistro classics for simple food done well: Pea & mint soup; Longhorn rib eye steak with lemon roast new potatoes, red pesto and french beans wrapped in pancetta; Strawberry daquiri cheesecake

Pea and mint soup

A soup needs a good stock. For that you have to make your own! You can also use chicken stock for the base instead of vegetable – roast your chicken bones and add to the rest of the ingredients below.

Vegetable stock:

You can vary the stock depending on what vegetables you have in your fridge to use up. But note – it should always include onion, carrot & celery as a base. Never add starchy vegetables e.g. potatoes, parsnips as they will make the stock go cloudy and it will turn into more of a soup. Remember that all the flavours you added to your stock will go into whatever you make from it – so depending on what you make you may go easy on some ingredients e.g. garlic, coriander, lemongrass trimmings etc.  You can make a large batch by multiplying the ingredients below and freezing the stock in batches or ice cubes for whenever you want to use it in your cooking.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

Handful of carrots

2 onions

4 celery sticks

2 leeks

1 bulb fennel

2 handfuls mushrooms

3 tomatoes (optional – depending on what you are using the stock for)

3 cloves garlic (check your guests for garlic allergies)

1 bayleaf

Large sprig of thyme

Parsley stalks

1 tsp peppercorns

1 tsp coriander seeds (optional – depending on what you are using the stock for)

½ lemon cut into slices

Other leftover vegetables or veg trimmings to taste

1.5 litres of water

1. Cut all the vegetables into roughly 1cm dice.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add all the ingredients.
3. Cook on a medium heat without colouring for 5 minutes, allowing the vegetables to soften slightly.
4. Add the water and bring to the boil.
5. Once boiling turn down to simmer and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Strain through a sieve. Taste it. If there is not enough depth of flavour you can bring it back to the boil and allow it to reduce till you are satisfied with the taste.

This recent crop of pea shoots had passers by looking in from the street when I had them growing on the front window. It's a wonder more people don't grow them - it's so easy from dried peas.

Pea and mint soup

1 medium onion, diced

2 - 3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tbsp vegetable oil

400g fresh peas + few pea pods

750ml vegetable, chicken or gammon stock

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Crème fraiche to taste: 2 – 3 tbsp +

Handful of mint

Grating of nutmeg

½ tsp ground coriander

Knob of butter

½ Lemon juiced

Top Tips: To keep your pea soup green you want to boil the peas for as short a time as possible – once they are soft they are done. The bicarbonate of soda is a magic ingredient which helps keep the green colour too.

1. Sweat the onion in the vegetable oil till soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for another minute till garlic is soft but not coloured. Add the stock and bring to the boil.
2. Make sure the onion is soft enough to blend in to a puree before you add the peas, as the peas don’t take long to cook.
3. Add the bicarbonate of soda to the boiling stock , then add the peas and return to the boil.
4. Once boiled reduce to simmer and cook for about 5 – 8 minutes till peas are soft.
5. Add mint and allow to wilt in the soup, then blitz in a blender till smooth.
6. Return to the pan, and then finish it with seasoning, crème fraiche, butter & lemon juice. If you think it needs it you can also add a bit of nutmeg & ground coriander.
7. Depending on how powerful your blender is you may want to pass this, or you may not – the choice is yours!



The host had grown up in Bermuda and retired to Churchdown in Gloucester to be near the other half of her family, so there were reminders of Bermuda everywhere - like this recipe for Pawpaw (Papaya) Mostespan which sounds like it has to be made! 'Top round ground' is minced beef btw.

I rather like the look of this recipe too which was hanging on the wall because the amounts are rather relaxed - if you have an abundance of citrus left from a large event this would be a good use for it!

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Beat the double dip recession - £5 off per person Sunday to Friday!

Planning a last minute Christmas dinner party at home? Staying in is the new going out!

Click on the picture above to link to more info.

For our catered meals we set up at your home, cook, serve and clear away afterwards leaving you time to spend with your guests.

We have hundreds of happy customers - hear what they have to say here.

Assiette of desserts on our dinner party menu

* Does not apply in some holiday houses. 

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Wedding catering near Ross on Wye and Great Whitcombe near Gloucester

At the end of May we catered for a wedding near Ross on Wye where the groom ran a farm in his spare time and had kept one of his Highland cows for his own wedding. A few months on it was his son's turn to get married and we used the same beef (some cuts which weren't used last time were frozen) to make matador pie.

Smoked salmon terrine starter - what a classic

Matador pie with grilled butternut squash, rocket, feta and pommegranate salad and new potatoes with chives.

Meanwhile..... over in Great Whitcombe near the Roman villa we were cooking for a wedding of 141 on another farm.

Going for the healthy option. The bride and groom had requested crudites and homemade breadsticks with hoummous and dips.

Grilled mohito prawns with marinated vegetable salad - from our James Bond theme night.

Halloumi wrapped in fresh vine leaves (the came from Dove Cottage in Broadway) - an idea from MsMarmitelover at Camp Bestival.

4 whole roast lambs from Home Farm, Bredons Norton. Started carving in the catering marquee here while the guests were eating the starter and the rest of the team plated up the accompanying salads before wheeling up one of the roasting machines to the marquee to carve in front of the guests. This always adds a bit of theatre, and that way you can see it is whole lamb.

2 lambs on one roasting machine

Some of the wedding guests provided half of the desserts - they brought along their own homemade cakes. A couple of them needed a little finishing off - like this one. We were in charge of the strawberries and cream (such a popular wedding choice) which accompanied it.

SS - Susie and Sam, your bride and groom!

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Christmas/ Xmas Day Lunch & Dinner in the Cotswolds, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, 2010

Christmas lunch using locally sourced produce delivered chilled to your home on Christmas Eve or cooked and served in your home on Christmas Day by chef and waiting staff.












See more info at Christmaslunchdelivery.co.uk

Delivery Christmas/ Xmas day lunch 2008 on the blog - see more click here.

Catered Christmas lunch on Christmas Day 2009 - see more click here.












Christmas/ Xmas day lunch or dinner cooked and served in your home on the blog 2007 - see more click here.







Christmas/ Xmas Day lunch & dinner Bristol, Cirencester, Cheltenham, Chipping Norton, Evesham, Fairford, Gloucester, Lechlade, Ledbury, Malvern, Moreton in Marsh, Pershore, Ross on Wye, Stretton on Fosse, Stonehouse, Stow on the Wold, roud, Tetbury, Tewkesbury, Winchcombe, Wotton-under-Edge, Worcester

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Barbecue catering for 65 at Wellacres, Gloucestershire, happy 70th birthday!

Wellacres makes such a great venue for more relaxed functions. Unlike hired halls or venues you have sole use (no other parties coming in behind you), you don't have to finish your party at a certain time, and because it is surrounded by fields you feel just like it is yours (most people want to move in) - no neighbours worry about. And once the celebrations & meal are out of the way guests can relax and enjoy the 5 star features - jacuuzi & swimming pool, cinema style screen for football games etc. This group had even set up a cinema screen in the barn so they could relive their past with their guests with a slide show.

Live music

There's Anna from Party Angels taking care of front of 'house' so well, just last checks before guests sit down.

Blackened cod (on next door BBQ - if you close the lid it cooks the cod like an oven - but you get the smoky flavour in there too), Home Farm pork loin in honey and mustard, plum and brandy wine poached chicken wrapped in parma ham, Home Farm burgers and sausages for children (and some of the adults of course), garlic mushrooms, skewers of halloumi, aubergine, courgette, baby plum tomatoes, corn on the cob

Pineapple, strawberries, blueberries, passionfruit and mango in rosewater syrup in watermelon (less fruit is more). Also grapes, strawberries, pineapple, marshmallows etc to be dipped in chocolate fondue.

Barbecued bananas with sticky toffee sauce - so popular this is the second round.

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Wedding catering in Gloucester - all canape wedding reception

"Look - he's compsing the blogpost as we speak" said the father of the bride at one point. What me? I had my eyes down at that moment. With 25 different canapes to serve there comes a time where you need to get out the spade and get dug in.

It seemed like they had ordered not just the canapés but the weather too - beautifully warm and sunny which brought out the best of the house. 

Hotels and wedding venues can often seem like conveyor belts where one wedding party is rushed through so the next can come in, but when you have your wedding reception at your own home as this one was (or holiday house) it seems much more relaxed and personal - what can be better than sharing your house with your friends and family?

This was the second all canapé wedding reception we have done this year - is it a new fashion? It seems to work really well - rather than have a few canapés and then a traditional 3 or 4 course wedding breakfast you just have an extended canapé menu. We had had a few meetings in the months prior to this event, and the bride, groom and the bride's parents all had their favourite canapés. I thought 25 varieties might be slightly too many, but deleting any proved to be so difficult for them as they all had their favourites that in the end we did them all - why not: it's your special day after all.

I had been hoping for lots of photos, alas it got so busy we just kept putting canapés out and then remembered photos afterwards. You can click on the underlined items to link to previous photos/ recipes.

Cold Canapés

Sweet potato scones with smoked chicken and sweetcorn chutney (can be without chicken for vegetarians)

I had picked up this loose leaf Lady Grey tea a while back and finally found a use for it. As well as black tea leaves it contains bergamot oil, cornflowers, orange and lemon. Ideal for drinking, or smoking chicken.












The kitchen is a no smoking zone, so if you're going to smoke can you do it outside please =)









I stood this on a stool after everyone else had left Basepoint for the weekend. One of the bakers was just starting at the bakery opposite though and seemed interested in what I was up to. It just smells the kitchen out so it is better outside. For a starter you want a lightly smoked flavour, but for a canape you only have a small bite so it wants to be stronger. So I hot smoked it i.e. kept the heat going under the tea leaves so the chicken cooked as it smoked.
You can see the finished result below.

Rosemary scones with parma ham and St. Eadburgh's cheese

Mini stilton cheesecakes with red onion and port marmalade

Asparagus on baked new potatoes with smoked trout mousse

King prawns with horseradish cocktail sauce

Smoked salmon blinis

Spoons of king prawn and mango

Hot Canapés

Tikka marinaded chicken with lemon yogurt

Harissa marinaded lamb skewers with hommous

Coconut and coriander fishcakes with curry mayonnaise

Mini Yorkshire puddings with grilled fillet steak and horseradish

Homemade mini burgers in carrot and cumin sesame buns

You don't get these in a drive-thru

Beef came from (where else?) Home Farm just a few miles away. Mixed with garlic, coriander (fresh leaf & crushed dried seeds), chilli, mustard, cooked red onion, egg to bind and seasoning. After chilling to set the shape I grilled them before we went, so the smoke from the grill wouldn't waft though their house - not quite what you want as you are entertaining guests. Then I could finish in the oven just before they were served.














Carrot and cumin bun recipe here. I added ras el hanout as well - extra flavour. The photo has the time 04:31 on it. Preparation the day before did go on a while as everything was made from scratch, but as some guests said it showed in the quality of food.

Scallops wrapped in pancetta with pesto mayonniase

King prawns wrapped in filo pastry

Spoons of Oakfield mushroom risotto with parmesan

Fish and chips in paper cones with tartare sauce

Chips that pass in the night It only seemed a while since I had been making the larger size fish and chips. I had picked the cones up for a late night snack of fish goujons and chips we were going to serve at another wedding, but cut in half they served the canape size very well.

Dessert Canapés

Glazed lemon tartlets

Mini dark chocolate tarts

Raspberry shortbread

Mini strawberry meringue roulade

Shotglass of tirimisu

Chocolate dipped strawberries

Shotglass of home made raspberry sorbet
Spoon of sticky toffee pudding with sticky toffee sauce

Mini creme brulée

Related posts

Other wedding events we have done previously
Other canapes

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