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!

1

Cooking a whole highland cow for a wedding near Ross on Wye

Well - not a whole cow obviously, just part of it - it was only 85 people after all.
"Do you know anything about cows?... We've just brought some".

The bridegroom has his own farm near Ross-on-Wye which he fits in in between being a solicitor. He and his farming business partner (also doubling as best man) keep a few highland cattle and had saved one for his wedding. The best man brought it up to us in their refrigerated trailer straight from the abbatoir where it had been hanging for a month and butchered. Wow - even I was amazed how much meat you get from one cow. It's amazing to see so much beef in one go. We sorted through it - a lot he took back to sell - they have a group of regulars who wait for each cow to come back to the farm and then normally by it by the eighth - have a look over here. It was easy to see why - absolutely some of the best beef you will ever see. Apparently they had been farming sheep together for years, but then one day business took the bridegroom past a sale of highland cattle - and the rest is history.


Cuts of beef

Left to right - Top rump, fillet, mince


Left to right - whole sirloin, shin, tongue


Starter

Herb pancakes filled with wild mushroom and asparagus, fennel and radish salad

3 hours making pancakes on the day of the wedding - far longer than expected, but fresh is best!

White wine sauce on top.

Normally we do this as a vegetarian main course, but they chose this as a starter for everyone instead so we made a small starter size version.



Main course

Highland beef cooked 5 ways

• Roast filet, rib and sirloin


• Meatballs ragout


• 10 hour slow cooked brisket


• Shin and chuck tagine
  


• Braised tongue
  

It's roast beef - but not as you know it.....





Dessert

Trio of raspberry desserts

• Raspberry tirimisu in shotglass


• Chocolate and raspberry tart


• Raspberry sorbet

Photographed as Joe was half way through finishing plating up. There's a complete pic here

0

Barbecue wedding near Ross on Wye, Herefordshire

"Hereford is the hottest place in the country" said the owner of Kempley Barns near Ross on Wye and Hereford as we wheeled down the barbecues from their barn to the garden.
"....hotter than Greece and the med" said someone else later on. It had been reading 33 oC outside my unit.So no better time to have an outdoor kitchen thenWhat I love about that place is you listen and what do you hear? The stream gushing, pheasants squaking, birds singing, and that's about it. No roads, no people (apart from your guests of course). So peaceful. Just a perfect setting for a wedding. You can just relax and enjoy the company of friends and family.

1