Hog Roast in Bishops Cleeve, near Cheltenham

A couple of years ago we catered for this couple's wedding. Now it was the then-bride's parents significant birthdays they wanted us back to cater for this event to be a hog roast and barbecue.

Gloucester Old Spot hog roast with Longhorn beef burgers and Gloucester Old Spot sausages - what a winning combination!

Because we're doing so many hog roasts now around the Cotswolds we now have our own double hog roast machine so we can cook 2 hogs at the same time feeding up to 400 + with a couple of legs put in there as well. And to serve it in we have our heavy duty gazebo. As good as the hog roast is, there's always some guests who like the old traditional Longhorn beef burgers and Gloucester Old Spot sausages, so we've added those in on a lot of pig roast events this summer too!

The venue was their virtually brand new office complex - a converted pub.

An office with it's own bar - some people's dream, right? None of the beer taps are connected - that's the only thing. Look good though. So the event took place in their field behind. I did get to try out their office oven though - the first time it had been used. Still all shiny and new - you don't see ovens like that very often!

Old prescription books from the clients' grandparents who found the pharmacy business - it's come a long way since then!

0

Special birthday dinner party catering in Blockley, Gloucestershire.

Surprise! You're not going out to the local pub tonight - we're here too cook for you!

Always good when you can surprise the birthday guest!

Homemade Bread Rolls

XXX

Smoked Salmon Scotch Quail Egg Lollipop

XXX

Potted Lobster with Toast, Gem Leaves, Crème Fraiche and Lemon

XXX

Fillet of Beef with Potato Puree, Caramelised Carrots, Marrowbone, Bacon, Cognac, Garlic, Thyme and Greens

XXX

Assiette of Cheeses;

Cotswold Brie

Single Gloucester

Oxford Isis

Shropshire Blue

Celery, Seedless Grapes, Dried Fruit, Chutney and Biscuits

[Kitchen Note; cater for 4 and split between 6 to fit with budget]

XXX

Autumn Russet Tart Tatin with Cream

I was actually using the menu they had created themselves, but it turned out rather well.  To keep the smoked salmon scotch quail eggs runny in the middle I had to take along my deep fryer as well to cook them at the last minute - it was all quite a tight fit in the modest sized holiday house kitchen. Luckily there was no rain, so we were working half in the kitchen, and half outside the kitchen door - when you're catering for events you have to be adaptable to whatever environment you find yourself in!

The secret to the potted lobster is to cook it as close to the time you're going to serve it as possible, so the lobster meat stays soft, rather than going rock hard, which is what you find in supermarket lobsters. These babies were still alive an hour before I left!

This was also the night I discovered flowering sprouts - they're definitely my new favourite thing.  

Cheese before dessert or after? It's always a thing people dither over. The French normally have cheese before dessert. I always suggest having cheese last, otherwise people enjoy it too much, then don't want to have dessert. The other way round however, and if you can't manage cheese after dessert you can always have it for lunch the next day, which is not so easy to do with the dessert. Maybe we should have switched it round for this party too!

0

Wedding catering at Brockworth Court Tithe Barn, Gloucestershire

There are lots of houses in the Cotswolds called Dove Cottage or Dove House - a few hundred years ago they were kept for their meat. In a lot of houses and barns you see dove holes in the stone walls - but here at Brockworth Court Tythe Barn was a real dovecote. Makes a great talking point as this is where the guests were congregating for their reception drinks. 

Edible flower pots on the table! When I was clearing up the next morning all these had gone - they must have had a serious sugar rush!

Roast butternut squash soup with beetroot pesto served in a bread bowl - do you ever get so hungry you can eat the bowl? 

See how to make the bowls here.

Gill and Anton put together the other starter: ham hock, broad bean, mint and basil pearl barley risotto with beetroot pesto

Matador pie for the main course - similar to this one from a wedding a few years ago. This time we served it with dauphinoise potato, french beans and red wine braised red cabbage. At the tasting they said it was the matador pie that first switched them on to us - they had had the pieminister version at another wedding they had been to but much preferred ours. Not one to argue!
There was also a haddock, tiger prawn and mussell pie with sweet potato mash topping and a meditteranean vegetable pie with crispy filo topping.
When we were clearing up the next day there were compliments from the parents of the bride and groom The pies were the talk of the wedding apparently!

Trio of desserts - strawberry and gooseberry crumble tart, lychee and pommegranate panna cotta and chocolate & blackcurrant brownie

Related posts 

Other weddings we have done

Matador pie 2011

Lychee and pomegranate panna cotta 

0

Canapé party in Cheltenham

Yes - it's that time of year again: canapé party season!

We served these for 65 people in Cheltenham last Saturday in between running a cookery lesson and 3 other dinner parties.

Cones of fish goujons & chips

Traditional favourites asparagus tartlets alongside smoked salmon blinis

Glazing lemon tart canapés

Strawberry meringue roulade with raspberry 

Cold Canapés

Smoked salmon blinis

Barquette of asparagus

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

Hot Canapés

Yorkshire pudding with grilled fillet steak and horseradish

Scallops in pancetta with pesto mayonnaise

Cones of fish and chips with tartare sauce

Duck satay with satay dip

Chorizo and butternut squash filo tart

Dessert Canapés

Strawberry meringue roulade

Glazed lemon tart

Chocolate éclairs

Thanks to photography from Steph Wetton

0

Country feast barbecue wedding catering with yurts near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

Marquee weddings - all very nice, but if you're after a wow factor is has to be a yurt. This was a wedding we catered for back at the beginning of June - a whole lifetime ago, but only if you measure in terms of food.

Yurts came from Yurts for Life - the one above was a separate children's tent - with a couple of entertainers keeping the children happy while the adults grazed on canapés by the lake. They had their own much larger yurt (in the background below).

To help keep the budget down we brought along our own gazebo to turn into a field kitchen.

Scallops wrapped in pancetta the night before

Thai style fish and fishless cakes (cheese, onion and sage)

Barbecue with a view. Sausages from Home Farm about 2 miles away as the crow flies made from their Gloucester Old Spot/ Berkshire breed pigs. Trying to get everything cooked before the rain set in....... 

Herby Madgetts Farm chicken wrapped asparagus  - see recipe link here

Harissa marinaded Home Farm lamb steaks and burgers too - keeping it local with real food!

Salad of grilled butternut squash, rocket, pommegranate, orange and  toasted almonds

Nicoise salad

There was also cous cous. We served all this on platters/ bowls which the waitresses tiook to the tables for guests to serve themselves family style - a great way to get everyone talking & make a more informal atmosphere.

Tomatoes - local are best - grown about 6 miles away from the wedding

Eton mess served in learge bowls one per table. Strawberries grown in the next door county (Herefordshire)

We made the eton mess a larger version of the shotglass eton mess below served at a dinner party a few months ago - i.e. separate. Halved/ quartered strawberries with strawberry coulis at the bottom, whipped cream with vanilla piped on top and crushed meringue on top. Looks much better I think when you mix it yourself at the table as you eat.

We also made large lemon tarts - again for guests to share at the table. What a feast! 

And after all this? It was time for a late night hog roast with guests - which became quite welcome as guests sheltered from the rain which fell later on in the evening (lovely British summer......)

0

Tarragon poached chicken, butterflied leg of lamb and prawn, monkfish and squid kebabs - catering for a barbecue wedding near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

At last - a wedding where it didn't rain while we were loading & unloading - wahoo! 

The lake at Upper Court - makes a great backdrop to your wedding breakfast!

The previous week on Stow on the Wold cricket field we had been caked in mud, wet through and that was just in the first five minutes of arriving - pushing 2 vans (arriving and departing) through the mud was most.... er.... memorable. The next wedding the day after at Chavenage House we had fared slightly better because they had moved the siting of the marquee right next to the house. That was until it came to packing up in the evening and once again we were deluged. Always helps to have a good set of waterproofs and waterproof kitchen shoes. Good job we love it!

Tarragon poached chicken on the barbecue 

 This weekend just gone - perfect. The sun even came out as the guests arrived back from the church next door. Note the straw in the background though - soaking up the mud around the entrance - all the ground so waterlogged now - that'll be the great English summer.

Here is how the chicken started off the night before (below). We batted it out, filled it with chicken and tarragon mousse (chicken, egg white, cream, salt, pepper, tarragon), sprinkled on a bit more chopped tarragon for good luck and rolled it up,

Then skewered it to hold it in place and poached it in court bouillon with the tarragon stalks.

Once poached it was left to cool down, then one the day itself I just cut it into 3 and gave them a grilling on the barbecue.
The bride had said she wanted chicken, but it had to be moist - chicken can dry out easily on BBQ if you cook it too much. Poached like this you not only get a lot more flavour in there, but it also stays nice and moist.

Tiger prawn, monkfish and squid skewers marinaded in chilli, ginger, garlic, coriander, lemon, mint, turmeric and yogurt

What a revelation these were - maybe you can't see in pic above, but the turmeric gives them an amazing yellowy colour. A couple of minutes on each side with a dusting of flour to stop them sticking and they're cooked perfectly. And the monkfish is one of the best fish to barbecue because it is so meaty and doesn't fall apart like cod, and tiger prawns - well everyone loves those!

Butterflied leg of lamb marinaded in lemon, garlic and cumin yogurt (with a lone kebab tester)  

"Is there anything else we can do than lamb steaks?" asked the bride. We eventually rested on the idea of butterflied leg of lamb - which I then carved on the buffet as guests came along - the inside of the lamb perfectly pink (although there were a few well done bits for the guests who preferred it that way). Lamb as usual came from Home Farm - around 2 miles as the crow flies from the where we were serving it. 5 legs and every last bit went - very popular!

0

Lamb shank stargazy pie for a wedding of 150 in Stanway, Gloucestershire

Lamb shank stargazy pie - more than your average wedding party food offering!

You can see why not many peopple serve it - took 14 hours just to put them together with the lamb shanks, veg, gravy and pastry - split between Thursday evening and Friday morning. And that's without all the time cooking 140 lamb shanks & perfecting the sauce and making the pastry before - truly a labour of love. We served these on the table for guests to help themselves with dauphinoise potato, chantenay carrots and roast cauliflower & broccoli with cumin seeds.

140 lamb shanks sealed and ready to cook in red wine - an all night job!

We had 2 pies per table and in the end so busy shifting 30 pies and trays of hot canapes around 2 ovens that we never got pics of the final result - standard. Did get a few burns from all that shifting things round the oven though - getting the pastry browned on all sides meant shifting pies up and down the oven and turning back to front at the same time as getting canapes hot - busy!

The key to wedding catering - count those plates, and then re-count. Then count them again. Salt beef starter plating up.

 Arancini - saffron risotto balls with mozzarella in the middle. Half the guests were Italian, half Scottish - so we had haggis filo tarts there too among the canapés.

Palmiers - sun dried tomato, pesto and black olive

Canapé spoons of smoked haddock topped with welsh rarebit were also a hit!

Wedding cake by Contempory Cake designs in Cheltenham which  we served for dessert with berries and coulis  - like this.

0