Your West Midlands Wedding - Oct/Nov 2019 (Issue 64)

CATERING 95 Thyme2Dine Thyme2Dine is a family-run catering company with a reputation for exceptional food, creativity and presentation combined with outstanding service. An attractive rustic-style 1960s rice horsebox trailer has been lovingly restored and converted into a mobile catering unit. The possibilities are endless and can be completely bespoke and a must-have at any event. The company know choosing the right caterer and the perfect menu for a couple’s special event can be difficult – that’s why their team is creative and passionate about great food! In a world of pre-set menus and few options, they offer a customisable service.  The company will always provide well- planned delivery so that food is served at the right temperature, trained staff that can attend to guests requirements, professional service that reflects the high standards of the big day, making it as easy as possible.  Their job is to provide nearlyweds with delicious food and efficient service, not to create extra work for couple. Chef Jon at Thyme2Dine says, “My favourite comfort food it a good old fashioned, cooked correctly steak with all the trimmings. Chunky triple cooked chips, pan-fried mushrooms, oven-roasted cherry vine tomatoes and crispy onion rings – the steak must be rare for that ultimate taste and flavour. Maybe a little crusty bread at the side with dipping oils to start too. The best steak I ever had was at Marco Pierre Whites in Chelsea it was so buttery.” Contact: thyme2dine.net Ember pizza  Ember pizza is a family operated mobile catering business based in Staffordshire and is run by father and son David and Lewis Hawley. Lewis is a trained qualified chef who’s worked extensively in Europe’s busy, high-quality restaurants regularly catering for large parties of up to 150 covers. David has a diverse background in the public sector with more than 30 years’ experience including planning and implementation of projects locally and nationally. Both Lewis and David love all things food, together with their skills and experience it lead them to start Ember Pizza; a van was sourced and converted into a wood-fired pizza oven. It has developed recipes using the best Italian and local produce allowing them to deliver quality handmade pizzas. The dough is made at home; this is then divided into 250g portions and proofed for 24-hours – never using frozen bases – the result is a substantial pizza with a wonderful crust.  The van is self-contained and requires no external electricity or water supply, it has a traditional hand-built wood-fired pizza oven which reaches a temperature of about 450c – cooking in about 90 seconds! Once set up, Ember Pizza will hand-stretch, prepare, cook and serve Neapolitan-style pizzas onto chopping boards which will be placed onto solid oak servery – guests can then help themselves buffet-style – gluten- free, lactose-free and vegans can also be catered for. The pizza oven is visible to guests and creates a great focal point for conversation and service of food.Ember Pizza can provide good quality 100% recyclable plates and napkins as well as Italian soft drinks in cans – they don’t sell single-use plastics.  They have the highest food hygiene rating of five and a level two food hygiene qualified with their van being fully PAT tested and fire safety certified.  David comments on his favourite comfort food by saying, “Porridge and honey because it’s easy to make with a delicious taste and it’s good for you. It can be eaten hot or cold and is a contrast to all that’s complicated in life – sometimes simple is better.” Find out more:  emberpizza.co.uk Vanilla in Allseasons Vanilla in Allseasons is a multi-award-winning outside catering company based in Cheshire, also servicing Lancashire, Derbyshire, Manchester and beyond.  Adam Evanson and Simon Bailey created the company for a truly bespoke experience by building a relationship with their clients. First, there’s a home visit where couples discuss foods that they enjoy (and those that they don’t). With all of this information, the perfect menu is created together. If they like the proposal they are invited for a free tasting when the chefs showcase their amazing talents. From there, if the client’s happy, an official ‘reserve the date’ is created. A couple can have complete confidence and excellent service from beginning to end when booking with Vanilla in Allseasons – not only with the outstanding quality of food but also the amazing team that will be there. They can MC weddings and pride themselves as a friendly and helpful who will go the extra mile to make sure guests are looked after. A bar service can be provided if couples choose to have a marquee, tipi or a venue that doesn’t provide one in-house. Local suppliers and farmers have inspired this company to keep producing and creating fabulous dishes with their amazing ingredients. This not only supports local businesses but also allows them to monitor the quality of locally sourced seasonal produce. Julie Collins at Vanilla in Allseasons commented on the teams’ favourite comfort food saying, “So when it comes to comfort food we have cheekily incorporated our favourite team comfort foods into our evening food ideas under our ‘Dirty Food’ section! Our favourites are the dirty cheeseburger, fries and slaw and the buttermilk chicken burger, sweet potato fries and slaw.” For more information visit:  vanillainallseasons.co.uk Chelsie Shoesmith