Hi Rosie, a big welcome to our Friends of the Kitchen series. A place where we meet the people behind the products and services we use.

You are certainly one of our wonderful friends, providing beautiful ceramics for our tables and events.

Could you please start by telling us about yourself and what you do?

I’m a ceramicist and designer based in London. I design and make all of my pieces in my London studio.

I try to make unique pieces which are full of colour, pattern and texture, which are designed to last a lifetime and help the home tell a story. Each of my pieces are designed to be both works of art, and functional robust pieces for the home. This emphasis on beautiful functionality is really important to me. 

My pieces are hand-built in stoneware clay, creating organically shaped pieces which are then painted and glazed by hand. The speckled, earthy tones of the stoneware are designed to balance the brightly coloured glazed patterns. By shaping each piece by hand means they are all intentionally slightly different, for me this is important to emphasise my belief in creating unique, slow and sustainable.

How did you first get into this?

I’ve always loved designing and making things since I was a child and, being very dyslexic, I quickly realised that this was where my strengths lay and definitely where I feel most confident. I was always painting, sewing, and making things, but, for some reason, the idea of studying anything artistic at university seemed very scary and would never lead to a ‘proper’ job.

After five years of working as a primary school teacher, I handed in my notice to go travelling around Central America for a year but two weeks later COVID struck and we went into lock down, needless to say we didn’t make it to Mexico that year but I had the time to reassess my career options! 

There was most definitely a plus side to this difficult time as, having stopped teaching, it let me see that although I loved some parts of it, it had also made me incredibly stressed and anxious, so I decided to try doing what I loved full-time and focused on my creative side.

I’d always made ceramics as a side hobby but now I finally had the chance to really invest in what I most loved doing and try to make a career out of it. I tutored and freelanced as an assistant stylist on interior shoots to keep the lights on whilst I developed my practice and brand.

To my delight (and quite honestly amazement), for the last year and a half I have been working full-time for myself and developing my practice with such an amazing community of followers. All self-taught and learning as I go, it’s been such a liberating process and I’m so grateful and thankful for where I am now.

A defining moment in my career was most definitely working as an assistant stylist on interior shoots, working alongside some incredibly talented interior stylists and creative directors, watching them curate the most incredible spaces filled with beautiful pieces which blurred the lines between pieces of art and functional items for the home.

What’s your place of work like?

My studio is light and airy, it’s in an old Victorian stable block so it comes with a nice slice of history too. I work between here and home. Making and firing here and then designing and packaging orders at home. The change of scenery is really nice, especially when I’m making large wholesale orders! In the studio, I’m surrounded with my work at different stages of the process, shelves of glazes, bisque pieces and lots of bags of clay! I’ve worked hard to make sure I keep things nicely organised and tidy, this doesn’t come naturally so it’s something I’ve worked at and makes such a difference.

What do you like about the materials you work with?

I love the satisfaction of first taking the clay out of its bag, it smells amazing, so earthy and it’s so wet and gooey! Every time I take it out, it still amazes me that you can make things with this stuff from out of the ground! I then love when the clay has hardened to a leathery texture and you are able to mold it into the shapes you want to create.

What would you describe as your influences?

There have been so many influences to my work over the past two years, but two which really stick out were firstly working with the most incredible pieces of artwork from MAH Gallery whilst assisting interior stylists; helping to curate living spaces full of texture, shape, colour and pattern. This cemented my belief in the beauty and importance of hand crafted pieces, which can be both a work of art and a usable item that brings joy to people.

The second, Charleston House. Home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, Charleston was where the 20th century’s most radical artists, writers and thinkers, the Bloomsbury group, met. The house itself is truly the most inspiring of places, covered with beautiful yet often whimsical, carefree hand painted patterns on mantel pieces, walls, doors, and ceilings, it reminds me of the importance of fun when making art, while also being such an important place historically for our culture.

What’s your favourite part of the process – what brings you the most joy?

Opening a full kiln has to be a favourite, it’s an equal mix of excitement and nervousness as you can never be sure how things will turn out. Things crack, things bubble, things warp and that can be heartbreaking! But you also get to see all of your pieces which have taken several weeks to make, finally finished and nothing beats that, especially when you have some new designs or colourways coming out! This is so exciting!

What can be the hardest part of the process?

One of the hardest is when something doesn’t come out of the kiln as you wanted or it has cracked. I still find this really frustrating but you do have to accept it’s part of the process. Another is timings when working with clay, when slab building (as I do) the drying process is a long one. You have various stages of drying when you need to do different processes. If you wait too long and it’s too dry it can be ruined so you need to work out your timings really carefully. Sometimes when working on a large wholesale order, because I have so much to do I’ll be working until the early hours to complete a stage in the process as otherwise they will be ruined.

Does it feel like a job or a lifestyle?

It feels like a lifestyle, and I love it. Going from teaching where your time isn’t your own at all from 8.30am to 3.20am and you can’t even go to the loo when you want to, the freedom of working for myself is just amazing! Having a cup of tea when I want, playing Radio 4 when I want, it’s amazing! It is scary as sometimes when there are quieter weeks for sales but I’m slowly learning that it is normal and going to happen, just like any freelance job.

What might an average day look like for you?

Having been a teacher where your days and even holidays are so regimented down to the minute, I now absolutely love that my time is my own. Depending on my schedule, sometimes I start work very early to start rolling out slabs on slabs of clay, whereas other mornings I make myself a tea and sit in bed until 9am doing admin! Depending on when I need to fire my pieces, my days are normally either a “making” day, or an order packing and admin day (although sometimes both!). Woman’s Hour is a daily must, along with many Earl Grey teas along the way.

What’s been your favourite piece to work on/create? Why?

I think my wavy platters are still one of my favourites as they were one of my first designs and are one of my most popular pieces. But I loved turning these into a pedestal which makes a real centerpiece for a tablescape, sideboard or worktop.

Where can people find out more about you and follow you and your creations?

People can follow me and my work on instagram @_rosiegore_ and see my collections on my website www.rosiegore.com.

Kalm Kitchen’s sense of moral duty flows from our founders, James and Jen, for whom holding ourselves to the highest standards was built into the foundations of the business.

The team at Kalm Kitchen recognise we cannot change the world alone and overnight, but we know we can make a small difference if every day we look at the previous day and ask ourselves, “How can we be better today than we were yesterday?”

We are committed to conducting our business with integrity, sustainability, and social responsibility. Our Code of Ethics serves as a guide to ensure we uphold the highest standards of professionalism, fairness, and accountability, while making a positive impact on people, communities, and the environment.

By adhering to this Code of Ethics, we strive to lead by example in the wedding and event catering industry. We are dedicated to creating exceptional experiences for our clients while upholding our values of sustainability, integrity, and community. Together, we will continue to contribute to a more sustainable, inclusive, and equitable future.

Read our Code of Ethics here.

Kalm Kitchen Code of Ethics 2025

We thought we’d put together a video that shows how we’d go about making a meal for the love in our life.

So we sent James Middlehurst – Kalm Kitchen’s co-founder and husband to Jen – out to pick up some produce and ingredients to share what he’d pick and how he’d make it.

After a dash around Cowdray Estate Farm Shop, James joined Jen – Kalm Kitchen’s Creative Director and co-founder – in the kitchen to cook up a three-course meal together that meant something special to them both.

Together, they created:
– Starter – Hot-smoked salmon with a fennel and blood orange salad
– Main – A fillet of beef with grilled tenderstem broccoli and new potatoes flavoured with truffle butter and garlic
– Dessert – A Blackberry & Shortbread Fool

Gathering together to toast marshmallows and enjoy the glowing warmth and crackle of a fire sweeping over you. It’s one of those shared experiences that brings you back to the fellowship, sustenance and safety our ancestors got from fires.

We hoped to take just a slice of this atmosphere with our marshmallow and s’mores firepit, which becomes the perfect warming gathering area and counterpoint at your event.

Going perfectly hand-in-hand with this is our hot chocolate station. We’ve brought together all of the extras so you and your guests can make the ultimate hot chocolate to curl up with, tailored to your likes. Once you’ve poured your own hot chocolate, you can reach for your choice of a chocolate-dipped honeycomb, Oreo cookie, mini marshmallows, whipped cream and salted caramel sauce. We won’t say anything if you pick all of the above!

We captured this when we visited Froyle Park as part of our wedding showcase with them. We had lots of friendly suppliers on hand to bring a Froyle Park wedding to life, including Gill Pike’s beautiful floristry, which you can see on our hot chocolate station. You’ll also see our stunning polished copper mugs from Crystal Hire and, if you’re extra eagle-eyed, you can even see me (Rob) as I film it, captured in the reflection!

Watch our video:

Earlier in the month, I had the opportunity to attend a luxury industry event hosted by Tashana and her team at Coombe End Manor. It was such a lovely day filled with relaxation and pampering.

We arrived to a warm welcome in the Formal Drawing Room, where we were treated to shortbread biscuits and macarons by the open fire. It was a cosy and inviting atmosphere.

After a delicious breakfast, we were given a tour of the house and grounds by Hugo, the owner. A great opportunity to mooch around. He shared some interesting stories about the house’s history, and I was impressed by the newly refurbished bedrooms. The North bedroom was my favourite – it was spacious and luxurious, with a beautiful view of the gardens.

Following the tour, we were invited to a mini massage treatment in the spa. It was a peaceful and rejuvenating experience. It was a wonderful way to unwind and de-stress.

Lunch was a delicious seasonal grazing table with abundant seasonal salads, a cheese board of dreams and scrummy puds!

After lunch, we were treated to a bauble painting session, which is now hanging on my Christmas tree. 🎄

It was a fabulous day, and I’m grateful to Tashana and her team for hosting such a wonderful event. If you’re looking for a unique and sumptuous house to stay in or host an event,  I would highly recommend a visit. You won’t be disappointed!

– Jen, Creative Director and Founder, Kalm Kitchen

Suppliers 

• Venue – Coombe End
• Tableware – Duchess and Butler
• Candles – Candle Flair
• Candles – St Eval 
• Chef – Lisa Tiesteel 
• Florals – Studio Feverfew

Workshops

• Bauble Decorating –  Becki  Clark
• Pilates – Chloes Pilates
• Spa treatments – Coombe End Manor

In the first of our Meet the Kitchen series, where we’ll be getting to know the people behind Kalm Kitchen, we speak with the founders of Kalm Kitchen, Jen & James Middlehurst.

Established in 2008 by the husband and wife the team, the business has since grown to employing around 30 people and delivering hundreds of events – corporate, private and weddings – each year, with the vision of elevating the experiences and moments.

We speak with Jen & James about the highs and the lows of growing a business as a couple, how they have navigated it and the things that really motivate them.

 

At Kalm Kitchen, we believe catering goes beyond simply serving food. We’re passionate about working together to create the perfect ambience for your event – a backdrop and atmosphere that complements the experience and keeps the energy flowing.

Recently, we had the pleasure of partnering with the talented team at Bluebird Creative (check out their incredible work at bluebirdcreative.co.uk) for a workshop held at Millbridge Court. We collaborated with Stone & Stem to create a stunning and abundant floral display. At the same time, Lauren, the founder of Bluebird Creative, provided the tableware and table design that perfectly reflected the event’s theme.

Fuelling creative minds

To keep everyone energised and focused throughout the day, we curated a menu with refreshments available throughout:

• Morning: A refreshing selection of green smoothie tea, coffee, and fruited water with sparkling elderflower. A delightful breakfast platter featuring granola bites and delicate rose shortbread.
• Lunch: A bountiful lunch station featured carved thyme and bay-roasted chicken, beef carpaccio, a vibrant heirloom tomato tart bursting with garden thyme and basil, skin-on house fries with truffle, and freshly baked sourdough bread served with a flavourful root vegetable hummus.
• Afternoon: To top it all off, we provided a stunning summer berry pavlova, a light and airy dessert perfect for ending the workshop on a sweet note.

By offering a variety of delicious and healthy options, we aimed to keep participants energised and focused throughout the day.

Elevate your next event with Kalm Kitchen

Are you planning an event and want to ensure your guests are fuelled for success? Kalm Kitchen can create a customised menu that caters to your specific needs and preferences. We can also work with partners to create a cohesive ambience that complements your vision.

Contact us today and let’s discuss how we can elevate your next event!

Featuring:

• Venue: Millbridge Court
• Tableware and table design: Lauren, founder, Bluebird Creative
• Florals: Stone & Stem
• Photography: Philippa Sian Photography

Looking back to warmer times, we’re remembering a beautifully sunny day in May, when we had the pleasure of catering for our corporate client FatFace. The brand was holding an event for some of its influencer community at Stillwaters House, Avington Park, as they showcased a new fashion range.

We first chatted with the team at FatFace to understand their brief so that we could provide everything they needed.

With ten influencers, experiencing the new product range and enjoying the surroundings at Stillwaters, Avington’s luxury retreat in Hampshire, our role was to provide a grazing lunch, serve drinks and canapés at the pool, produce an evening meal, and a breakfast box the next day.

We loved being part of this event  – ensuring the team had a relaxed and refined day, enjoying food and drink that helped them enjoy their day with the right atmosphere, and capturing content.

If you’re looking to elevate your next event with exceptional catering and a touch of elegance, we’d love to help. Contact us at info@kalmkitchen.co.uk, use our contact form, or call us on 01483 813360 to discuss how we can make your event unforgettable.

 “I’ll always remember the photographer saying, ‘I’ve never met a bride who took off her shoes to walk through a load of cow muck to go and get a picture with some cows!'”

Lara and Andy married in September this year in a marquee celebration on Lara’s parents’ family dairy farm in Dorset. Lara, a catering event planner, and Andy, a sheep farmer, curated their wedding to reflect their personalities and drew upon their friends, family, farm and animals bring their day to life.

Kalm Kitchen’s Rob Cadwell chatted with Lara (and occasionally Andy, as he popped by the call) about planning and enjoying their wedding.

Thanks for joining me today, Lara, tell us about you and your day.

Andy and I got engaged in May and we decided to book the wedding for the end of September, which gave us a very short lead time to plan. It sort of made everything more intense, but also really exciting.

The day itself was a marquee wedding on my parents’ family farm. We ended up making it a full-blown weekend because we wanted to continue the celebration and also to make use of the marquee we had. A wedding is a considerable amount of money and it’s not every day that you have a marquee at the farm! We wanted to use it as much as we could and to invite as many people to come and join us over the whole weekend.

How did you prepare for it?

I’ve worked in the wedding industry for a long time, and so you always have a vision of what you would like your wedding day to be. So, you know, once you start planning it, it quickly gets into a routine of what you need to do.

Good old Excel helped me and – this is hugely beneficial for other brides and grooms – I think it’s really important to talk to your friends who have recently got married in the last couple of years. Although I’ve worked in the industry and I’d started my spreadsheet, having talked with my friends and sharing ideas, they then shared their spreadsheets, which, funny enough, was a spreadsheet they’d shared amongst each other. It was really, really helpful because it gives you the sort of task list which means you’re able to bring it into your spreadsheet and consider other things you might not have.

How were your family and friends involved in planning and running the day?

There was a running joke between my other half, Andy, and me that my dad, Greg, was becoming my wedding planner!

My dad very much became part of our journey and hosted us at his home. He was very proud of that, you know, and he wanted it to be the best that it could be and came up with so many really good ideas.

We had multiple meetings with my mum, my dad, and Andy over supper, and we just continually talked with each other, it was really lovely. We were all on the same page.

When it came to the planning, we were all going in the same direction and it very much felt like all of our roles came together. I might be strong in one area, and my parents in another area, and then between the four of us, we kind of built it together, which was really exciting.

It just felt like we had huge support. I think your friends and family do come out of their shells and offer their support. And I think, although sometimes you think that you might not need it, I think it’s about pulling in support when you do need it because, when you are setting up a marquee wedding, there’s a huge amount of work that goes into it.

You do need that support network of your friends and family to be able to come together and be there for the run-up of the week, on the day and a couple of days after, to be able to turn it around. Everyone just pulls together. I have a huge family anyway, and I think that everyone just comes together, and they all fall into each role and automatically just get stuck in.

I’d also like to mention my good friends Jen (Kalm Kitchen) and Hannah (Hannah Berry Flowers) who were like an absolute rock throughout the whole wedding and helped bring my vision together. They did such a great job and knew what to do at the right time. All my friends on the day were incredible, but those two, they just helped me switch from being in the worrying zone to just enjoying the day.

Philippa Sian captured your photos on the day – which do you think really encapsulate your day?

LARA: There are so many pictures that sum up Andy and I as a couple. Andy is a sheep farmer, and my parents are dairy farmers, and it was really important that we incorporated that into the day, no matter how little it may be, but actually having memories of that as part of our day was really special.

So we had to have photos with Andy’s sheep and we had to have photos with my dad’s cows, and I’ll never forget the photographer saying to me, “I’ve never met a bride who took off her shoes to walk through a load of cow mark to go and get a picture with some cows, you know, keeps her dress on, climbs over the gate.”

We also tried a few photos with smoke flares, which didn’t really work. It was a bit of a disaster, but it was really funny. You can try so hard to get the perfect picture, but it doesn’t actually work. On the flip side, we really didn’t try hard to get a nice picture of the sheep, and we really didn’t try hard to get a nice picture of the cows, and it naturally just happened. And I think sometimes you need to focus on, like, what is important to both of you as a couple, and what is your life all about? And try and capture those natural moments rather than try and create ones.

We haven’t received all of them at the time we’re speaking, but already, the snippets that we’ve received are a total kind of overview of our day, and you can see the energy in us and the energy’s so strong.

We received another picture of us coming into the room. We get called into the room, and we have, it’s, oh golly, something like Country Road playing and it’s just very like, it’s us.

You can just see the energy in the photograph of us coming into the room being like, we literally love this, and all of our friends and family are there, and we’re just having the best time ever. And I think those moments are, none of it’s staged. And I guess that’s what I’m trying to say, try not to stage too much.

ANDY: I’d say, probably the one where we’re on someone else’s shoulders near the mirror ball on the dance floor!

Or, you know, just during the whole day, everyone was laughing and smiling.

It’s really good. That’s actually one thing that’s like, that we loved seeing. Everyone is like, laughing, like, honestly, having so much fun and like, it’s just so nice that, like, everyone is in hysterics or laughing or smiling and having such a good time. That’s just so nice to look back on.

As well as your network of family and friends, at what point did you start to work with suppliers to help on your day?

 

The main supplier we started speaking with was the marquee company because that would inform lots of other conversations. We had considered two marquee companies – one that provided sail tents and one providing more traditional styles.

We’d sort of narrowed it down to two companies, and we stood in the field with them and talked about how it would work with a sail tent, and then how it would work with more of a traditional style marquee. We really loved the sail tent style and thought it would be beautiful in the setting.

However, we really, really wanted to have a reveal curtain with a dance floor area, so it could be a party room, and we just couldn’t see how it could work with the sail tent. So, it was quite a natural decision to then go with a traditional marquee.

I’m so glad we started with that because that then formed our day. It formed how the day was going to look, and, you know, the sort of vibe we were going for, even though we already had something in the back of our minds.

And then once we sort of had an idea about that, we’d reached out to our other suppliers, such as catering, florist, photographer, videographer, stationer, musicians and cake supplier.

What were the most important factors for you in choosing your wedding menu and your caterer?

Having established a relationship with Kalm Kitchen for over ten years and a friendship/family with Jen and James (Kalm Kitchen’s founders), we knew from day dot we wanted Kalm Kitchen to be our caterers.

We didn’t know if they’d travel to Dorset (they said yes!) but had hoped in the back of our minds that we’d be able to make it work. Having worked for the company, the decision in my mind was made, and we just knew that they were the one.

Andy popped in it at this point and was asked what was most important to him.

ANDY: The delicious food! I liked it all. I really enjoyed the canapés. I really enjoyed coming up before the actual wedding and doing a tasting with Kalm Kitchen and just all of it, it was really well organised!

What would you say to others when they’re looking for a wedding caterer?

I think that firstly, you need to establish what you’re looking for, in terms of the style of service and the type of food that you’re looking for.

You discuss it between the both of you and feel confident with what they’re producing. Look at their online presence and their social media, their reviews and you’ll gain confidence with your supplier, and you reach out.

I think it’s really important to ask questions to really understand the service that they’re providing.

 

I’ve had many friends get married and sort of look back and think, “Oh, I wish that we’d not cut a corner here to save some money.” And sometimes it comes down to the quality of service.

And I think, especially for my dad, it was really important that we had really, really good service. And it’s something that I know that Kalm Kitchen produces, and so I think that if someone else is looking it’s really important that they consider if that’s a factor that’s important to them.

 

When it comes down to food, there’s so much delicious food that Kalm Kitchen offer. And we knew we had to please a room of farmers, so it was very difficult to choose. We couldn’t go too outlandish with the menu!

But importantly, Andy and I needed to love our menu so that our guests would also love that menu.

We wanted to make sure that we did have a really lovely menu that suited everyone but also was all about us.

Were there any special touches about you that made it into the menu, or any particular touches that made it into the menu?

So for our menu, we decided to not do a starter and instead have loads of canapés ahead of main courses and desserts.

I didn’t want guests to sit down for a really long time. We had 160 guests and we wanted to make sure that they were fed quite substantially when they first came back to the marquee.

We chose a great all-round selection to please everyone and then we could sit down, everyone could have their main course and dessert, and then get up and party.

We chose beef. It’s always a crowd-pleaser, and I’d say it’s definitely one I’d highly recommend. I mean, our menu was great. It was really, really good. And we had a delicious lemon tart for dessert which went down really well too.

Drink was definitely key too! We’re very lucky that one of our friends works for a wine company and so she did a wine tasting with my family and involved my godparents too. It was a really fun evening. We let my friend know about our menu and she narrowed down a selection of wines that would pair well so in our tasting we could select the wines for the day.

We kept it really simple on the day. Andy has a bar company so we left it in his reigns to select the evening bar selection. Although we did have a free bar so we had to rein him in a little bit!

We also had “Take a shot, take a seat.” One of my friends owns a company called Remarkable Drinks and we had everyone’s guest names written on the bottle, and then they obviously had to do the shot to find the number, and then the number was on the bottle, and then they had to go and take a seat and that was really fun. Because of the time of year, it was the perfect season for things like sloe gin.

You were so closely involved in the planning, what’s your advice to brides and grooms to relax and enjoy it on the day?

In the run-up to the wedding, I spent hours staring at my spreadsheet. I spent hours thinking about all the little things, and I did a five-minute timeline of the day, of what was going to happen.

The night before the wedding, I shared that document with ushers, bridesmaids, parents etc. Perhaps one thing I should have done, and this is a recommendation to any future bride and groom, is to share that document maybe a couple of days earlier, rather than the night before!

There are all these other little tasks that you get involved with when it comes to a marquee wedding, and you need the support of your bridesmaids and ushers. It’s really important that you do share your list with them because it shares your worries and allows them to be off your chest, and then they can step into their roles.

But you know, all the things that I wanted to happen just happened naturally.

Andy and I were so immersed in our day that we didn’t even notice anything that was going on and all of those worries after sending the spreadsheet the night before to everyone, all of my worries just went away because I just trusted that everyone that was around me would pull it together and would make it happen, and they did. They really did, and everything that we wanted to happen just happened, whether it happened naturally or whether it happened, because it was on my spreadsheet, it just happened.

And everyone really, really pulled together. And you know, if anything cropped up, we were so unaware of what was happening, because we were so engrossed in having the best day ever. Sometimes you can get so caught up in trying to think about all those little things that you want to happen, but you just must let it go, because you won’t enjoy your day if you’re held up on all the little things.

You know you get this opportunity to have the best day of your life, you have everyone that you love around you, all your friends and family, and they’re all there to celebrate you, and they want you to have the best day, and that’s what matters most.

If there is something really important to you, then communicate that to someone that you know will take that responsibility and they really will do it.

And you know, going back to your suppliers too, although you sort of instil a lot into your friends and family trust that your suppliers are going to do a really good job.

You’ve asked them to be part of your special day for a reason, and it’s so important that you just let them do what they need to do. And you’ve already communicated in advance what you’re what is the most important thing to happen, and now just make it happen.

And they really will make it happen. They really do, because they really do care and are really good at their jobs.

How about working through the logistics of catering in a field?

Leading up to the wedding you have a quite a few meetings, where it’s important to communicate all you want for your day. The one thing to kind of know about Kalm Kitchen is they’re not just a catering company.

They obviously are a catering company – they produce delicious food and amazing service. But they also have a wealth of knowledge in terms of suppliers, guidance and experience with a wedding.

And if you haven’t done this before, it’s okay to kind of say that. And they can point you in the right direction of what to do and where to go. They can share with you suppliers that they’ve worked with before. It might be you’re looking for a particular style of band or a particular style of photography, and they’ve worked with someone before, so it just makes it easier to kind of help you build your network and bring everyone together.

In our case, we had Frankie supporting us – we could gather together questions and ask her, and then she could help and guide us in the right direction. Even if you think it’s not relevant, it’s okay to ask, because you know, they could point you in the right direction.

Even with the knowledge that I have from working in the industry, there are still so many things that you know to kind of bounce off others, serving drinks, what people are doing, what are the trends, how the marquee is going to work within the space, what access is needed.

We were getting married at the end of September and so there was the risk that it was going to be absolutely pouring it down. You’ve always got to have a contingency. We were so lucky that it poured it down the day before, but did pour it down on the day. Whilst we did have dry weather, but we had to prepare for wet weather and make access as easy as possible for suppliers. By doing that, it becomes easier further down the line.

We did have a couple of power issues on the day, which is really frustrating, but they’re sort of the uncontrollables. There are always going to be uncontrollables. It’s just how, on the day, it gets resolved. It didn’t affect our day, and it didn’t affect everyone else’s day. Everyone still had the most incredible day and everyone still got delicious food.

For Kalm Kitchen, I organised a nice little catering tent with a hard floor for them and a light outside.

The access for suppliers was really easy because they could come from the road straight in. The suppliers had separate access to guests. It made their lives so much easier, and then the guests had the full-blown guest experience.

Lara & Andy’s wedding is a beautiful example of how a well-planned and personalised event can create lasting memories for the couple and their guests.

Their wedding featured:

• Marquee: County Marquees
• Stationery: Pete Holder
• Flowers: Dorset Flower Company
• Music: Thom Music and Truly Medley Deeply
• Photographer Philippa Sian – see her photos and blog here.
• Videographer: Ash Videography
• Cake supplier: Lottie’s Little Cake Company
• Catering: Kalm Kitchen

Kalm Kitchen was recently asked by luxury jewellers, Laings, to cater for their luxury watch brand launch event at Pylewell Park in Hampshire.

Laings was established in 1840, and has always played an important role for those celebrating loved ones and marking special moments in people’s lifetimes.

For this event, Laings were celebrating a new product range of one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world, Patek Philippe.

Patek Philippe was established in 1839 and is the last family-owned Genevan luxury watch manufacturer.

Laings and Patek Philippe have worked together for many years – they hold the same values and are both family-owned, independent businesses focused on their customers.

It’s often said that a Patek Philippe timepiece is not something you ever truly own, but that you are the custodian of for the next generation.

It was therefore a huge pleasure to work with these two esteemed, family-owned businesses with such fascinating, storied histories and help elevate this event.

We held a consultation-style call with Laings and produced a bespoke proposal for their menu and tableware. On the day, our role started with serving welcome Champagne and a Blackcurrant Gin Fizz, whilst the product showcase took place.  

We then provided a sit-down, three-course meal for the guests. The tables were laid with Urbane Aubergine Linen to give a classy backdrop to the White Hemstitch Napkins and Brass Gold Cutlery. Nudo created the stunning floral displays that shone amongst this and the Boho Purple Goblets were like pops of pomegranate seeds scattered across the table.

Our guests enjoyed:

• Freshly baked bread with whipped butter and sea salt.

Starter

• John Dory | fennel | heritage carrot
• Sautéed girolles | spelt | truffle

Main

• Beef fillet | pumpkin | onion tart fine | rocket
• Kabocha Squash | pumpkin | rocket

Dessert        

• Kalamansi Chocolate box | red currant | pistachio

Let us know if we can help with your event – contact us at info@kalmkitchen.co.uk or 01483 813 360 (Surrey) or 02071 238 397 (London).