Kemp & Kemp Catering discusses the latest catering trends
What is emerging as popular catering trends for this year and next?
We think that people are just super happy to be having weddings again! There isn’t particularly any new food trends emerging although there has been a slight shift to all veggie or all vegan weddings as more people choose to eat less meat, something we’re proud to say we at Kemp & Kemp Catering have covered with our fab veggie/vegan menus that we honed over many years.
Couples still want to be massively sociable and less formal so sharing feasts, be it mezze, tapas, antipasti or a combination continue to be hugely popular which we love as it means we can get really creative, and we simply love seeing loaded sharing boards being delivered to the delighted guests.
Here at Kemp & Kemp Catering, we're seeing much more demand for winter weddings than ever before. We think that the combination of the spring and summer months now being booked up so far in advance, the realisation that winter weddings are really romantic (think log fires, candles, mulled wine & boeuf bourguignon and venue availability is driving this demand. We love a winter wedding and have many fabulous winter food ideas, so long may it continue.
What is your favourite dish to prepare & serve at a wedding and why?
As we live between Spain and the UK we are always particularly thrilled if we are asked to create Spanish inspired tapas food! Karen has always been a lover of Mediterranean food, be it tapas (there’s not much we don’t know about tapas, to be honest...be it the deliciousness of sticky garlicky chicken in sauce, the spiciness of patatas bravas or the excitement of a plate of crispy calamari), Ottolenghi-esque Middle Eastern (bowls of hummus, baba gannoush and muhammara, with lamb koftas and flatbreads...swoon!) ‘River Café inspired Italian (deceptively simple, rustic). These styles would always make it onto our top ten and are huge crowd-pleasers at weddings.
We are delighted to say that with year-round weddings now being the thing we are busier than ever. Richard is busily sourcing venues that could offer winter weddings (log fires & cosy candle atmosphere) and Karen is as happy as a clam looking for winter wedding menu inspiration in all of her many hundreds of cookbooks (It’s a tough job but someone has to do it!)
What is a big catering yes that couples should put the front of mind when planning their wedding catering?
Don’t treat the canapé reception as merely a holding pen before the ‘main event’!
This time is joyous and should set the scene and the tone for the rest of the day. You’re married, your family and friends are all surrounding you and mingling. So keep mingling, be generous, keep it going longer and serve more canapés – some couples skip a starter and maximise on this special time by serving more canapés.
To find out more about Kemp & Kemp Catering, visit www.kempandkempcatering.co.uk
