Having recently celebrated my Husband’s 50 birthday party I felt I should write a letter of thanks regarding the catering you provided. Initially I was quite worried booking a caterer as I always do my own food for parties when we entertain but as there were going to be about 60 people felt it would be too much for me. I contacted several companies from the internet, some of whom didn’t even reply and some who replied late but you were the first to contact me and I found you extremely helpful and friendly. It put me at ease to have a chat to decide the theme of the party and to then plan the food around it. The choices available were extensive and different from the normal run of the mill. It was comforting to me that we could keep in touch to change things as I deemed fit and on the evening the buffet didn’t disappoint. I have had numerous texts and messages from family and friends to say what a wonderful party it was the food was magnificient, the whole poached salmon looked wonderful, the filo pastry baskets went down a treat, the hot beef and accompaniments were excellent. Followed by homemade desserts it all went down really well. My husband had the mad idea to also include a midnight feast of curry and chilli but everyone was still full from the main event so I froze all the leftovers and we have been enjoying them ever since. I would have no hesitation in using your services again Helen, everything was wonderful and it was a pleasure to deal with you and your staff who made the evening run smoothly. All the best for you future events.

Karen Rhodes-Brandt

Scrumptillious catered for our 'off beat' wedding in June 2012. We were a fairly, er, mature bride and groom - just doing stuff our own way (no chaircovers or organza, not letting anyone bring presents, having our three kids as our groomsmen) and we wanted someone who would understand that: Helen was the perfect choice. From the minute she invited us into her conservatory to try her delicious rosemary scones and sticky sausages, things just fell into place. We were able to communicate what we wanted from the outset - she is very straight and clear and easy to be honest with, without feeling like you're about to get fleeced! I'm sure Helen is more than capable of doing you a gorgeous beef wellington and some vol-au-vents but that was not what we were looking for. We were having a big knees up in a village hall, and - being frank about it - doing it as glamorously as we could on a budget so our friends and family could relax and enjoy themselves. Apart from the food we pretty much did every thing else ourselves. We honestly couldn't have done it without Helen. From the canapes, to the delicious lamb and rosemary casserole with mini roast potatoes and spiced red cabbage, to helping us work out what we needed to think about, to supplying many different types of pudding, to putting on home-made mini pizzas and veg sticks for all the kids, to catering for all my friends who are wheat-allergic, dairy-intolerant, vegan, fruitarian (no, not really the last one), she was an utter trooper. She helped organise our helpers, she lent us a whole load of linen for our vintage table and garden flowers in jam jars thing, she supplied chutney, pate and home baked bread for our evening 'bring a cheese present' buffet. And she wasn't even put out that we wouldn't let her enter our cake competition which we organised instead of having a wedding cake. Of course, she would have won and then many small children would have cried... Anyhow, Helen was my dream caterer and I would - if I can ever afford to hold a big party, or even a small one, ever again - hire her in a flash. All our guests commented how delicious the food was, how unique the evening buffet was and - in particular - how hard Helen worked to pull it off in difficult circumstances: she was unexpectedly a 'man down' on the day. It is testament to her professionalism that we didn't even realise this till afterwards, and her and the small team she brought with her left everything in the village hall immaculate (which involved about 4 hours of washing up!). So if you want just great food, with someone who you can really just talk straight to about what you want, who kind of understands that you don't have to do things the way everybody else does, Helen is your woman.

Dr Rebecca Leach