Planning your event
How to secure a booking for a dinner party
Planning your dinner party
Thank you for your interest about my services.
I would need little information about your event. You can send me a message from my contact page at the bottom of the home page.
Please note these menus are for dinner parties at private homes and holiday lets and are for up to 24 guests. If you require catering for larger number than 24, I can offer this service but need to find out more information about the kitchen and dining facilities.
I have created a selection of seasonal menus shown on my home page. Within each of the seasons, there are three menu options with different budgets priced currently at £60, £75 and £90 per person. These prices are based on a minimum of eight guests on a Friday, Saturday and Bank Holidays.
With a minimum of six guests between Sunday to Thursday.
If you are less than these numbers, I can caterer for you but would still be charged at the minimum number and can serve the extra food on the evening or bring with me and place in your fridge for the next day.
If you would like to work with you for your own exclusive menu for your event this of course can be done within the restrictions of the kitchen and facilities at the venue.
How it works
Once you have secured you booking with me then you can start
thinking about which menu you would like for your event.
Each season I have three menus.
The way it works is you choose one of the menus that I offer and two weeks before your event I ask for your pre-order of any combination for the starters, main courses, and desserts for each of your guests.
If you have opted for the Buttermere or Derwent menu,
you get both canapes per guest.
My freshly baked bread comes with everyone's starter
throughout all my menus.
If you have a Vegan guest or any other dietary requirement, this can be catered for with the relevant adjustments to the menu.
Deposit to reserve the date?
If you are unsure of numbers or menu choices but would like to secure the Cumbrian Chef for your date, then you can do so with a simple £10 per person deposit.
The enquiry booking will not be considered confirmed until a deposit payment has been made and subsequently, I am not able to hold the date until the payment is received. Once paid I will confirm your booking and your date will then be in my calendar, after which you can leisurely decide on which menu option you would like.
If the event is less than two weeks away, I would require full payment and pre-orders with menu options once I have confirmed the date is available.
What next?
I will get back in touch with you around a month prior to your event in order to confirm which one of the menu options you would like to order from.
At this point, we can discuss any allergen or dietary requirements
your party may have.
I will then send you a balance invoice which will be dated to be paid two weeks ahead of your event.
All that is left for you to do
I will need your pre-order for all the courses except canapes as each guest gets one of each. Mini soups are always vegetarian. Pre-dessert and the cheese courses if applicable to the menu you have chosen.
I would also need your start time for your meal e.g. what time you would like to sit down for starters. I will arrive an hour before your starters are to be served and the canapes (if you have chosen a menu with canapes) will be served within this hour before you sit down for starters
Provide me with the full postal address and the best contact number for the day. I send a txt on the day confirming arrival time and if I have not been to the venue before I ask for you to share the location on the day.
On the day
I will arrive around an hour before your starters are served with
all the food and ingredients in my chilled food storage boxes.
Canapes if ordered are served prior to starters and we can
discuss the timings of these on the day.
I will work in your kitchen using my own pots, pans, knives and utensils.
Most of the preparation is prepared at my 5-star hygiene rated production kitchen unit so on my arrival I will just be finishing the preparations and cooking and serving your chosen dishes ready to serve your meal.
I supply my own crockery & cutlery for the meals I present.
How much does this service cost?
My prices for a private chef experience are between £55 to £85 per person until end of August 2024 prices will increase from September 2024 as shown on my menus and include all the ingredients’ costs and service. Please contact us to discuss bespoke events.
What is the minimum number of
guests you cater for?
My prices are for a minimum of 8 guests on Fridays, Saturdays and Bank holidays with a minimum of 6 guests for all other days.
If you are unsure of numbers or menu choices but would like to secure the Cumbrian Chef for your date, then you can do so with a simple £10 per person deposit. I will send you a deposit invoice. You’ve then got until 21 days prior to the event to confirm your booking details so that we can raise an invoice for the balance of the booking amount.
How do I make a Payment?
I will send you a deposit invoice with my bank details to secure the date. Until the deposit payment is made, the enquiry booking will not be considered confirmed. I will confirm your booking once I have received the payment.
The balance will need to be paid two weeks before the event, if payment is not received on the required date, then the date will be released to a waiting list and the deposit will be non-refundable.
Cancellation of booking?
All deposits are non-refundable, however if you wish to move the date, we will do our best to accommodate any new dates if available and suitable to both parties. The deposit will then be transferred to the new date.
For cancellations less than 14 days before your event but more than 72
hours prior to the chef’s arrival time then you may still move your event to a different date and/or location and incur no additional penalty or charges with the exception of any extra travel time. If we are unable to accommodate this new date and it needs to be cancelled, then we will still honour the full value of anything paid to The Cumbrian Chef against a future event as a credit.
Bookings cancelled less than 72 hours prior to arrival time shall
result in the loss of any and all payment excepted by the
Cumbrian Chef and no refund or credit options will be available.
Wine and Spirits
I understand that wine selection plays a huge part in the
experience of your event.
The alcoholic side of the event is catered for by yourselves which allows me to focus on providing an exceptional food tasting experience.
Prices are subject to change
As I am a private chef my two largest costs are food and fuel, at the moment we are in a very volatile time and so both of these are subject to change.
I have provisionally planned my menus for you the guests until the
end of November 2024.
I will be reviewing the increases in my supplies throughout the year.
My prices could be subject to change if these costs continue to
increase to my business.
Once a booking is made and confirmed your quoted price will not change.
Could there be any changes to the menu?
Sometimes we could have problems with supply issues. If there would be any changes required to my menu then I would inform you of the changes ahead of the event.
Do you have Public Liability Insurance?
Yes, I am insured with Giles insurance company for
Public Liability and Employment.
What about an allergen, dietary requirements?
Please make sure you provide during booking all known dietary and allergen information of your guests.
Julian and his team have vast experience with allergens and dietary requirements. We can cater to all different dietary requirements such as vegan and gluten-free and have a professional understanding of all allergens. Julian holds food level 3 in food safety, allergen awareness and has City and Guilds Covid awareness training.
What area do you cover?
I am based in the lakes just outside Kendal at Lakelands food business park. Unit 2 with the postcode of LA88QJ
I will travel across most of Cumbria but if your location is over
45 minutes one way away I will look to charge for any extra
travel / staffing costs this will involve.
I am happy to travel throughout the Northwest.
If the travelling time is over my 45 minutes, then I would charge an extra charge based on the extra distance travelled as above.
Location
Living within the lakes, the postcodes for many of the locations
are often quite vague.
I have been using the what3words app to find locations if you can download the free app and send me your location on the day of the event this would be helpful.
https://what3words.com/products/what3words-app
. Do we use our crockery and cutlery?
I supply my own crockery & cutlery for the meals I present.
What about adding children’s meals to my event?
Hiring a Private Chef to come and cater for you can be a great idea for families who don’t want to pay for a babysitter or taxis to go out to a restaurant. Often our clients arrange their eat time for after they have put their children to bed however, many of our clients still want to include their children in their event and why not?
Children often have different palates and appetites, so you do not have to pay full price for them if you want them to eat from the same menu. Children (aged 10 or under) can be added to your event at 50% of the per head cost of the menu you have chosen. Children ages over 10 would be counted as an adult meal , But i inderstand that every child is different as I dont have a childrens menu.
So if you would like something specific for the children of the group if you let me know what sort of thing they like and I will price this accordingly.
Who cleans up?
Before we leave the venue Julian, and his team will do a full clean down of the kitchen and any equipment they have used. Please note, we politely ask that you empty the dishwasher and leave the kitchen in a clean state for the team’s arrival.
What supplies do you use?
All our ingredients are of the highest quality and locally sourced supporting wonderful suppliers such as Cartmel Game, Hayton’s butcher in Staveley, Hargan’s fruit and vegetables Flookburgh, Winter Tarn dairy and Stonehouse Smokery Carlisle to name a few with more coming on board each month. Check out my social media where I often showcase our amazing suppliers.