Fulham Palace - one venue, many faces

It's been a busy summer of weddings here at Fulham Palace where Bovingdons are the caterers. There are many galleries to choose from but I just had to share these wonderful photos of the palace's courtyards as captured by the wonderful Jo Hughes of The Art of Weddings http://blog.theartofweddings.co.uk 

Red Tudor brick makes for a stunning entrance and the fountains add to the music. The long garden lawns point towards the palaces Georgian fascia, a totally different look. Then finally, the walled garden contains a modern, clear sided marquee. Many courtyards, many eras, many interesting and beautiful backdrops for wedding photographs.

Jo Hughes of Art of Weddings http://blog.theartofweddings.co.uk

Jo Hughes of Art of Weddings http://blog.theartofweddings.co.uk 

Jo Hughes of Art of Weddings http://blog.theartofweddings.co.uk 

Jo Hughes of Art of Weddings http://blog.theartofweddings.co.uk 

Jo Hughes of Art of Weddings http://blog.theartofweddings.co.uk 

A Magnificent Family Day in the Meadow

Photos from a magnificent event for a client of Stratagem Events held in the walled gardens and meadows of Fulham Palace. Truly a company who know how to make the most of a magnificent space in such magnificent weather.

Using a bespoke approach to managing events at Fulham Palace means that both clients and event organiser leave happy as larry. The day runs smoothly (yes we were even prepared for wet weather) and clients get to enjoy a truly fabulous and incredibly central London venue with excellent transport links.

Photos by the ever excellent Lloyd Dobbie http://www.lloyddobbie.com/blog/

Fulham Palace Conference

Here's a great example how we were able to help an organisation make the most of the varied spaces and impressive rooms when they held their conference at Fulham Palace.

The European Investment Bank used Fuham Palace as the location for their fascinating conference entitled Innovative Financing of Cultural Heritage. The subject of the conference made Fulham Palace (established in 704) an even more appropriate venue.

  - The Tudor Courtyard is an excellent backdrop for the filmed interviews by the ShortFilm Company (exert below)
  - The impressive Great Hall works as the main presentation room
  - The Bishops rooms for breakout areas
  - The Walled Garden Marquee for lunch and networking
  - Lighting and staging to enhance the historical feature by EffectEvent

http://vimeo.com/68676576

Corporate Event at Westminster Abbey Gardens

Westminster Abbey Gardens is a particularly special venue that Bovingdons are privileged to work at.

Westminster Abbey Gardens is only available to hire for a few short weeks during the summer. Not only does this ancient venue have such incredible character but it has hands down the most impressive location in London, right in the shadow of Big Ben, footsteps from the seat of British power.

One company making the most of this unique and unusual venue was GMT Communications who held their 20th Anniversary celebrations in the cloisters and gardens. Here are some photos from the event taken by Lloyd Dobbie...

  

"The best corporate function I have ever attended"

Photos soon, in the meantime, here are some thank you letters from one of our corporate clients who held their anniversary event at Westminster Abbey Gardens last week...

Hi Julie

I wanted to say a huge thank you for everything last night. Feedback from guests has been excellent. So many people sought me out to thank me last night. Everyone commented on the food, the drinks, the service, the immaculately turned out waiting staff, the flowers, even the loos!

The atmosphere was relaxed and fun, which is just what we wanted.

I’ve attached just a couple of the notes received this morning, I think they speak for themselves. 

I’m sure I’ll be in touch again for the next shindig, but it’s going to be hard to top that!

Thanks again. 

J 

And here are some of the thank you letters SHE received from her guests!

____________________________________

Dear J,

Thank you very much for a great event yesterday – wow, what a truly unique venue, what exceptional people, excellent food and beautiful weather – a stand out event in my professional life.

I wish you all the best in the next 20 years and hope I can contribute my little share to your continued success.

Again congratulations with your exceptional achievement and impressive results.

Looking forward to being in touch soon.

Best regards,

C

______________________________________

A huge thank you for inviting us to the party.

I think it ranks as the best corporate function I have ever attended.

The venue was superb and (you) were very generous hosts.

A big thank you to Jenny as well for inviting Diana along , it was very kind of you.

Wishing you the very best for the future

Kind regards

K

____________________________________

Jenny,

Many thanks for the invite last night, fab location, brilliant food and great organisation…… I hope they let you have  the day off to rest !

Really enjoyed the evening.

Well done.

See you soon.

T

Family Fun Day at Fulham Palace - The Menu

Here is the menu from the corporate family summer fun day at Fulham Palace. As you can see, having a bespoke approach means anything is possible with our menus, including candy floss and posh hot dogs!

Canapes

 * Cucumber boxes filled with a fresh salad of feta, mint & parsley * Baby bagels with Scottish smoked salmon & cream cheese * Mini quails egg Benedict * Peking duck pancakes * Mini Yorkshire puddings with rare beef & horseradish

BBQ Lunch

Skewered chicken fillets infused with lemon & herbs
Lime and ginger marinated salmon with salsa verde
Cumberland sausages inside buns with onions
Homemade burgers with relish and salad
Little jacket potatoes with sour cream
****
Red onion and feta galette
****
Tomato and onion relish, salsa verde and lemon mayonnaise
****
Baby and wild leaf with feta, cherry tomatoes and croutons
Char grilled Mediterranean vegetables with pine nuts
Garlic and herb bread

Pudding

Eton Mess

Children's Mini Bite Menu

 - Popcorn chicken
 - Mini tomato and mozzarella pizzas
 - Bowls of warm mini sausages
 - Chicken skewers
 - Bowls of Hula Hoops and crisps
 - Hot dogs with ketchup or French mustard

Family Fun Day at Fulham Palace

A bouncey castle... in a palace?

A construction company contacted us to assist them in organising a well earned summer family fun day at Fulham Palace. Here are some photos by Lloyd Dobbie from the event.

Highlights included:

 - a bouncey castle

 - candy floss and popcorn carts

 - a cork shoot and a cocounut shy

 - a penalty shootout competition

 - wonderful canapes and bowl food (full family fun day menu here >> )

 - entertainment and a posh hot dog dinner for the children 

 - a full BBQ and full bar for the adults

French Menu for a Chic Wedding

A delicious French wedding breakfast menu designed with a Francophile couple an served family style. In their thank you letter (which we've published in full over on the Nonsuch Mansion blog) they describe the moment that their "guests faces lit up when huge terrines of pâté were placed in the middle of each table..."

Once again, food makes the moment and the memories.

Pain de Champagne and baguettes
French butter
***
Pate de Champagne served with red onion marmalade 
Alsace Onion Tart
***
Le Mesclum salad
****
Coq au Vin and Pomme Puree
***
Assiette du Fromage 
****
Tarte au citron,
Breton creme fraiche  
Tea and coffee

For more photos visit Lloyd Dobbie's blog
http://www.lloyddobbie.com/2013/03/a-winter-wedding-at-nonsuch-mansion/

For the full text of the thank you letter visit Nonsuch Mansion's blog

The Orangery - Holland Park

Westminster Abbey Gardens: Youth Olympics Event: Part 1: The Menu

Here's an example of one of our menus from a high-profile event at Westminster Abbey Gardens held during 2012. As I've mentioned before, Westminster Abbey Gardens is an exclusive venue, open briefly every summer for a few short weeks. Places in the diary are highly sort after.

This particular menu was served to 350 high profile guests at an event to celebrate the success of the Balfour Beatty London Youth Games, Europe's biggest youth sports event. Guests included customers, MPs, Lords, Olympians and members of the London Assembly.

We designed the menu to be a balanced mix of two bite finger food that was passed amoungst guests as they enjoyed archery, badminton and table tennis demonstrations and applauded the award presentations.

Vegetarian 
Cucumber boxes filled with a fresh salad of feta, lemon and parsley, topped with purple shiso cress
Rice paper wraps of mint and palm sugar marinated vegetables and tofu

Sultana bread croute with Dolcelatte, fresh fig and balsamic caramel

Fish
Mini Quails egg Royale
Baked jersey Royals and sour cream

Meat
Wraps of smoked chicken with  mango and spinach
Carpaccio of beef on Truffled crostini with rocket pesto and shoots
Ras el hanout lamb with baba Ganoush caviar 

To find out more about this event see http://www.balfourbeatty.com/index.asp?pageid=43&blogid=42

13 Perfect Canapes for your 2013 Summer Party

Bovingdons help our clients ensure their summer events are "even better than last year".

The tasty menu below works perfectly for a drinks reception with canapés and should be served a lovely Prosecco, with Pimms. Call us for more information 020 8874 8032.

A balanced, delicious menu of bitesize morsels, easy to eat, light yet satisfying.

Vegetarian

Broad bean and pecorino falafel with lemon yoghurt dip

Cucumber cups with feta, mint and parsley

Rosemary shortbreads with goat’s cheese and tomato chutney

Sultana bread croutes with Dolcelatté and balsamic glazed fresh figs

Fish

Wraps of cured salmon with fennel carpaccio

Dukkah crusted, seared tuna loin in smoked paprika

Skewers of lemon grass and chilli marinated king prawns

Meat

Macadamia blini, rare beef, honey and truffle with a rocket pesto

Chicken and lemongrass boudine, toasted jasmine rice and a cucumber relish

Confit duck, savoy cabbage with peach relish

Sweet

Waffle cones of summer sorbets and ice-creams (below)

Spoons of vanilla pannacotta with vanilla infused peaches and lavender syrup

Homemade passion fruit marshmallows

Long Table at The Orangery

Our own snaps of a beautiful long table at The Orangery in Holland Park. Less is so often more.

A Stylish Italian Wedding Part 2: The Menu

Start

English asparagus duo 

Asparagus vichyssoise 

Petite salad with quails eggs

Home made herb bread a wide selection 

of semi dried tomato, rosemary and olive breads

Main

Guinea fowl: breast and confit leg

with smoked garlic mash potato, savoy cabbage, 

French beans and char-grilled courgettes

Baked butternut squash, feta, sage and pinenut strudel

with smoked garlic mash potato, savoy cabbage,

French beans and char-grilled courgettes

Finish

Apple tart tartin with rich vanilla icecream

Espresso coffee, teas and petit fours served to the table

To see other photos, see A Stylish Italian Wedding: Part 1: The Venue

Photos by Kjersten Madden http://www.kjrstenmadsenblog.com/2012/07/francesca-david.html 
For more information on Weddings at The Orangery in Holland Park email us info@bovingdons.co.uk

A Stylish Italian Wedding: Part 1: The Venue

We enjoyed helping this stylish Italian couple organise their wedding from Rome. They had met in London and had lived near Holland Park, so The Orangery was a perfect and meaningful location for them.

Planning from so far away, Francesca and David keenly took advantage of our bespoke wedding planning services, particularly our suggested suppliers many of whom were used on the day including:

Photos: Kjrsten Madsen http://www.kjrstenmadsenblog.com/2012/07/francesca-david.html

Flowers: Mary Jane Vaughan www.maryjanevaughan.co.uk

Cake: The Cake Parlour www.zoeclarkcakes.com

To see the menu we designed for them, read A Stylish Italian Wedding: Part 2: The Menu 

 Wedding at The Orangery in Holland Park, for details please email infor@bovingdons.co.uk

25 years ago today...

Today is a very special date here at Bovingdons - it is 25 years to the day since Andrew and I started the business. 1987 feels like yesterday!

Although my motto has always been "we're only as good as our last job", this seemed like a prime opportunity for me to share a little of the past with you.

See below - I've compiled a list of 25 things you might not know about Bovingdons. I've included the big milestones, a little nostalgia, some impressive figures and some fond (and not so fond) memories of some of our more notable jobs. I really could write a book!

I've also found a photo of one of our first plates of canapes - I hope it makes you chuckle as much as I did! Thank goodness us caterers left the doilies in the 1980s.

My thanks to all our loyal clients, our fabulous suppliers and my trusted team; the last 25 years have flown by and everyday has been different. One thing that remains the same; the team and I absolutely love the challenges that being an event caterer brings.

2013 is guaranteed to be another vintage year for Bovingdons, you can expect exiting new venue contracts (more details soon), growth, awards and plenty of foodie inspiration from the Bovingdons team. Onwards and upwards!

25 years - 25 facts, figures and memories

1. Bovingdons was incorporated on Sunday 29th November 1987.

2. Our first office was in Esterbrooke Street, SW1 - we're now in our own unit in Wandsworth.

3. We shared our first office with another small foodie start-up called Pret-a-Manger. We supplied their first three shops from 1982 and I think we stopped at 18 shops in 1992.

4. Our first contracted client was Christies. Lunch for eight, three times a week.

5. It only used to cost 20p to park at the meter outside their offices - no congestion charge in the 1980s!

6. Five of our first clients are still our clients today.

7. We feed over 40,000 guests every year, not just in London but at events across the south of England.

8. Most challenging brief - a chocolate menu for a beauty launch held on a 40 degree day in a greenhouse. Mission accomplished.

9. Most expensive menu - £620 a head plus wine and service. Seven spectacular courses for seven very happy diners. Email me if you'd like to know what they ate!

10. Proudest "show must go on" moment - convincing six local restaurants to let us use their ovens to cook a saddle of lamb for 80 when the venue ovens blew.

11. Most stressful moment - running up Victoria High Street to pick up Noilly Prat and gin for HM The Queen Mother (her office had told us "she will not be drinking" - ma'am was not amused!)

12. Worst nightmare - making 500 bowls of jelly for Noel Edmond's Late, Late, Breakfast Show. Urgh.

13. Biggest event - a corporate Christmas party for 3,000 in a marquee in Isleworth. Three courses served to over 3,000 in 1.5 hours, military precision!

14. Quickest main course service - our record is 660 covers in 11 minutes at Vinopolis - the organisers thought it was impossible but we proved them wrong! It was all caught on camera too.

15. Most canapes served in a single night - 12,000, even more impressive when you consider that some of them were made to order!

16. We still make our own bread and stocks - always have, always will.

17. There have only ever been five Head Chefs at Bovingdons.

18. Our longest serving member of staff is our trusted Kitchen Porter Mickey who's been with us for 16 years.

19. We have one of the lowest staff turnovers in the industry with the average stay of 4.5 years.

20. Andrew and I still work on and in the business everyday.

21. The oldest piece of equipment in our kitchen is the radio - it is on every day from 5am until late. Yes the chefs are often singing.

22. We won our first venue contract in 1993 for The Orangery, Holland Park and Leighton House and still cater there today.

23. In 2009 we launched our first venue, Nonsuch Mansion in Cheam, Surrey.

24. We celebrated our 15th birthday in 2003 by rebranding and building ourselves a new thing called a "website" http://www.bovingdons.co.uk.

25. One of the only menu items that's stood the test of time is smoked salmon and leeks nests with quails eggs - a faultless classic.

Thank you for reading! Do stay in touch.

1987 canapes vs 2012 canapes - as you can see, quite a difference!