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Archives for November 2012

Murder Mystery Dinner at Upper House Hayfield

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Last week we were lucky enough to cater for a fantastic event at a very beautiful venue, Upper House Hayfield. The stunning Grade II listed former hunting lodge provided the perfect setting for this wonderful event.




Think roaring fires, vast wall mounted antlers and fine medieval timbers re-used from a church, in the ceiling and on the walls.

The beautifully dressed tables complimented the wonderfully dressed murder mystery characters.


No murder mystery is complete without a delicious dinner, and that’s where Vanilla in Allseasons came in! We served an array of canapes to get the taste buds tingling and followed with this menu-

Anti Pasto slate
Carpaccio of beef with Parmesan and rocket
Hand cured gravadlax
Chorizo in red wine
Baked Camembert with garlic and white wine
Roast peppers with garlic and thyme on a roasted bread

Main
Duo of beef
Fillet of Cheshire beef , with a Maderia jus
Braised beef and mushroom pie

Cleanser
Punch Romaine,
Fizz, white wine, crushed ice candid peel

To Finish
Miniature trio
Lemon tart with a raspberry crush
Raspberry crème brulee with a citrus shortbread
Chocolate brownie with a hazelnut crumble

Breads
Selection of handmade artisan breads made on the day




An absolutely fantastic time was had by all. A wonderful dinner in a stunning venue. We can’t to work with Upper House Hayfield again.

Brilliant photography provided by Rob Whitrow.

Innovative Name Settings

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Over the years we have seen many unique, unusual and stylish place settings at the tables we have served.

Name and place settings offer a great opportunity to get creative and set the tone of your party or event. We love to see how imaginative people can be with their table styling.

Today we round up some of our favourite new ideas…


Fresh crusty bread wrapped in paper and tied with a name tag.


Simple brown paper with hand drawn Calligraphy.


Personalised embroidered napkins double up as a great favour or party gift.


Simple paper doily with handwritten calligraphy. Simple, but effective.


A simple ball of string makes for a vintage and rustic style table decoration. Perfect for a summer garden party.


A ball of coloured wool makes an easy but brilliant table decoration!

Unusual Wedding Food – African Style Canapés

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Here at Vanilla in Allseasons we love to roll up our sleeves and try something new so we are always excited when our clients make unusual food requests for us to try.

It’s not often that we get to create African inspired menus but that is just what we have been asked to do for a fantastic wedding next year. These canapes will be exciting, unique and absolutely delicious!

We’ve knocked up these menu suggestions. What do you think?

African style Canapés
Hand Made Boerewors sausage with a BBQ dipping sauce
Chicken livers with a peri peri sauce on a croute
Mafeking Biltong (for guest to chew on)
Mini jerk chicken & Pineapple on skewers
Curried goat on a pancake
Sosaties, Marinated lamb with a spicy sauce

Rib Eye steak and chips
Yorkshire pudding with roast Buffalo
Croute of sun dried tomato, caramelized red onion & mozzarella cheese
Grilled squid with a pumpkin seed pesto
Roast sweet potato with a peanut sauce
Akara Fritters with a dipping sauce

The style of food you choose to serve at your event can be a great way to bring something different to your guests and express a bit of your own style and personality.

If you are hosting a wedding, party or special event and would like something a little different, feel free to contact us. We’d love to discuss your ideas.

Festive Party Food – Reasons to Bring in the Experts!

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The festive season is the perfect time to host a party. Bringing friends and family together to catch up, indulge, let their hair down and see the year out in style.

At this time of year, any party is all about the food and drink and ensuring guests are suitably well catered for can be a challenge.

If you are thinking of throwing a festive party, it is well worth considering a catering service. Here’s why…

Less Stress, more Fun!

You may be a whizz in the kitchen, you may have long lists of all the fabulous dishes you are going to prepare, but have you considered how much you may have to do on the day/week of the party?

Cleaning the house or preparing the venue, organising lifts, sorting out any sleeping arrangements for guests staying over, putting up decorations and planning your outfit are just a few of the things that will undoubtedly crop up. Do you want to add shopping and cooking for a large number of guests into that mix?

Remember, there is not a lot of point in throwing a fabulous party if you are not able to enjoy it. A stressed and snappy host is not a recipe for a fun event.

Instead, you could leave that side of things to the experts. Spend the day prepping the house and taking the inevitable party phone calls. Then, pour yourself a hot bath and a glass of fizz. Preen and prep, greet your guests with a serene smile and enjoy yourself!

Here at Vanilla in Allseasons, we cater for all manner of events and are able to meet almost any requirement when it comes to catering. We can cater for dinner parties, Jewish celebrations, large scale events and much, much more.

So, before you plan your perfect festive party, why not give us a call? We will be happy to discuss your ideas.

Thankyou

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Our line of work allows us to meet lots of fantastic people and have involvement in many events and occasions.

Sadly, these occasions are not always happy ones. When catering for a sensitive occasion such as a funeral, we take pride in ensuring our clients have nothing to worry about. Organising any event is stressful and when personal loss and sadness is a factor, worrying about whether your guests are hungry or looked after is the last thing you need.

The Vanilla in Allseasons team offer a freindly, discreet and fully comprehensive service. Today, we received a lovely thank you note from a client.

“My thanks, and that of my family, for doing such a great job yesterday. As always, your professionalism and that of your team, made such a difference to us – I knew absolutely that everything would go well and that all the food would be excellent. There were numerous compliments. If you ever need a reference or would like a testimonial, please don’t hesitate to ask

– Louise”

Thank you Louise. We are so glad that we were able to help in a small way during a difficult time.

Hot Caprese Dip

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On Friday nights, we love fresh crusty bread served with something dunky and dippy. This recipe is perfect for gatherings with friends or family. It’s dangerously delicious!

Take one large log of fresh mozzarella, cut it into cubes and add to a large, oven proof dish.

Take one pack of cherry tomatoes, cut each of them in half and mix them with the chopped cheese.

Take a handful of fresh basil, slice it into strips and sprinkle on top of the tomatoes.

Bake in a hot oven until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly.

Serve with fresh crusty bread – delicious!

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