Thursday 26 July 2012

Working with SeeSaw


Recently, we offered to help a local charity, SeeSaw, with their annual canape and drinks reception, being held in the grounds of one of the beautiful Oxford colleges.  To give you a little more information about the charity, here's what they have to say:

"Oxfordshire children’s charity SeeSaw has been called “The great little charity with the big heart”. SeeSaw supports young people who may be struggling to come to terms with the death of a mum, dad, sister or brother.

About a third of bereaved children can experience severe difficulties and need extra help.  Without expert support at this critical time, these children can face emotional problems in later life.

SeeSaw’s aim is to give bereaved children in difficulty the support they need, so that they can move forward and face the future with hope. 

Because volunteers give their time for nothing and several members of the small core staff are part time, the cost of providing this service are kept to a minimum. 

This means that for just under £300,000 a year SeeSaw is able to provide a comprehensive service to the whole of Oxfordshire, offering advice and support to families, advice and training to professionals, literature and resources and dedicated, tailored grief support for children.

SeeSaw is a charity and relies on donations from the local community, the corporate sector and charitable bodies in order keep its vital service going.   SeeSaw has helped over 2500 children since the year 2000."


As I lost my own mum when only five years old, this cause is close to my heart, and so we were really pleased to be able to help SeeSaw thank their donors, patrons and volunteers.  We supplied a range of canapes, including gingered chicken cakes with coriander, lime mayonnaise and mango, tiny parmesan shortbreads with feta cheese and roast cherry tomato, griddled scallops on a croute base with sweet chilli sauce and creme fraiche, artichoke & gorgonzola foccacine, mini burgers with pickles and ketchup, and mini fish and chips in bamboo cones!  To round off the evening, we offered sticky orange and almond cakes with greek yoghurt and pomegranate seeds and cherry frangipane tartlets.


We were lucky with the weather, and the rain held off long enough for the guests to enjoy the garden of the President of the college.  There was beautiful harp music to accompany the bubbly and nibbles, and everyone seemed to have a relaxing time.


Sometime after we'd offered to cater for the party, Jane remarked that they had a rather special patron who would be attending the event.  And so we found ourselves catering for a 2-Michelin starred chef - none other than Raymond Blanc!  Raymond very generously agreed to have his photograph taken with the staff, and was friendly and funny, joking that chef wasn't generous enough with the chips in his canapes!  It was certainly a night to remember!



Tuesday 24 July 2012

80th Birthday Celebrations


"Tim and I had a wonderful week-end of celebration.  The support you gave us was fantastic.  Nothing appeared to be too much trouble and any problem was anticipated and rapidly sorted.  Your staff were all very helpful and capable and our grandchildren loved being trained as servers.  The food prepared by Patrick was perfect for the occasion - delicious,  well presented and just the right amount for Golden Oldies.  We have received so many glowing comments from our guests about our Caterers,  they were obviously impressed. 

Thank you both very much for making our Party week-end so successful.   We will be recommending you locally for events large and small as your service and attention to detail were outstanding.   If any potential clients would like a reference, please refer them to us by e.mail or telephone.

Best wishes
Tim and Helen Woods Ballard."