Here’s Brock practicing his high five 🖐️ for turkey, ahead of the big day.
He’s not allowed turkey, or pigs in blankets, but he thinks his pea sized amount of roast potato is an exciting treat and we’re not gonna spoil it for him!
Yes he’s allowed to sit at the table and yes that’s a stack of boxes containing things I should have sold/charity shopped/given away about 8 months ago.
This is a delayed post from yesterday for Day 24 of #apostadayforadvent
#soidog #rescuedog #rescuedogsofinstgram #spoilthemwhileyoucan #dogs4lyfe
#caterpillarcatering #yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering #shootcaterer #shootchef
One can hope…. 🤞
Merry Christmas HMRC - sorry it’s late! 😬😬
My letter to Santa for Day 20 of #apostadayforadvent
#selfemployed #andabusinessowner #apostadayforadvent #InOneHandOutTheOther
#caterpillarcatering #yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering #shootcaterer #shootchef
FAO those content creators that keep emailing to tell us our business will fail if we don’t copy the viral trends on TikTok:
Why do we have to follow a viral trend to promote our business? Is our 20+ years of experience not enough? I’ve cooked on super yachts all over the world; for lords, ladies, earls, MPs, dukes and duchesses in private estates; for VIPs/headliners at festivals and for actors/talent on film sets. But in order to succeed in this world we should really be copying irrelevant trends?!
Every day we get several emails saying they’ve snooped through our socials and they can see we’re trying our best, but it’s actually a bit sh*t. Pay them more than we pay ourselves and they’ll produce some generic AI-written crap and wang in some stock photos from Google.
Many are spam - one person told me they were responsible for generating millions of leads for Amazon and Disney Land Paris! Oh my, how flattering that you’d like to do the same for a micro company based in a small northern working class town 😂😂. But not all are spam.
We like a social media account that tells you about the people behind scenes, the trials and tribulations of working for yourself; how seemingly minor issues can cause a loss in wages for a day, a week, a month; the small wins; the lows. A small business owner doesn’t leave their work at the office at 5pm every day - it’s with them every waking moment. Before the start of every movie we try to watch, Mack has to ask if I need to talk about work first, cos he knows that 7 minutes into a film I’ll ask him if he thinks we should serve that butternut squash lasagne for that lunch on Tuesday 😂
We small businesses are just people trying to find our way in a corporate world that doesn’t suit us. We are passionate about what we do and just because we don’t have a million followers on some faceless social media app doesn’t mean that we’re failing.
Anyway, here’s a video
Day 17 (belated) of #apostadayforadvent: Foxon family Christmas do. There are too many of us now to wrangle into the same place at the same time, so there’s always a bit of a gathering at Mum’s before December gets too hectic.
Instructions from mum:
Bring warm clothes cos you’re staying in the garden no matter what.
Don’t get dressed up - you’ll probably return home grubbier than you left.
Doesn’t matter if you’ve just eaten - it’s a party - eat some more until you have to loosen the belt a little.
Don’t go back to the house empty handed - at least gather up some cups
She’s always been a fab host has Mum 😂
It was the usual chaos, although the kids have grown up now so there was less screaming and a lot more “that’s sigma”, and “no way, hot chocolate is so basic”. Pretty sure I heard a teenage grunt in response to offering them a drink but that might have come from the oldest who had been at a sleepover and had only had 3 minutes sleep so I’ll let her off.
We had hotdogs* wrapped in kitchen paper (no washing up), hot chocolate and mulled wine in flasks, discounted brownies and cupcakes with Easter decorations on the top because the Christmas ones hadn’t arrived. Presents were done Secret Santa style cos there are too many people to buy presents for now, plus we’re all skint (#cossielives innit). In a world where Christmas has become so extra, so unnecessary and so showy, this was a lovely wholesome, cheap, family fun day.
*Danger Dave - before you text me and accuse me of eating those floppy-out-of-a-tin things - they were proper sausages!
#NotABalloonArchInSight #feralkids #rentacrowd #familychristmascelebrations
#apostadayforadvent
#caterpillarcatering #yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering #shootcaterer #shootchef
🎶 Chestnuts (pumpkins) roasting on an open fire (a very hot Aga) 🎶.
Although the Aga was hot for but a few minutes as I needed to dry some woollen socks and open a kitchen window, so the temperature dropped to that used for making meringues or reviving orphaned lambs.
Agas: only good for sock drying and for providing a place for a dog to lie down thus creating a dangerous trip hazard.
Day 11 of #apostadayforadvent
#agalife #ItsJustADifferentWayOfCooking
#backstagehospitality #apostadayforadvent #festivalcatering #backstagefood#artistcatering #gigcatering #caterpillarcatering#yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering
July 2024: one of our salad bars in our backstage artist cafe @beat_herder
Day 9 of #apostadayforadvent
#backstagehospitality #apostadayforadvent #festivalcatering #backstagefood #beatherder #artistcatering #gigcatering #caterpillarcatering#yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering
Islay skies for day 8 of #apostadayforadvent as I complete my last Islay trip for 2024.
This trip was a bit of a whirlwind to be honest - I felt like I swept in late on Wednesday night after ferry cancellations and horrible motorway conditions, spun around that kitchen for a few days and swept back out again after breakfast this morning.
Storm WhatsHisFace brought the strongest winds I’ve ever experienced on Islay though the locals tell me that was just a mild breeze. And the weather certainly did not stop play as all the guests still braved the cold and rain to get out and have fun every day.
Thanks to Wendy, Niamh and Millie for being awesome housekeepers! It makes such a huge difference to me when there’s a good team up there; I’m excited to work with you all again in January ❤️ Gonna bring some limes for you to peel and also some of those huge lemons 🍋 you saw 😂
See you in about 3 weeks Islay. Thinking about buying a second home up there 😂 Dawn Jeffrey accountant - is a second home in Islay deductible for a private chef?!
Get the kettle on @macksimus - I’ll be home in about 8 hours. 🚘 ⛰️ 🛣️
#caterpillarcatering #yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering #shootcaterer #shootchef #islaylife #islay
When working in private houses, one must ensure to ALWAYS arrive at work 5 minutes early, to allow enough time for belly scratches and face licks*
(*dog licking my face, not the other way around)
Day 7 of #apostadayforadvent and it’s also #smallbusinesssaturday. We are a small business. In fact I think we’re a micro business or even smaller. Just the 2 of us with freelancers helping us at events. We certainly don’t have a transport department, marketing department, sales department, accounting department, HR team, like so many of our spam emailers seem to assume.
#supportlocal #shoplocal #smallbusinesssaturday #notasidehustle #legitimatesmallbusiness
#caterpillarcatering #yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering #shootcaterer #shootchef
Day 4 of #apostadayforadvent
Back on Islay for a shoot party and the directors’ meeting. Excited to meet the new housekeeping team tomorrow!
Horrible weather up here so I feel very lucky to be staying in a cosy cottage with a real fire!
#caterpillarcatering #yorkshirefood #privatechef #corporatecatering #filmtv #locationcatering #partycatering #eventscatering #islay #islayestate
Caterpillar Catering provides on-site catering to a variety of events including private dining, weddings, parties and festivals.
