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style & substance: box tree events

Rachel Hirst

THE COPYRIGHT OF THIS IMAGE IS HELD BY RICHARD MORAN. THEY ARE INTENDED AS SAMPLES OF WORK AND SHOULD NEVER BE RE- PRODUCED IN ANY MANNER (VISUAL REFERENCE ONLY)

Last week on the blog we were thrilled to share with you the fabulous wedding day of Michelle Hudson, events manager top catering company and Brides Up North Sponsor, Box Tree Events. Today we’re delighted to welcome her back to the blog to update us on Box Tree Events’ fabulous offering to wedding couples, whilst also giving us details of an exciting new venture.

So guys, if you’re looking to impress your guests with Michelin quality food and services, and indulge in some truly delicious culinary delights, then it’s time to pay attention. Over to you Michelle…

Images provided by Box Tree Events, by Steve Moran/ Bruce Rollinson.

White chocolate parfait, summer fruits. Box Tree, Ilkley. 26 July 2013. Picture Bruce Rollinson

Can you give us a little introduction to Box Tree Events?

michelle says:

We have been in the restaurant and catering industry for some 30 years; the Box Tree Restaurant has independently held a Michelin star for 15 of those years. We provided a wedding for one of our clients who felt they had never had the quality of service or food at a wedding before. This motivated us to explore this avenue and we decided that we wanted to bring Michelin quality and excellence of food service to the wedding industry and provide our clients with an exceptionally memorable occasion.

Which wedding venues is Box Tree Events the in-house caterer at?

We provide wedding catering at a variety of stunning venues around Yorkshire, including Denton Hall, Broughton Hall and Harewood House, to name a few! We also cater for smaller intimate celebrations in the beautiful Box Tree Restaurant itself.

THE COPYRIGHT OF THIS IMAGE IS HELD BY RICHARD MORAN. THEY ARE INTENDED AS SAMPLES OF WORK AND SHOULD NEVER BE RE- PRODUCED IN ANY MANNER (VISUAL REFERENCE ONLY)

Tell us about your outside catering service?

We can cater for larger marquee weddings as well as outside events and parties nation-wide. We have catered from many unusual structures, such as garages, utility rooms and barns, we can adapt to pretty much any surroundings!

What types of dining do you offer?

We offer a wide range of dining options, from canape receptions and formal fine dining meals, to hot and cold buffets, barbeques and afternoon teas.

What sets Box Tree Events apart from other catering companies?

We work very closely alongside the Box Tree Restaurant when training staff, creating menus and planning weddings. This enables us to deliver Michelin quality food and service at each of our weddings.

We are not just caterers we have evolved to offer the whole package, we can assist with all aspects of the day: invites, transport, accommodation, table centres, flowers, venue dressing, name cards, favors, toast master and entertainment.

Salmon ballontine, watercress puree, cavier & horseradish. Box Tree, Ilkley. 26 July 2013. Picture Bruce Rollinson

In your opinion how can a bride and groom’s choice of food help to enhance a wedding?

In our experience guests will always remember the food at a wedding so it is really important to get it right! When choosing Box Tree Events to cater for your wedding it ensures you have one less thing to worry about as you can be sure the food will be excellent.

What advice would you give to couples when choosing a catering company for their wedding?

Research is key when choosing your caterer, and look for reviews or testimonials as well as any regional or local awards they might have won. It is also a good idea when meeting your caterers to have a list of key questions you would like them to answer, some examples include:

  • Does the caterer supply linens and table wear?
  • How long does set-up take?
  • When does the catering service begin and end?
  • Who will be the ‘go-to’ person during the actual reception?
  • If you provide your own alcohol is there a corkage fee?
  • Does the caterer also arrange things such as centre pieces, decorations, music etc?
  • Who will cut the cake for the wedding guests and is there a cutting fee?
  • Can they supply food for the photographer, videographer and musicians/DJ?.

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And what advice would you give to couples when choosing the style of dining and type of food for their wedding?

Always check what is in season, if you have your heart set on a certain food always check if the produce is available around the same time of year as your wedding. Weather is another consideration, more so if you’re getting married abroad, when dining in August you probably would not want to order soup, stew and sticky toffee pudding.

THE COPYRIGHT OF THIS IMAGE IS HELD BY RICHARD MORAN. THEY ARE INTENDED AS SAMPLES OF WORK AND SHOULD NEVER BE RE- PRODUCED IN ANY MANNER (VISUAL REFERENCE ONLY)

Are there any notable trends in wedding food choices at the moment?

Buffets are on the way out and fine dining is on the way up, with food programs consuming nearly every channel on the TV, people are being more daring in the kitchen and more adventurous when dining out.

What style of dining/type of food would you suggest for couples wanting something a little different for their big day?

Instead of scraping the traditional three-course meal altogether and leaving guests hungry, I recommend having smaller courses but adding more; how about an amuse bouche, fish course or pre-dessert?  Maybe go for dishes that are a little more adventurous. If you are paying for a high-quality caterer, then let them show off their signature dishes

And what type of food would you suggest for autumn/winter and spring/summer weddings?

For winter weddings I would recommend hearty, luxurious food like loin of venison, creamed kale, stem ginger sauce, pomme Anna or marinated daube of beef, pomme puree, Bourgogne garnish. As for summer/spring weddings something lighter with fresh flavours, possibly braised shoulder of Yorkshire lamb, pomme puree, panache of baby vegetables, braising jus or cornish cod Viennese with sautéed spinach and grain mustard veloute.

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Are you noticing any particular trends in wedding drinks?

‘Pimp your prosecco’ has been super popular this year, creating Aperol Spritz, Bellinis and Kir Royals. The other trend is prosecco vans or street vans, like horse boxes transformed into champagne carts – they looks great!

What is the feedback like from couples who have used Box Tree Events for their wedding catering?

Here’s some feedback that has just dropped in:

“What a weekend! Thank you so, so, so much! I will send a proper thank you when we are back from honeymoon but I want to thank you both from the bottom of our hearts for all of the hard work, dedication and attention to detail you put into our wedding – from the millions of emails, to running a spectacular event for us and even helping out in a family crisis.

It was the best day of our lives and your experience, love and care was so invaluable to us. Our guests were blown away and we had so many compliments on the service and how smoothly everything ran.

Thank you so, so much for everything you did to make it so wonderful for us.”

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How can our readers find out more about your services/get in touch?

Our new website is now live www.boxtree-events.co.uk we also are constantly updating our social media platforms with pictures of our current work.

Any other exciting news to share?

Alongside Box Tree Events, myself and Rena, the owner, have set up a new company called Bridal P.A. – it’s a full wedding planning service. Rena and I have a combined experience of more than 40 years working within hospitality throughout Yorkshire. We have directed numerous high profile events with tremendous success while building a powerful reputation in the events industry, which has led to winning ‘National Finalist Best Events Team’ in the 2015 Wedding Industry Awards.

Bridal P.A. was born in 2015 and took off straight away. It’s a unique concept of being a bride’s personal assistant, working alongside the bride and her chosen suppliers, and enabling her to create and have the perfect wedding day. We restrict ourselves to just five clients a year, guaranteeing we can devote our time to our brides and grooms.

We have also created an A-Z Wedding Planner for brides planning their own wedding that want a good check list to keep them on track. The planner can be purchased from Etsy, and is instantly downloadable and printable.

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