Welcome to our new blog where we can't wait to keep you informed of our exciting new projects and upcoming events; thank you for joining us on this journey where we can share our expanding business and our own unique way of showing love through food.
Food memories are intrinsic to what guided me into the kitchen professionally, mainly those involving my late grandma, Joan Pattison. She was a woman of traditional, working class, Midlands upbringing who put food on the table as a duty, brimming with pride. When my interest in cooking developed past being her dutiful assistant and very eager taste tester, I remember her confusion at my excitement to experiment with new ingredients and combinations. I vividly remember cooking her a Baked Ziti for the first time but, having never eaten pasta, the dish was a mystery to her, missing the ever present meat gravy that formed the backbone of her dinners, it was then she uttered the now immortalised line which inspired our business name, “If it's not got gravy it's not a dinner and if it's not got custard it's not a pudding".
A term that has become common is for an establishment or chef to describe their cuisine as 'Modern British', and while this may mean little descriptively it speaks to a food culture that is rich and varied, a cuisine developed from a real cultural magpie, creating whole new versions of cuisines and dishes from around the world that have been adapted by our language of flavour. This melting pot has been the backdrop from which we have formulated and developed what Gravy & Custard Catering stands for and the dishes we choose to produce with love and passion. For us our style grows from a generosity of spirit , a desire to welcome people and express our care through our efforts and our vicarious pleasure at serving something we know is a labour of love. Restaurants have taught me technique and the tricks of the trade but the desire to please and welcome people to any table comes from my upbringing and the time spent hanging onto my grandma’s apron strings.
Food has always been an expression of love for me, a contribution to family life and how your effort can raise you above humble upbringings to feel like kings and queens round a table. We all eat as an act of survival, we can eat to entertain or to celebrate, but seeing the joy that my grandma derived from sharing the dishes she cooked and showing love through her cooking was and still is an inspiration today in every dish I cook.