Dietary Requirements
Allergies, Intolerances, Coeliac Disease and Dietary Requirements
We specialise in catering for dietary requirements, meaning you and your guests can eat safe in the knowledge that everyone has great food to eat and everyone is included.
With over 12 years personal experience and 11 years professional experience of cooking food that is "free-from" you can expect the highest standards when it comes to understanding, cooking and serving food.
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We combine our free-from expertise with our working experience of catering for events for 10 to 150 people, and you know you are in safe hands.
Samantha is coeliac, which means she is unable to eat gluten for medical reasons. Diagnosed in 2011 she was extremely ill. Food was the reason, and is also the cure.
It was the original reason for beginning a food business in 2012. At the time gluten-free options were limited and poor quality, and I set about cooking Gluten-free cakes which I sold through shops and cafes.
Fast forward and I learnt to cook milk free, egg free, sugar free, fat free…and more besides.
Ran market stalls, pop-up kitchens, cookery lessons, catering, community meals, and all sorts of fun projects.
All the time learning and evolving my cooking abilities. Adapting recipes both sweet and savoury. And making them so tasty and delicious, no one would know that they didn't have gluten. Or eggs. Or fat.. etc.
This understanding of the importance of omitting ingredients, stopping cross-contamination, and making food that is safe to eat, and also super delish, for people with dietary needs is at the heart of what we do.
Fresh & Healthy
The second pillar of the business is providing food that is mainly healthy and fresh. With a limit on Ultra Processed Foods.
This is from years of having to regain my own health after the damage caused by eating gluten. Learning how what I thought was healthy, really wasn't. And how many gluten free products are essentially junk food.
Ultra processed food is under scrutiny for its effects on our health. And the less we eat the better.
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Ultimately, real ingredients taste better!
So, we make a point to go fresh and handmade where-ever we can.
Most of the foods we supply are made from scratch. And if we don't make them. We find local and artisan suppliers that are at the top of their game.
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Dosa Love
Our first street food business, Dosa Love, which launched in 2018, goes from strength to strength.
Specifically designed to be inclusive and healthy, to cater for Gluten-Free and Plant-Based diets, be safe for coeliacs, vegans, and suitable for halal diets, and a range of other dietary needs. With everything inspired by Indian flavours.
Thyme and Season is a build on this. With flavours from around the world. Adapting dishes from Thailand, France, Italy and Jamaica to create street food dishes that taste amazing, are super quality, and cater for dietary requirements.
We create stunning buffets with the freshest ingredients, using Mediterranean herbs and spices, lots and lots of veggies and organic meat.
Focussing on quality and taste. Most dishes are naturally Gluten-Free and Plant-Based by default.
We do use allergens in the kitchen.
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But there are strict cross-contamination procedures across the board. It's so important to make sure our customers and their guests eat well and safely.
To back this up we have a 5* food hygiene rating for the last 11 years. With food safety training and allergen training to boot. Plus the personal experience and understanding of what it means to trust someone who is making your food to keep you safe and well.
Here's how we can cater for dietary requirements...
1 - Select from our existing menus
Many of our dishes are naturally gluten-free, milk free and egg-free as standard.
As well as omitting many other allergens. You are welcome to select dishes that fall in-to these categories.
We can supply dietary information in the form of recipes or an allergen matrix which we can email to you.
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Or we can speak on the phone and run through options for you.
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If you have dietary requirements that fall outside of the main 14 allergens we will need to speak to you first and collate suitable options.
3.Complete ‘Free-From’ Menu for all Guests
We can supply a full menu with chosen allergens omitted. So that all guests eat and enjoy the same food.
This option will cancel out the risk of cross-contamination on the day of your event.
This is ideal if you want a buffet where guests help themselves and you want to ensure that there is no risk involved for members of the party with dietary requirements.
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We can also do this for our street food, and other offerings.
The costing for the menu is based on the complexity of the dietary requirement, the number of total guests, along with the time to make the food etc.
2 - A Regular Menu + Seperate Dishes for Dietary Requirements
Within this we can cater for up to 2 people maximum per 60 guests, with a standard dietary requirement such as gluten-free, milk free, egg free, vegan at no extra cost.
For more guests than this there will be a surcharge depending on the number of guests and the menu items requested. This is due to the time it takes to make separate dishes in an allergen free environment, and the additional costs incurred with ‘free-from’ ingredients.
For more complex dietary requirements there will be a surcharge depending on the number of guests, range, or requirements.
With all surcharges we aim to be fair and reasonable. Costs are based on time for developing appropriate recipes, time making the food, seperate service where required, and ingredients costs.
We will be upfront about these costs in the original quote. If you receive dietary requirements after the initial quote we will factor these in and update the invoice accordingly.
With buffets, and options where guests help themselves, we will supply the ‘free-from’ options on separate plates/trays, clearly labelled, and covered over to prevent cross-contamination.
This option applies to our buffets, street-food, cakes and deliveries.
4. Not Sure What to Do?
If you aren't sure which option is right for you and your event, please get in touch and I will be happy to speak to you about your requirements, and what you want to acheive with your event.
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Our aim is to always make your life as simple as possible when it comes to planning and organising your event.
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Dealing with dietary requirements can be a big deal. It's our specialism so let us help you with the right information to make decisions, and make everything easy.