By Request

Ahhhh The Great Bristish Summer!!!!

Quick!!, before it rains!!!

Just when we get used to hot balmy evenings, the orders for BBQs increase and like night follows day, the weather decides to behave like a stroppy teenager.Nice all day until we arrive to BBQ for dozens of hungry guests. But being from good cub scout stock, we are prepared – gazebos! – they cover us, and the food and the guests! Can I just point out we had no hand in the choice of music afterwards…. Agadoo is just not right no matter what type of occasion or how much has been drunk!

One of our upmarket barbeque menus;

Whole Fillets of Beef (carved)

Foiled Fruits of the Sea

Lamb Steaks With Rosemary

Pork Pita Pouches

Beansprout Salad 

Crunchy Green Salad With Blue Cheese Dressing 

Garlic Mushrooms

Grilled Herb Corn On The Cob, Hot Garlic Bread

Fresh Pineapple Pavlova

Individual Strawberry Flans

Free Samples Take Away Any Risk

We are confident in our food and our service. So confident we put our money where the clients mouth is, we provide free samples for the client to taste along the lines of what they plan to order. We recently did this for a company in South East Manchester and got the following email;

“Hi Carl,

Just wanted to let you know that every one really enjoyed the buffet and we will definitely be booking you in the future.

So that we can set you up on our accounts could we please have you bank details as you will be paid by BACS
Many thanks and kind regards Ashley. “

…..”hi Jo – how did the lunch go today?”

The event went really well overall and the catering was fantastic – the
choice and quality was great.  Most of the guests I spoke to commented
on how much they enjoyed lunch.

We have a head office based in town I mentioned to our Admin staff here your catering company.  I amsure, if you were prepared to bring in a small sample tray, we could consider using your services at Head Office.

Hope this helps – thanks again.

Kind regards.

Jo R

80 Delegates Pleased

Thank you so much for all your help, today, preparing the food for the external event.

It was all delicious, beautifully presented and thoroughly enjoyed by the delegates.

We’ll definitely use the company again.

Please send the invoice directly to me.

Many thanks

Jennie

(All our recommendations can be viewed on hard copy – with all the details so they can be checked)

….AND Another!!!

Dear Carl

I apologise for the delay in getting back to you after a very hectic Christmas at my house.

I would never have survived Sunday the 27th without your help doing the buffet for us, as you have catered for all our parties. They are always great but hectic.

So many thanks indeed for taking time out to provide a buffet on what should have been a rest day.

Payment as promised.

Wishing you good luck, good health, happiness and prosperity in 2010.

Sincerely

Margaret

A little Thanks Goes a Long Way

Hi Carl,

Many thanks for the excellent service and equally excellent food, everybody at my 50^th commented on how nice the buffet was and as you know very little was left.  This was the first time Sue and I have used a service like this and would not hesitate to use the same in the future, you can be sure if the opportunity presents itself we will recommend you to others.

Many thanks again

Kind Regards

Lloyd and Susan

“How would you like your eggs sir?? Oh in a field……!!!”

"...is it really still only 6.00 in the morning??!!!"

One of the things I love about my job at By Request is the variety. We recently had a phone call asking could we provide a breakfast service, I said we could. They then asked if we could do a hot breakfast, I said we could. They asked could we still do it if there we no cooking facilities available again I said we could. They then revealed their hand by asking could we do a hot cooked breakfast in the middle of a field, 80 miles away, set up ready to serve for 6.30 for a 100 guys ………..I said we could, and as you can see from the picture we did!!! Full English, tea, coffee, juice, cereals and fruit – all served in the Great British outdoors. So you can see how when the phone rings it can be a mixture of excitement, anticipation and a smidgen of apprehension!!

Bet Jamie Oliver doesn't unpack his own Transit!!!!

“Baby Its Cold Outside ……!!”

Despite some of our staff having to travel from West Yorkshire to get to work By Request has made it in every day which meant we were able to help a customer in distress.

A client we had catered for over 10 years ago had remembered our name and what a good service we offered when they sadly needed catering for a funeral, which with the holidays had to be organised at even shorter notice. The day went as well as these things can go, we received a lovely thank you note today an extract said ” thank you so much for providing such excellent food at very short notice again. We will certainly be recommending you again, you are a star. Kind regards H Harrington”. It wasn’t a large function, and it was made even more difficult in the current snowy conditions, but a simple warm word makes it all worthwhile.

By Request Rise To The Test

One of our bespoke canapes

We were contacted recently by the head office of a global finance company who were launching a large office in Manchester. They were looking for a catering company to provide the new office with catering, not just ANY catering but VERY distinct and up market fayre to wow visitors and match their image and place in the market. I was told it had taken them years to find just the right company in London “so they knew it was going to be difficult in Manchester!!!”. So they asked if we could do some exciting samples of breakfast food, some unusual but interesting offerings for a lunchtime meeting and something dashing in the way of a canape selection for cocktail events in the evening. They were going to “invite” several of the great and the good catering companies in Manchester to offer their wares and they would taste, photograph, discuss and decide who would get to become a supplier.

We weren’t able to do the samples on the allocated day at the allocated time because we were already committed to some of our current customers, so we said we appreciated the offer and it was with some regret but would have to decline on this occasion.

We thought that was that, a few weeks later we got another phone call from the same office in London saying they still hadn’t found anybody that matched their expectations and would we be able to do some samples at our convenience. We agreed on a date. We took in some items which we hoped they would like and left them to digest and cogitate. The result was the global financial company with a huge head office in London who took forever to find a caterer in London found one in Manchester with just two phone calls, we start mid January.

Canape

Interesting Feedback Over Christmas

Gingerly making my way up a snow and ice covered drive on Christmas Eve lunchtime, carrying a huge stack of crates full of freshly prepared food I was re thinking my choice in career!! Making my way eventually to the front door I pressed the bell to be greeted by the beaming smile of a middle aged gentlemen I had been communicating with via email – culminating in this meetings He was so pleased to see me, he didn’t think we would be bothered to struggle in to work in the bad weather to do his small function, he then thought if we made it to work we wouldn’t be able to deliver it, (and then the bit which prompted this post) – he couldn’t believe we didn’t charge a premium at Christmas. In fact we have no charges which penalise the time of day, the time of year or the size of the function. His smile made the function worth while.

It reminds me of the functions we have done in the past for famous sports people and TV personalities ………I know it sounds like name dropping, thats not why I mention it. It is just they too where shocked (isn’t overstating it) they we didn’t change our prices when we realised who we were catering for. We have one price list, it is designed so we make enough profit to stay in business and the customer excellent value for money …….no matter who they are!!