Simple. We believe in providing a first-class, friendly and professional service, from start to finish. What does that mean?

Our food. Our suppliers. Our people.

Our Food

Wherever possible, we use local UK-produced food. We change our recipes in tune with the seasons and availability. Organic is preferable, but unfortunately it’s not always obtainable. But there’s no ‘one size fits all’ policy. You tell us what you want. And we’ll deliver it. Our menus cover everything from buffets to evening food, bespoke selections to afternoon teas, all-inclusive options to business snacks. And we’ll tailor it precisely to your needs and your occasion.

Our Suppliers

We source our food (and wines) from partners we’ve known for many years. Most are small, independent British companies that consistently offer first-class quality and great service.

Fish

Chris King supplies most of our fish. He’s local, he’s a sole trader and his produce comes fresh to us straight from the market. Passion For Food only uses sustainable fish, such as Cornish hand-dived scallops, turbot and John Dory from Looe, lemon sole and Elberry Cove mussels from Brixham. Our oysters come from the Helford Estuary in Falmouth, where the Truro Oyster Fishery is the last fleet in the world still working under sail. Our smoked haddock is from Finnan in Scotland. And our Salar salmon is from Loch Carnan in the Outer Hebrides.

Meat

Our meat is sourced from Aubrey Allen – voted by chefs as ‘Catering Butcher of the Year’ for the last seven years. He provides welfare-friendly veal and venison from the Balmoral Estate, as well as Scottish beef. Lamb is from Cornwall, where Anne Dennis raises free range produce from West Country herbed pastures. Free range pork and chicken are from Suffolk and the Cotswolds respectively.

Fruit and vegetables

For fruit and vegetables, we use renowned suppliers Mansfields. They buy locally, which makes fresh produce easier and more sustainable to serve to our customers. For example, our asparagus is grown at Wykham Park, Banbury and our strawberries come from nearby Medley Manor Farm in Oxford.

Cheeses

Passion for Food does not use cheeses readily available in supermarkets. We’ve found that our customers prefer locally-produced cheeses with a distinctive flavour such as the award-winning Oxford Blue – a creamy, semi-soft blue cheese produced and matured in a Stilton Dairy.  Then there’s Oxford Isis – a delicious, pungent cheese washed with honey mead. Or the local blue cheese, Ladies Slipper and ‘College White’, a very agreeable full fat soft cheese. And we should also mention ‘Little Wallop’ – an award-winning goat’s cheese made locally by ex-Blur musician Alex James.

Fine Wines

For 15 years, our excellent selection of wines has been supplied by the Oxford Wine Company. It is one of the largest independent wine companies in the UK, with a superb range of over 1500 wines and spirits. Like us, the company prefers to deal directly with small, high quality suppliers. Which means our customers enjoy a vast range of outstanding wines that you rarely find on the High Street, at attractively affordable prices.

Our People

Passion for Food is not a huge company. We’re a flexible, tight-knit team that’s totally committed to making your special occasion a complete success. Which means we’ll do all it takes to go that extra mile to make it even more memorable. We don’t do things to a set formula. Whatever the event, it’s your occasion, not ours. We work for you. It’s not the other way round. And we’ve got the team to do it.

Managing Director Philip Baker is an award-winning chef with over two decades of culinary and catering experience under his belt. He’s worked with some of Europe’s best chefs. He’s successfully run his own restaurant. He knows which venue will best meet your requirements. Just as importantly, he’s a very approachable guy who’ll listen to your needs and make it all happen on the day.

And there’s a strong team working with him. Passion for Food has 5 full-time staff and 70 others in support, including: highly qualified Head Chef James Kelleher; Head of Events Amanda Baker, who has many years experience in the hospitality industry; Events Administrator Ann Speirs, a specialist in finance and events; and catering manager Ruth Thomson, who brings a keen eye on attention to detail.

Are you looking for wedding catering, event catering, party catering or corporate catering? Passion for Food can help.