South Norfolk and the Waveney valley are closer to us than most of Essex. Diss is twenty-five minutes from our kitchen at Mickfield, and we cater across the south of the county through the season.

Marquee weddings

Norfolk has a great deal of farmland and not enough venues with kitchens, which is a fair description of our best work. We bring the whole kitchen: gas ovens and burners, our refrigerated van, our own water, wash-up and waste. A field with nothing in it is the normal starting point, not a complication.

See marquee wedding catering.

Where we are strongest

The south of the county: Diss, Harleston, Bungay and the Waveney valley, out towards Wymondham and Attleborough.

We will travel further north, but we would rather say plainly where we are strongest than claim the whole county and let somebody down. If you are on the coast, ask — the answer depends on the date and the job.

The food

Game in the autumn — pheasant, partridge and venison — cooked as food rather than as a trophy, which matters more in Norfolk than anywhere else we work. Red Poll beef, English asparagus in May, and a full vegan menu for the weddings that want one. We also cater shoot lunches across the county through the winter.

The drive, and what it changes

We cook at Mickfield, near Stowmarket. Norwich is about forty minutes; the north Norfolk coast is a longer run and we plan for it rather than pretending otherwise. On a coastal wedding we will usually be on site the day before, because arriving at eight in the morning having driven two hours is how mistakes get made.

The recce is not optional for a Norfolk field. Somebody who has stood in it is the person who builds the kitchen in it.

What a Norfolk venue usually means for the catering

The big estates. Handsome, listed, and often with rules about what can be run where. Generators frequently have to sit further from the marquee than anyone would like, which is a cable run somebody has to have thought about in advance.

The coast. Wind, and then more wind. It decides whether canapés can be served outside, whether the marquee sides stay up, and how a barbecue behaves. We plan two versions of the drinks reception on a coastal site and pick one on the morning.

The Broads and the river valleys. Beautiful, low-lying, and soft underfoot after rain. Vehicle access is the question, not the view.

Three questions worth asking a Norfolk venue

1. What is the power supply, in amps, and where does it physically come out? On an estate the distance from the socket to the marquee matters as much as the rating.
2. What is the wet-weather plan, and has it been used? Not whether one exists — whether anyone has run it.
3. How late can we make noise, and does that include the kitchen? Breakdown is not silent, and some estates are stricter than the couple realise.

If you have a Norfolk venue in mind and want a straight answer about catering there, ask before you sign — see marquee wedding catering for what we bring to a field, or what is included and how booking works.

Menus

The six wedding menus, all cooked on site wherever the day is:

• Canapé menus
• Wedding breakfast menus
• Sharing and feasting menus
• Barbecue and summer menus
• Evening and street food menus
• Vegan and vegetarian menus

Or see all six together, and buffets and sharing tables if you are not planning a seated meal.

What we bring to a Norfolk site

For a marquee or a house with no catering facilities we bring the whole kitchen — ovens, burners, hot holding, refrigeration and our own power. What we need back is somewhere firm to stand it, access that works in the conditions on the day, and honest information about water.

On an estate the distance from the power supply to the marquee matters as much as its rating, and it is the single thing most often not known until we ask. Finding out at the recce costs nothing; finding out on the Friday costs a generator hire.

The seasons here

The Norfolk summer is the obvious one and the coast is at its best in June and July, though it is also when the wind is least predictable. Late summer into September is the sweet spot — warm ground, better light, and venues rather easier to get.

Autumn and winter suit this county unusually well. Big houses look better in low light than in glare, and the food that suits a cold day — braises, game, proper puddings — is more interesting than anything we cook in July. See sharing and feasting menus.

Beyond weddings

Norfolk is a shooting county and a good share of our winter work here is shoot lunches and elevenses rather than weddings. We also cater private parties, milestone birthdays and wakes across the county, and the same field-kitchen thinking applies to all of them.