If you need set / site catering, I could not recommend Forkandles more highly. Making the initial arrangements was effortless, and over the course of a three day rehearsal period Tara and her team prepared consistently delicious meals for a very hungry touring party that topped the scales at 116 musicians, crew and a BBC documentary team. They also transformed an otherwise un-remarkable parking-lot into an extraordinary "dining village" which swifly became much more than just a place to eat for the visiting musicians as well as for interested members of the local community. When the tour finished it was unanimously agreed that the catering in Machester was the best by far, and if it was possible to have taken Forkandles with us for the rest of the dates I would have done so without hesitation. Thanks Tara- you guys rocked it!
To whom it may concern.
I am a freelance Producer and Production Manager and have been recently working with 4 Creative at Channel 4.
I worked with Tara Merritt, when Forkandles provided the catering on a Channel 4 production, over 3 days in Liverpool, March 2013.
We had a very large crew and cast of around 600 and Tara and her team managed to provide wonderful food whilst always keeping a sense of humor.
We were working outside on continuous working days and experiencing very cold weather. Tara provided a selection of homemade hot snacks and meals including; sausage rolls, soups, risottos, hotpot with pickled red cabbage (a personal favorite), pasta dishes, which were all handed around to the crew at regular intervals throughout the day.
Tara was very hard working, professional, reliable and easy to deal with. I was very impressed with her attention to detail.
She also effortlessly led her large team to deal with the dead lines and timings, given by production and managed to cope with unforeseen additional numbers to cater for on the day, nothing was ever a problem.
I would definitely work with Tara again on any production I do in the North of England.
Your sincerely
Everyone enjoyed the food, which was exactly what was required, wholesome, hearty and very delicious. I know it was a tough one, but you were all charming and great to work with. I would certainly like to use Forkandles again!
Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year for us all.
Kind regards,
SUSAN
We used Forkandles for our wedding, and wouldn't hesitate in recommending
them to everyone else. Not only did they impeccably manage the
table-service and front-of-house, but they also cooked up some stunning
food. We had canapés to start, which received rave reviews, followed by
luxury fish and chips, which had the potential to go badly wrong (and
soggy!) Thankfully Tara and her crew are experts in mass catering, and
managed to produce over 170 crisp, delicious servings. It was a triumph,
and one of the high-points of a fantastic day.
Lucy Armitage, Freelance Producer for BBC Comedy
Thank you for your magnificent catering, all the way through our shoot. It's bloody lovely to be looked after so well, and on such chilly, manky, wintry days - specially for weirdo veggies like me. Forkandles rock.
With warm love and a crew and castful of happy stomachs,
Lucy X
Hi Tara,
I am writing to thank you for your efforts in providing the catering arrangements for the location filming of Still Open all Hours Series 4 in Doncaster. Your team served my cast and crew both promptly and efficiently and the food was always hot and presented well. Your daily menus made it very difficult to choose what to have on some days and feedback from the crew was very positive indeed.
I have no reservation in recommending you to others and look forward to working with you again in the near future.
Working with Tara and the Forkandles team was an absolute dream. They listened to exactly what we wanted from our catering and executed it flawlessly, with a thorough understanding of what working with TV companies entails. They were also constantly adaptable as timings and numbers changed last minute. In the set up Tara was flexible with pricing and logistics, working with us to find the best solution for the shoot. The food itself was often described by crew as the best they’d had on set, varied – apart from requests from the crew there wasn’t a meal repeated for the entire run – and all dietary requirements were catered to at the same standard as other meals. I can honestly say that for the entirety of our ten-week shoot I didn’t have to worry about catering once, which is pretty much unheard of in my experience. I would work with them again in a heartbeat, and urge everyone else to do the same!