ONE of the major expenses of any wedding has to be the catering.

With some brides splashing out thousands to wine and dine their guests, choose a caterer they can put their trust in is essential.

One such company is Seasons, based in Ipswich, a catering firm that is popular both on the corporate and wedding scenes, being recommended by venues such as Priory Hall in Hadleigh, Glemham Hall, Otley Hall and Haughley Park Barns.

At the helm of the operation is accomplished chef James Clear, who began working in the hospitality industry at only 16, taking charge of his first kitchen at 19 at The White Hart in West Bergholt.

Following this, James worked at The Angel Inn in Nayland and eventually went on to become head chef of The Ship in Levington.

A desire to branch out on his own and be creative and flexible led James to create Seasons six years ago, opening Seasons Deli on Foxhall Road as a friendly face to the business.

Seasons can cater for anything from a small and intimate dinner, to a large buffet for 400 people. Whatever your tastes, your preferred style, or your special dietary requirements, James can individually tailor a menu that’s perfect for your occasion.

Specialities include hog roasts and barbecues, as well as impressive mirrored buffets bursting with colour and creativity – all using locally sourced produce where possible.

After meeting-up with James to discuss your needs and to be inspired with ideas, he can put together sample dishes for you to try before you take the plunge and make a booking.

Seasons is also able to provide cutlery, glasswear, linens of any colour, tables and chairs, and can even organise floral arrangements with top florist Kaye Souter where required as part of your bespoke package.

Other extras that can be arranged include chocolate fountains, a bar service (with two cocktail waiters available), string quartets and casino or race nights to bring a touch of fun to your big day.

To make your event run as smoothly as possible, James sets-up tables and makes preparations the day before your wedding, and his able and friendly staff aim to make the service of your food and drink as pleasant and memorable an experience as possible.

Find out more about Seasons Deli by calling 01473 222250, by visiting www.seasonsdeli.com, or by emailing seasonsdeli@aol.com

Menu examples

Canapes:

Mini fish and chips

Breaded lobster bites with chilli mayonnaise

Freshly baked cheese and onion puffs

Duck and truffle parfait with onion chutney

Starters:

Roasted vegetable, sundried tomato and mozzarella tart

Beetroot stained gravlax with cucumber linguine and a mustard and dill dressing

Tiger prawns in a soy, sesame and lemon marinade served on a noodle salad and hoi sin

Main courses:

Slow roasted lamb with chorizo and flageolet beans

Roasted pepper, courgette and aubergine towers stacked with mozzarella with a sweet pepper dressing

Oven-roasted Gressingham duck in an elderberry and balsamic sauce

Pan-fried seabass with ratatouille, potato cake and a champagne and saffron sauce.

Something different:

A barbecue with 100% beef burgers, king prawns in garlic butter, locally made sausages, steaks and more.

A hog roast with salads such as ceaser salad, fragrant rice and roasted pepper salad, crayfish tails in a lime and coriander marie rose sauce, and homemade coleslaw.

Desserts:

Marquise chocolate torte

Blackcurrant and Italian meringue tart

Vanilla pannacotta with liqueur cherries

Granny Smith apple mousse with honeycomb

Testimonials

Hi James and Mel,

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your hard work before, during and after our wedding day.  The service offered was impeccable.  It was a fantastic day and you and all your staff were simply brilliant, we couldn’t have hoped for better.  Rest assured that we will be recommending you to anyone and everyone!!

So many of our guests have commented on how lovely the food was and we’re only sorry we didn’t get to eat much of it ourselves, what with all the excitement of the day.  I wish we could go to another wedding catered by your team so we could enjoy it all again

Best Wishes

Mr and Mrs Tony Wildon

Hi James & Mel and team,

Apologies for taking so long to write, we only just returned from our honeymoon!

We wanted to say a huge thank you for your splendid effort to ensure our wedding day went smoothly as planned.

The whole end to end experience has been great for us – from the first phone call, to the menu tasting, to after the wedding was fantastic (and not to forget all the help with planning in between). We were extremely impressed by your enthusiasm and professionalism. Our guests were very impressed with the quality of the food and the friendly service from your team.

It has been a fantastic experience working with with you. Your knowledge and understanding in our requirements was reassuring and has certainly made this part of our wedding planning stress free!

Thank you again!

All the Best,

Kate & Benson

Hi James and Mel and Season’s Deli

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for making our wedding day go exactly how we intended, relaxed, chilled and without any hitches.

We asked for what I believe is unusual wedding food and serving style an informal BBQ and buffet for a 120 people and got a lot more, our guests ate from 4.oo pm all the way to 11.00 pm and they loved it. And best of all there was a little left over that we ate over the next two days, which we enjoyed massively.

Everybody from Seasons were happy smiley and very very helpful, we couldn’t have asked for anymore it was perfect, seriously perfect.

Finally James a big thank you for helping us with the menu and being patient with our last minute changes!

Thank you again

Rob & Kath