Amuse Bouche
When did you set up Amuse Bouche?
Amuse Bouche was started in February 2007 by Paul Mortimer, using the 20+ years of experience gained from working in top hotels and restaurants across the region.
Tell us about your products/services
There are four main parts to our business-
1. Outside catering - from weddings and celebrations to dinner parties and tea parties.
2. Corporate catering - mobile units visiting offices and businesses in the New Forest, Waterside and Romsey /Chandlers ford areas. As well as buffets and general corporate catering.
3. Contract catering – running works restaurants and canteens, to vending facilities, mobile food units for staff or general refreshments for meetings.
4. Wholesale – sandwiches which are delivered to several sites within Hampshire and frozen desserts for hotels and restaurants that no longer have specialised pastry chefs; but still want to provide their customers with homemade top quality desserts.
Where does your inspiration come from for your menus?
Paul Mortimer our head chef draws his inspiration from the 20+ years spent working with top chefs in several of the areas top restaurants and hotels such as The Montague Arms in Beaulieu and the DeVere in Southampton. Paul has combined this experience with his own unique flare and style to create relatively simple sounding dishes that are packed with fantastic flavours.
What’s your speciality New Forest Marque dish?
Due to the repeated demand for this dish and the fantastic feedback it has received it would have to be Boudin of Partridge wrapped in Parma Ham with a Sun Dried Tomato and Wild Mushroom Sauce. This dish has proved extremely popular with many customers not least many game food connoisseurs.
What sets you apart from other catering companies in the New Forest?
We always aim to exceed our customer’s expectations of the service they will receive and the quality and flavours of food they will experience. From the feedback we have had we are definitely achieving that! Many events we cater for are in marquees or venues that are not ideally equipped to lay on a banquette without the need for a large outlay on the hiring in of equipment but we pride ourselves on our flexibility and our thinking outside of the box attitude to find ways we can create wonderful dishes that can still surprise and delight our customers and their guests whilst keeping to the strict budgets people are having to adhere to in these difficult times.
When and why did you join the Marque?
We joined the New Marque in January 2010, because although we have always used local suppliers where possible; being a member of the New Forest Marque is proof to our current and potential customers that we are actively encouraging the use of local suppliers. We feel this is of great benefit in the current climate where customers are becoming much more aware and interested in exactly what they are eating and its origins. We also feel that our customers recognise the brand as a sign of quality which very much fits in with our company ethos.
Any exciting plans for 2011?
Yes, we have recently increased the number of staff in the business ready for growth in many of the key areas of the business going forward, especially in the wholesale sandwich and dessert sales and the corporate catering. We are currently bidding for four tenders and have others that we will be bidding for this winter and into 2011.
To find out more about Amuse Bouche or to place an order call 07707950995 / 02380891122 or visit www.amusebouchecatering.co.uk