Northcote launches new catering service - with food straight from the Michelin-starred kitchen to your door
Food from a Michelin-starred kitchen could soon be the centre-piece of your next event, as Northcote launches a new outside catering arm.
Blooming Onion is an outside catering concept that provides the exceptional quality food for which Northcote is renowned, in a variety of external locations. It won’t offer just Northcote-style food, however, as the style of cuisine that Blooming Onion will serve will be very much driven by whatever is requested by the client.
“They will provide the criteria and we’ll provide the magic,” says chef patron-director Lisa Goodwin-Allen.
It is not the first time that Northcote has taken its catering talent offsite. For nearly 20 years, until 2019, the hotel was the corporate and match-day caterer for Blackburn Rovers Football Club at Ewood Park and has also operated Northcote at Home, providing bespoke dinner parties in a domestic setting.
Now, with an injection of investment from new owners Alf and Clare Ellis, the drive to create something bigger and available to a wider market has become a reality. Adopting the name Blooming Onion has been a key factor in ensuring that the new business will offer something for everyone and operate in a variety of locations.
“The name Northcote at Home put us in a box, meaning that it was very much about creating Northcote food in a home environment,” said Lisa. “With Blooming Onion, we will do anything from a barbecue to a canapé event, or something more elaborate, whether it is in the home, a corporate location or at another venue.”
The inspiration behind the Blooming Onion name reflects Lisa’s love of onions, one of her favourite ingredients, and is a nod to the northern roots of Northcote: “Bloomin’ ‘eck!” chips in Craig Bancroft, managing director.
Corporate and private
Blooming Onion opens the market up for a wide variety of clients, both corporate and private. The venture has already teamed up with a high level, blue-chip company, based close to Northcote, to undertake the catering for VIP clients involving buffets for 50 guests. A canapé reception for 100 covers has also taken place for Stratstone. Equally, private dinner parties, such as a birthday or anniversary celebration at a client’s home are catered for – something that Lisa’s team has extensive experience of organising.
Blooming Onion can operate in any location, it doesn’t even matter if there is no kitchen in place. “We have catered for an event held in a hangar where we had to take our own induction ovens and trestle tables,” said Lisa/ The base for dishes can be prepared in Northcote’s kitchen and then transported to the location using a newly acquired refrigerated van. “We have a very large kitchen at Northcote so we have all the space we need for preparation.”
No agency staff
All catering for Blooming Onion is undertaken by Lisa’s kitchen brigade. “The same quality of staff who cook our restaurant food prepare the food for every outside event,” said Craig. “We will not bring in agency staff and will grow the team at Northcote as the business expands.”
How much?
There is a minimum spend of £3,500 per event, which will cover events up to 50 or so miles from Northcote in Langho. Further afield, additional costs, such as overnight accommodation and transport, may have to be factored in. At this stage, nothing is off the menu. Lisa added: “We are open to enquiries for events of any size and in any location,” says Lisa. “We’re very ambitious and will deliver parties to the highest expectations, whether it is a style of food of your liking or something highly creative.”