Pub Chef Opinion: 'Less is more' is the way forward for your food menu

The beauty of our location is we can offer something different — and guests love it. Wedding guests can wander round the duck pond, cricket pitch, thatched cottages and the village church, which are all on our doorstep, so large parties can take over the village.

Fortunately, the natives are friendly and enjoy a bit of banter, especially with the bridesmaids!

We cater for all walks of life, from hog roasts to haute cuisine, fine-dining to five-star picnics. Yes, it’s a bit hectic and tiring sorting out individual couples, but normally you can gauge what sort of thing they’d like.

Having a 14th-century thatched inn, a multi-beamed country lodge across the road and a couple of acres for marquees, tepees and big wheels, it certainly means we can rise to the challenges most wedding parties set us.

Having done the Great British Menu on BBC2 last year, representing the north-east in the finals of the ‘People’s Banquet’, we have managed to open up a massive audience that has seen what we can do. The same concept of ‘food for people to share’ is absolutely perfect for weddings.

From the programme, the now locally-famous ‘salmagundi’ is my northern version of the antipasti you see on the Continent — home and
locally-cured meats, smoked bits and bobs, pickles, relishes — it’s basically a very posh ploughman’s.

Everyone can nibble at it and all of the work is done beforehand — the same can be said of the main course of whole suckling pig with little pork pies, Scotch eggs and spare ribs, asparagus and York ham bundles. This makes for a great spectacle on the table, and service is a piece of cake (or pork), as guests serve themselves.

The concept of sharing platters is perfect for weddings, especially as it gets everyone talking, bringing people together. As the drinks start to flow, the noise levels rise and the partygoers actually do a lot of the work, leaving us to check the details and make sure that everyone is having an unforgettable day.

We seem to find the ‘less is more’ scenario works — the simpler the number of choices, the more straightforward the service, and the quicker everyone can get on and enjoy the party.