Wedding Caterers on the NSW South Coast

Jo from Garnish is a well known and best loved wedding caterers on the NSW South Coast. In this new series, Brendan owner of Seacliff House talks to a series of wedding suppliers.

Wedding Catering on the NSW South Coast

If you’re having a South Coast Wedding, book your favourite early – up to 18 months in advance
Make sure your caterer is familiar with the Wedding venue you’ve chosen
We’ve said it before, consider a winter wedding or a mid-weeker to have the pick of the wedding suppliers
Shared Banquets or a grazing table is a popular new way of feeding at weddings where your guests will get to socialise and never go hungry
Ask your suppliers to give you a fully itemised quote (or get them to list any exclusions) so there are no nasty budget surprises

Introduction to Garnish Catering

Brendan: I’m here with Jo from Garnish Catering. Is it Garnish Creative Catering?

Jo: It’s actually Garnish Creative Catering but I tend to say Garnish Catering. It’s a lot quicker.

Brendan: Even just Garnish. People in the industry just know you as Jo from Garnish.Jo: exactly right. I don’t need to shorten it anymore.

Brendan: How long have you been doing catering for and specifically catering for weddings?

Jo: Probably as my own business 10 years but I’ve been working a lot further than that. Five years before that I used to work for other venues and then started my own business five years into it. About 10 years for Garnish I should say.

I was working for another venue and that sort of reached its natural end and you thought you know what? I could just do this for myself for different people. It’s funny how life works. Things fall into place. It all comes down to with me many years ago my mother asked me, they always have a function and I said I’ll cater it. I have always cooked since I was tiny. I did canape job for about 60 people for them. A lady came up to me and said, would you cater my son’s wedding? I thought, she had a big bucket of red wine in her hand at that time so I didn’t actually think that she really was serious but I got a phone call a week later from the bride saying we have to have you. I’ve been told you’re the best. She’s very nice to call. Next thing to know this wedding that was supposed to be a hundred people ended up being 240. That was my first ever catering job at Garnish. That is how it started.

When I did it, a venue, someone who used to own a venue was one of the guests. A few days later called me and said, could you come work for us catering at our venue. That is how it all started. It’s just funny how things happen sometimes.

Brendan: Fast forward through to today, how many gigs or wedding gigs would you be doing each year?

Jo: We counted last financial year we had 92. A lot. I don’t want to do any more than that. I don’t do any more than two weddings at a time on a night. Two is my top weight. We’ve had a few three but that is when the bridge and groom knew that is going to be the third one. I wouldn’t do it unless I thought we could do it well. They would want to have us which was wonderful again. More and more like we had a wedding last week on a Tuesday. Those things are happening and things are changing a lot. Now mid-week weddings are becoming popular. That 92 could go up.

Brendan: That is the thing if you’re having a mid-week wedding. That is what we say to a lot of our people that are considering Seacliff House for their wedding venue that if you’ve got some flexibility it’s really great because you get the peak of the suppliers, prices are generally a bit cheaper for the venue at least. It seems to be a growing trend.

Jo: We like it. We’re just getting used to it ourselves because Tuesday, Wednesday felt like Sunday but we’re getting there. We like it. It does change the way we work during the week but we normally start prepping on a Wednesday for the weekend. That just changes it. We enjoyed it. It was great. I think it’s going to happen more and more. I’m fully supportive of it.Brendan: do you generally specialise on, work mainly on the South Coast on New South Wales or do you work all over the place?

Jo: No, South Coast of New South Wales. We’re up in Sydney last week. We do do Sydney every now and then. It’s a different event. We catered for Hello May magazine. It was a big function. We have done that for the last four years. We drove up for that which was great. If it was just me I’ll go sure but when you’re carting probably 10 people with you and or the food we don’t want to go too far

GARNISH ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR WEDDING CATERERS ON THE NSW SOUTH COAST

Brendan: You’ve got a bit of a reputation as the caterer to have.

Jo: Oh my God, thank you. I think the reason is I’m a firm believer that you surround yourself with lovely suppliers.You’ve got to like your supplier and I love the couples that we deal with and I secretly think we’re all getting married with them. I love it. People always say to me all the time, you only do weddings. It’s not because people don’t like the odd birthday party or something like that but I enjoy weddings and I love to fit…surround yourself with people that you like and also people who really want the best for you. While we’re the caterer we do tend to find ourselves doing a bit of everything. We are probably there the longest on the day too. You tend to find yourself doing little odds and ends of things that aren’t really catering related but it’s not about that. It’s about making sure that everyone has a really good day. The ultimate compliment for us is when we get someone who is a guest at the wedding that we catered that want us to cater their wedding. That is my ultimate compliment. If we can get those I’m stoked.

Brendan: It’s like a viral loop.

Jo: Exactly. That is always the plan. That has been happening a lot which is wonderful. We’re doing the right thing. My staff, I surround myself, this is our social life. On Fridays and Saturday night I’m with a bunch of people so I want to enjoy it as well. I surround myself with happy, enthusiastic people who also secretly think they’re getting married as well. If you can get a group of enthusiasts I can’t teach them enthusiasm. I can teach them how to carry three plates but I can’t teach cherry, happy people. That is what I surround myself because as I said it’s my social life. That is pretty much it.

Brendan: It sounds like it’s almost like one big happy family in a way.

Jo: We have a very family environment. My staff, one of my girls who has worked for me for eight years she’s getting married in two weeks’ time. We are catering her wedding and we are so excited because we have become family. We see each other sometimes more than we see our own families on a really busy week. You have to surround yourself with wonderful people that want the best for Garnish and are proud to be part of the team. They stay for a very long time which is great. Someone said we have to work for a living you’ve got to enjoy it.

WORK AT SEACLIFF HOUSE

Brendan: Now you’ve done quite a few gigs up Seacliff House now. How far in advance do the people need to book to get you?

Brendan: We don’t even have October 2020 off the load so you must be doing something right.

Jo: I’ve just said to people I just feel that maybe a year out, maybe even 18 months out I can think that prior ahead but I always said to people by the end of 2020 I really haven’t made my bookings yet. Let’s wait six months and then we’ll revisit. I can’t think just far ahead just to be honest.

Brendan: That makes sense. Why do you think the South Coast has become so popular as a place to get married?

Jo: Most of my clients are all from Sydney. A large chunk of them are from Sydney. I think the beauty of it is it’s a weekend away. Ultimately when I got married 16 years ago, my parents live on the South Coast and we got married on their property. I’ve always thought why did we do that and largely it was because it was the weekend. It’s not at a reception place where you’re in and out. I always say to the bride your wedding day will fly. it goes so incredibly fast and I’m in the batch when I got married, some of the most fondest memories I had was it was the night before, on a Friday just family and my bridal party just eating takeaway and then on Sunday to regroup sitting around and just hanging back and talking about the day that was before. It’s a nice way to spend some time with family and friends. If you can get three days out of it rather than reception you’re n 5:30, 6 o’clock and then you’re out by 11:30.

Brendan: It’s a longer celebration.

Jo: I agree. This is what happens with Seacliff as a perfect example. I have worked at reception places before and I can tell you every single wedding is exactly the same. While places like Seacliff you can put your own stamp on it and you can do your wedding in a way that you want to do it rather than being told by reception places how it’s going to happen. It’s a big stock standard. You can put little quirky things that mean something to you which is I think wonderful and instead have three days to do it. It’s far more enjoyable I think plus the South Coast is God’s country isn’t it?

Brendan: I reckon.

Jo: I’m not moving. I’m down here for good. I told my husband we’re never moving. I absolutely love it. It’s my favorite place in the world. It’s a just a nice weekend. You’re surprised how many guests of brides and grooms who have never been down to the South Coast to go I love this place. I’m coming back.

Brendan: Definitely with the roads being upgraded over the last few years and I’ve been a really easy two hour drive from Sydney. I think a lot of people are discovering it and going wow, absolutely beautiful. It’s so different from the city. I can breathe.

Jo: It’s nothing and the beauty down here too, the accommodation you can go for cheaper accommodation or you can go and have extensive accommodation. You can do whatever you want. You can like whatever you want out of that weekend if you’re a guest at the wedding. I love people coming down on the Friday night and why not make a weekend of it.

OTHER NSW SOUTH COAST WEDDING VENUES

Brendan: Just talking about venues what are some of your other favorite in terms of I know Seacliff we’re booked out now solidly 18 months out ahead coming up. Just to give people some options as to if they’ve got you as a caterer what other venues do you love working at?

Brendan: I was going to say what about your next door neighbour!

Jo: I can actually see Willow Farm from my commercial kitchen. I’ve always said, there’s a big party going on. I haven’t been invited. I’ll know about it because I’ll be able to see it. That is very much Berry country so there’s the feel about it. The beauty of all the venues down this area, they all give something different which is wonderful. It gives people choice. I’m all for choice. As you say you’re booked up for the next 18 months. I don’t mind having competitors, unique competitors. I want bride and groom to be happy with their decision and have a bit of range of people to choose from. It worked for everybody.

WEDDING CATERING TRENDS

Brendan: Give us some on what are some of the trends now with catering at weddings. It used to be the chicken or fish or fish or beef.

Jo: Chicken and beef for a while it was ultimately drop. That was the only way you went and you always got the part of food that you didn’t want and then the negotiations started. That is how we did it. That was the only option. You either had that or you had the buffet and you go with your plate, your knife and fork. You might as well be in the army and you walk along down the line and pick things. That was the only things you had 15 odd years ago. Now it’s probably shared banquets is the most popular form of menu. What groups of food get put down in your guests table and they eat from their seat. It’s cheaper than ultimately drop but you get more food which is weird. The reason is each platter of food can feed about eight people. I don’t need as much staff because we’re not having to do individual plates going out but the beauty of it is you get more food because at a shared banquet style of menu people at more. You go to a restaurant for 160 to 180 grams of protein for food on your plate but for a shared banquet we factor in about 300 to 350 grams of protein per person.

Brendan: You’re definitely not going to go hungry.

Jo: You’re not going to go hungry. That is another thing. As a caterer we’ve got an extremely important job. You ask anyone that goes to a wedding, you ask how was the wedding one of the first things they talk about is the food. They talk about whether they walked away and had to go through a drive through on the way home or whether the food was good or whether the bar ran out. They don’t want the bar running out. Who does? Those sort of things are important. We take it very seriously. We don’t know how much people can eat so we just assume that everyone can eat a lot and they tend to at a wedding. I’d rather put a lot of food. Make it look big on the platter so that when it gets put down in front of everybody they go I’m not going to go away hungry. Also know that it’s back up in the kitchen because there’s eight people that are getting five groups of platters. Each group of eight are very different. There might be one group of eight that you put lamb in front of them and they like lamb like no one’s business. My staff know to say we’ve got more lamb in the back. Would you like some more?

Personally for me I prefer shared banquet. I love canape weddings. They’re one of my favorite things to do but they’re not as popular as I would like them to be probably one in 20 of our weddings is canape. I think largely because we’ve all been to those weddings where you walk away hungry. It has been quite common but I do believe if you serve enough food and give people enough variety canape weddings are a go. They’re great. If I had my way canape any day of the week. it’s a great day to serve lots of different food to people and then shared banquets. Then the number one thing probably at the moment is grazing tables. Rather than having canapes right after the ceremony grazing tables are the big thing. I’m a firm believer. If you know your guest grazing table is go.

Brendan: With those grazing tables does that mean that people have designated places to sit or is it more that they grab a plate of food and mingle?

Jo: Basically all we need is a table so you guys put a table wherever you want to put it. We dish and calmly place some wooden forks and all that good stuff on the table and we’ll keep replenishing so your guests can go back to the table at many times as they want. It’s usually that period right after the ceremony. It’s usually like a two hour gap between the ceremony and then people sitting down. In that two hour gap usually bride and the groom, the bridal party are off getting photos. You’ve got to give them something to do. They can eat from the grazing table and drink from the bar. They can go up to that grazing table as many times as they like.

Brendan: Were you at that wedding recently at Seacliff where the bride and groom disappeared for three hours. There was no food and there was an open bar. It got a little bit messy.

Jo: As part of my package when people ask me the quote and even if they just say shared banquet I always include you can either have a choice of canape or grazing table. It’s an absolute have to have because you’ve got to give them as I call them focus. You’ve got to give people food. It’s normally two to two and half hours. If the bride and groom ask us to we’re happy to do I call them the grazing table roadie where we do a platter of food that they can, a basket of food or something like that that they can take with them. That works but you’ve got to give them food. Open bar and no food is just disaster waiting to happen.

Brendan: If people want to find out a little bit more about you Jo, where can they find you?

Jo: On to my website which is GarnishCatering.com.au. There’s a little bit about me. My photo looks a little bit younger but I’m not putting it down. I’ll never take that down and change it but there’s a lot about me, a lot of menus. I don’t do prices on the menu because I go by from wedding to wedding. Anyone is happy to send me an email through my contacts page I’m more than happy to send them a quote.

Brendan: Just to give people an idea you would say I’m having a hundred people at my wedding. What would you recommend? Then based on that you’ll give people some options.

Jo: I do quote based on everything. My quote I include staff, I include the hours because we’ve done this long enough now. I can figure out how long we’re going to be there for including everything and I just know that a wedding is the biggest party you’ve ever got to organise. Everyone has a budget and they want to know where they’re at. With us they can figure what they know exactly how much they’re going to cost. If I decide to add a staff member, I’ll always give someone exactly what I said what I was going to give them but I decide to add a staff member it doesn’t affect the price. I just add a staff member.

Other caterers say it’s X amount of dollars plus staff but to me, I don’t know what plus stuff means. If I was a couple I would just want to know this is how much the caterer is going to cost me. I don’t want to include on there if it’s anything that we are going to supply like we supply platters for shared banquets and you supply the serving utensils for the platters I write that down in the quote so they know exactly what we need and also how much we’re going to cost.

Brendan: Thanks Jo. Thank you for your time.

Jo: Thanks Brendan. See you. Bye.

Brendan: Bye. If you would like more information on hiring Seacliff, visit here.