About Us .

We are Kemp and Kemp Catering, national and local event caterers run by me, Karen, and my husband Richard.

From a standing start in 2010, we like to think that we have changed the face of wedding catering (we are modest like that!) and we are immensely proud that we’ve been voted, by our clients I might add, ‘Wedding Caterer of The Year’ for 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and NOW 2019 for the West Midlands, in The National Wedding Industry Awards.

In the early days as local caterers, we called ourselves ‘The Local Tart Company’ (cue much hilarity!) and made delicious tarts, sausage rolls and then homemade pates which we sold on farmers’ markets to great acclaim; I appeared on BBC ‘Midlands Today’, just click here to see me in action. Between 2007 and 2010 we sold 85,000 homemade savoury tarts and even took them to Central London. Now that’s a lot of tarts!

It was the reaction of our regular customers that made us think we could cater for people and out of that Kemp & Kemp Catering was born… and if you fancy a tart at your wedding, I can still produce them, and they will still ‘change your life’ as Richard used to say on the markets.

Food is the cornerstone of Kemp & Kemp Catering. I read cookbooks as if they are novels (current fave is Anna Jones’ ‘A Modern Way to Eat’), have tons of ideas and I love, love, love discussing them (& hearing yours). I then put together a menu to knock your socks off with the aim of having your guests talking about the wedding food for months afterwards.

I am inspired by lots of things, but mostly by chefs who bring out the best in simple ingredients and don’t over fuss the food. If you’ve ever eaten a really ripe tomato, warmed by the sun, drizzled with grassy green olive oil & sprinkled with salt crystals, you’ll know precisely what I mean! When not reading about food, talking about it, cooking it, or eating it, I am partial to a gin & tonic the size of Lake Geneva & a binge watch of ‘MasterChef’.

Event Caterers

Richard is my lovely husband, co- director, lover of an excel spreadsheet & project manager par excellence!

We recognise that for a wedding day to run seamlessly and look effortless takes a great deal of planning. Pitfalls need anticipating, situations need handling. Richard project manages your wedding with precision, creativity, and flair whilst I shop/cook/organise chefs/supervise/taste and pack.

Richard also runs the front of house side of the business. Each Kemp & Kemp wedding has a dedicated manager who, with their team, ensure that things run smoothly on the day & that our amazing food is served in tip top condition even if the speeches do over-run a bit (which they always do).

Richard was an archaeologist and when not spinning all the plates, likes nothing better than a Roman ruin or medieval church. He loves fiddling about in his cellar (he’s a clever D.I Y-er) and is partial to a Cadbury’s Turkish Delight.

Richard loves PR, just take a look at this: We appeared together on CNN to talk about how (and why) we founded Kemp & Kemp. Click here to watch the film (after a very annoying ad!). Admittedly one of us looks slightly bonkers, but it gave us great coverage!

We work with great chefs, the best in the business. Calm, cool, collected – these guys, along with me (chief taster) are supported by a small team of kitchen assistants, who create and present your wedding food.

It’s no mean feat cooking stunningly presented pink lamb from a catering tent high up in a field with no running water (or anything else) on top of a Derbyshire peak, but we LOVE it and consistently pull it off with great aplomb & to massive acclaim!

Great food needs great service. We have a team of fab front of house managers who have it all. They head up teams of energetic, smiley, efficient, and professional waiting staff who will make sure that we deliver you not only wonderful food, but also a memorable experience.

It makes us really happy that clients regularly comment on how great the staff were at their wedding in equal measure as the food!

As local caterers, we make everything ourselves and, wherever we can, use local suppliers & seasonal produce.

I don’t want asparagus in Winter, and I don’t want to be able to buy strawberries (mushy & tasteless) in January – do you? 

Our suppliers are wonderful. We have used them all since we started in business, and they give us great service!