A very special request came to us from Alexander recently! He had reached out to us at the beginning of last month to ask for our help catering at an intimate St. Andrew’s Day party, which he had planned for his Scottish wife, Isla.
Understanding how important St. Andrew’s Day is for Scots, and knowing that his wife had sacrificed a lot to move to Yorkshire to be with him, and how much she missed home, Alexander was eager to show Isla how much he loves her by celebrating her culture and heritage with a surprise party! Hog Roast Illingworth was thrilled to help out with this event, and our catering manager, Jon, assisted the client in choosing a menu that worked for everyone’s needs.
Isla was completely in the dark about what her husband had spent weeks planning for her, and Hog Roast Illingworth’s discretion meant that she didn’t suspect a thing!
Come the day of the party, which actually took place a few days before St. Andrew’s Day due to the holiday falling mid-week, Alexander sent Isla out of the house for a few hours. As soon as she left, Hog Roast Illingworth arrived and began setting up our cooking equipment in the couple’s back garden. Meanwhile, Alexander decorated the whole house with saltires and blue and white balloons and covered the dining table with a tartan tablecloth.
Before Isla’s return, Hog Roast Illingworth worked tirelessly to prepare a luscious feast of spit-roasted rosemary and garlic-studded lamb with mint sauce and Yorkshire puddings, sided by buttered new potatoes, coleslaw and fresh salads. For appetisers, our crew whipped up our mini beer-battered fish and chips with tartare sauce, mini quiche and chicken liver parfait, which was followed by a smoked Scottish salmon starter with mustard, Atlantic prawns and avocado on fresh brown bread.
The guests arrived just as Hog Roast Illingworth was finishing up, and they were closely followed by Isla, who was in a complete state of shock. Her eyes welled when she saw the effort Alexander had gone to in order to give her a little piece of home, and she couldn’t thank him enough for being so thoughtful.
The celebrations kicked off, and Hog Roast Illingworth made sure that all of the guests were served promptly. Everyone loved the menu, which rounded off with our delicious sticky toffee pudding and dram of whisky from Isla’s collection.