Middleware Catering
(9)
(9)
Middleware Catering is a home based, family run business, owned and operated by Mrs Viv Simmons. Viv is the mother of a large (by modern standards) family of six children and has always had to cater for any number of other children and adults.
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9 customer reviews
Rebecca Jane Postles
My family and I cannot thank Viv, and her lovely team, enough for the catering they provided to us. We were finally able to gather with friends and family to celebrate my late Mum’s life. It was always going to be an emotional day especially for my Dad and I. The support and care offered by Mrs Simmons and her team was above and beyond our highest expectations. Viv’s approach was seamless; the advice on our food selection to the delivery of the food, serving and clearing away. The team on the day were punctual, precise and discreet. Finally and most importantly the food was incredible! Not only in its taste but lovely presentation. The guests all praised the delicious the food. My mum was a fantastic cook and a wonderful hostess, Viv and her team emulated this perfectly and made a lovely day extra special for all of our guests. Thank you all and we hope that our paths will cross again for future celebrations. More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Kayleigh Schneid
Absolutely incredible food! So fresh and vibrant. They offered a good variety and listened to our needs and offered suggestions that really worked. All homemade, outstanding scones and Welsh cakes, they are like warm fluffy bits of heaven which I currently crave ALOT!!! Would highly recommend. Viv and her team are friendly & have great communication 💖. More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Anita Hicks
If you want food of the highest quality, home made with love, then you need Middleware catering. Very Professional, friendly and reasonable. You can tell that they love what they do! More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Rebekah Harrington
We ordered a buffet for our wedding and it was outstanding. From the advice on what to have to the delicious, fresh food and timely delivery on the day. I would definitely use them again and happily recommend to anyone. More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Rhi Simmons
Absolutely fantastic, excellent customer service, extremely efficient, the food was incredible, you can tell that a lot of love went into making it and it was all homemade, the guests adored the food and couldn’t stop complementing the caterers at middleware, a lot of welsh cake eaters that haven’t tasted ones like this before! ..would highly recommend for any event, you made a lot of people happy so thank you xx More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Suzanne Dobbins
Viv came back with a very easy to understand quote with a good variety of food and all at a good price. The comms between Viv and myself was really reassuring and encouraging as I don’t live in the area but wanted to make sure all went well for my dad. The actual food on the day was superb and plentiful. It was all delivered early in the morning so I did not have to worry about any delays that might arise later in the day. All of this really helped what was an emotional day run that little bit smoother. Huge thanks to everyone at Middleware Catering. More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Martin Brunning
With all the recent lockdowns and stuff businesses are having to go through right now its a very great pleasure to be able to post about a good mate of mines business. Craig is a wonderful chap and a superb chef who produces lots of truly delish foods, if you need anything in the catering department no matter how large or small the order I cannot recommend him highly enough. 👍🏻👍🏻 More...
Reviewed on Facebook
Ingrid
Viv catered for my birthday party at home recently. The food was delicious and we all enjoyed the flavours and presentation of the cold buffet. The white choc and raspberry cheesecake was just the best! The delivery service was very professional and the overall value very good. It made the party more relaxed and enjoyable without me having to cook as I have done previously. I would use Middleware again and would recommend them if if you want tasty home cooked food. More...
Reply from Middleware Catering
Thank you so much for taking the time to review our recent work for you and for the kind comments. You of course found us via some other route but I hope your review will encourage Bark readers to consider using our services.
RosieL-10
We recently used Middleware Catering for a corporate meeting and everybody who attended commented on the freshness and quality of the food provided on the day. There was a huge range of different foods and it was clear everything was homemade by its taste. The desserts in particular were most talked about, with the mango and passion fruit cheesecake being the highlight of the day.Not only was the quality of the food fantastic, but the value for money we felt we got in addition to Viv's flexibility with menu and number changes in the lead up to the event all contributed to the service we received from Middleware.We would love to use Middleware again in the future if we are local to the area again and would highly recommend to others. More...
Reviewed on Yell
What’s your signature dish?
I thought about this for some time and decided that there is no use suggesting a signature dish when there is not one that I can point to. As my right-hand curry maker advised, our most popular hot dish by far is the chicken and sweet potato curry and among our sweets, the white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake. The one that gave our servers the biggest smile was the barbequed whole shoulder of lamb served with carving knife and fork on a slate serving platter: every time they put one on the table, the wedding guests went, "Wow!" They also enjoyed eating the meal, of course. My husbands favourite sweet that we do is the hot chocolate marshmallow fudge cake, served with double cream. He says it is something to do with the hot and cold and variable textures.
I also love it when a client askes for a cold buffet and decides to have some open rolls. Craig is an artist and the open rolls always lift a cold buffet to a different level. We've included some of these in the pictures for you.
How do you go about creating the perfect menu for your clients?
We prefer to work very closely with our clients, so that we have a clear idea of their needs. We establish the nature of their event and whether they need a hot or cold buffet, with formal sit down or standing/lounge style as this influences what we would initially suggest. Based on their numbers and outline, we will then prepare an initial estimate for them to consider. Once they have reviewed the estimate, we have a further conversation by 'phone or email and make changes to suit those further discussions. We can take this through a number of iterative changes until the client is entirely happy and they have a clear idea over what we will be delivering on the day.
What do you love most about your job?
What really gives us a buzz is when we are at an event and the guests want to talk to us and comment on what they have enjoyed about our meals. They are at the event not to spend time with us, so when they come along and engage us and want to know more about us, we know we have hit the spot.
What inspired you to start your own business?
I have a wonderful family of 6 children and have been married to the same man and father of those children for nearly 45 years. As a result, I have always had to cater for lots of people, with various tastes from school friends at parties to events for the wider family. I found myself doing a series of meals for a weekly event with a friend who subsequently asked if I could cater formally for the business she worked for. I agreed to give it a go and have not looked back since. I really enjoy what I do and the pleasure the business gives to other people. Initially, this was a single handed business but has grown over the years and I now have 5 people working for me on variable hours to suit their own life-styles. Three of my daughters work on a part-time basis, dovetailing in with other things they do. I also have one of my sons-in-law as my right-hand man and ace curry-maker.
Why should our clients choose you?
We would like you to consider us as we believe we offer a service bespoke especially for you, to our exacting standards of quality and service. Often people looking for service via the Bark website will be taking a bit of a leap of faith in who they choose and currently, you will find one review but we can also point you to: https://www.yell.com/biz/middleware-catering-carmarthen-6025800/ As a business, we weathered the economic downturn and we did this because we have a customer base of regular event organisers who return to time after time. Our reputation is built on our service and you will find comments about us on here, on our Facebook page, Yell.com and Google.
