About

Welcome to Food Love

Food Love is an innovative catering venture by Keith and Hilary Barlow, with Keith being the chef behind Food Love’s twist on outside catering dishes and Hilary being the event organiser and co-ordinator.

All the dishes are created and prepared by Keith in his own unique style, using only the finest seasonal ingredients that are ethically produced and sourced locally where ever possible.

FOOD LOVE BEGINNINGS

Keith is a Master Butcher by trade having started work on a local butcher’s stall on a market at the age of 11.

His cookery teacher at school recognised Keith’s potential with food and arranged for a job interview for him when he was leaving school at a local prestigious restaurant.  However, having been treated so well by the butcher who he worked for, he felt a loyalty to stay on there as an apprentice.

He went on to own his own successful butcher’s shop in Westhoughton for 20 years. Keith became well known locally and won many awards in Nationwide Meat and Livestock competitions for his skill and flair for display. He also served a term as President of the National Federation of Meat Traders.

After doing the buffet for his own son’s christening in 1999, Keith began to receive enquiries from friends and customers alike to cater for different occasions. Along with his wife Hilary, they began to build a reputation for providing fabulous food. Not to mention outstanding service and good organisation for a variety of events. From cold carveries to President’s Dinners, serving three course dinners for up to 200 people.

With the decline in local shopping in preference for supermarkets, Keith decided to sell the butcher’s shop to venture into his real passion, cooking.

In 2008, Keith and Hilary formed Food Love.  This was to be an outside catering business with a difference.  With Keith’s fantastic cooking skills and creative flair and Hilary’s ability to organise and plan. Their aim was to be able to provide a bespoke catering service that would provide any occasion. With food that would be talked about long after the event Keith and Hilary continue to build on their success.

All the food on offer is made with superior ingredients, locally sourced where possible. Everything is prepared and cooked by Keith and his team, including a fabulous range of home-made desserts. Please see our sample menus for a taste of dishes and desserts available.

ESTABLISHING A CUSTOMER BASE FOR OUTSIDE CATERING

In order to raise the profile of the business, Keith & Hilary decided to run a series of charity nights at their own home where they invited 24 guests to each event for a three course, dinner with the profits from the night going to local Charities such as The Christie and BASIC (The Brain and Spinal Injury Charity) based at Hope Hospital.

Such was the response to Keith’s food at these events that the bookings began to come in. One of the most prestigious events they catered for was the opening of a new kitchen at the BASIC headquarters which was attended by Princess Anne and Food Love had to create and serve a special buffet for the Princess Royal. (A letter from the palace thanking them for the food on the day can be read in the testimonial section)

Bespoke Catering

Food Love began to receive an interesting range of requests for different types of events including ‘Theatre Dinners’ where they had to serve a three course dinner to approx. 120 guests in between ‘scenes’, and maintain silence whilst the play was on-going whilst preparing and setting up the next course and then clearing up afterwards!

Below is a list (by no means exhaustive) of the types of bespoke events Food Love have catered for:

• Weddings – both formal and informal catering;
• President’s dinners;
• Speciality BBQ’s;
• Christenings;
• Funerals;
• Special birthdays and anniversaries;
• Business functions;
• Event catering – both indoor and outdoor events.

As Food Love offers a bespoke catering service, there are no set menus for the above events, menus are created by liaising without customers taking into account the number attending the event and the facilities available and then building on their favourite ingredients to provide them with a feast to be remembered. With Keith’s experience as a butcher he is able to ensure that not only are the best cuts of meat selected for his meat dishes, but that they are also cooked to perfection. He also has a passion for creating fabulous desserts.

Self Service Buffets

There are also a range of self-service buffets which are served in beautiful lidded presentation platters, please see the Buffet Menu section of the website for a menu.