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Adding the 'VOWS' factor to the recipe for success
After recently winning the Independent Catering category in the VOWS Awards 2005, arts + media catering have refocused their 12-year-old business and have now expanded their award-winning wedding division to include some of Scotland's most prestigious venues.
Catering in Scotland takes a look at what's cooking…
'Quality, attention to detail, style, and a hands-on approach helped us collect the coveted VOWS Award, our first major industry honour,' says Chris Chirnside, Managing Director of the Edinburgh-based firm.
Together with his business partner, Paul McLeman, Chirnside is helping the company build on its enviable reputation for catering at weddings and both private and corporate events.
'We regularly work with upmarket venues including Harburn House and Kirknewton Steading near Balerno, and we're developing links with Glenavon House near Linlithgow, and Glencorse House in Midlothian, which is fast becoming one of the exclusive venues to tie the knot north of the Border.'
'Ours is a moveable feast that we can provide in any venue the client chooses, from their own workplace to the Edinburgh Dungeon, and from a theatre to a cottage or castle.
'It was a twist of fate that persuaded us to include weddings in our catering package,' continues Chris. 'We were building a successful catering business for arts and media companies, providing food for big film premiers like Braveheart and Entrapment, but then a Channel 4 producer who had been at several of our events in the past approached us to cater for her own wedding.
'She had enjoyed what we'd served at a number of corporate events and we quickly realised that catering for a wedding was far more than just supplying food, drinks and staff,' he says. 'Catering is an essential ingredient in making the day something really special for both the bride and groom and their guests, and that philosophy has been one of our motivating factors throughout our 12-year history.'
The VOWS Award has taken arts + media to new heights, particularly as they beat off challenges from two industry heavyweights.
'It came totally out of the blue and we were honored just to be short-listed alongside two outstanding firms in the wedding function business,' says Chris.
'We were nominated by our clients for our quality and innovative approach, and many of them had spent up to half an hour completing a detailed online form. Since the Award was confirmed in November we have noticed a significant surge in interest. Word is spreading that we are a company who go the extra mile to give clients something different and memorable. We still cater for functions of all kinds throughout Scotland, but the success of the VOWS Award has opened up new horizons for us and we are determined to build on our achievements. We understand how important it is for our guests to enjoy a flawless experience and we will keep our promises, serve the best and work on time and within your budget.'
A recipe for success if ever there was one.
arts + media
3 Restalrig Road
Edinburgh
EH6 8BB
Web: www.artsandmedia.co.uk
email: enquiries@artsandmedia.co.uk
Tel: 07973 320 836
This article has been edited from the original version. To read it in full, see Catering in Scotland magazine, February/March 2006. Click on the Media Pack icon on this website and select 'subscribe'.
