Popular Beverley deli Crumbs are thinking big in 2011 as they prepare to launch an exciting, recession-busting new arm to their business.
The owners of the Chantry Lane shop, Andrew and Caroline Maw, are busy putting the finishing touches to their plans to launch a complete, bespoke wedding service that will take the stress out of the big day.
They plan to offer the complete wedding package. Working in conjunction with trained florist Sue Holt and a host of other local businesses, Crumbs will arrange a venue, decorate it, provide flowers and, of course, supply fantastic home-made food. All at a fraction of the cost of the ‘traditional’ approach.
They are showcasing their business plans at a special Wedding Fayre, to be held at Hodgsons on Sunday, 20 February, which Andrew and Caroline have organised themselves.
It’s an ambitious move from the couple, but they believe their excellence and ability to provide quality at the right price will make their wedding business a real success story.
“We want to offer something that will take the strain off people,” Andrew told HU17.net.
“We will organise everything – the whole point is to do a wedding at a cheaper price but that is still absolutely excellent.
“The Wedding Fayre at Hodgsons will really show people what we can do for them. We will have a catwalk provided by Fairy Godmothers and we will have Snobs hairdressers, Meadowbank Photography and a host of different businesses there to show who we work with and what packages we can offer.
“Our florist, Sue Holt, will also be showing off her arrangements and we will be on hand to tell potential customers what sort of food we can offer, what cakes we can do for them and how the whole thing will work for them.”
The idea to move into the wedding business has slowly been evolving ever since Andrew and Caroline got married 15 years ago.
With Andrew’s interest in cooking – he is completely self-taught – and Caroline’s background in cake decorating, the pair started to do buffets for friends and the odd cake, beautifully decorated, for special occasions.
Over the years, Andrew has taught himself butchery, learned how to make his own sausages and baked some of the best and meatiest pies in Beverley. Meanwhile, Caroline enrolled on cake decorating courses and can now provide almost any style of decoration required by a customer under the Cake Creations of Beverley arm of Crumbs.
But it wasn’t until they opened Crumbs in November 2009 that the final piece of the jigsaw fell into place.
Caroline said: “When the shop opened we had to take someone on because we both had (and still have) other jobs. This happened to be Sue Holt and it turned out she was a florist with 40 years of experience.
“Well, Andrew, being the businessman he is, thought about this. I was out there decorating cakes and he was baking. When Sue came along with her skills, he thought: Let’s give this a go.”
And give it a go they have. Their Crumbs Facebook page shows dozens of the fabulous cakes, baked by Andrew and decorated by Caroline. Pop into the shop and you can see some of the stunning arrangements done by Sue over the years.
Andrew is currently putting together the finishing touches to his menus, which will include hot and cold buffets, superb home-cooked lasagnes, stews and curries. Should a customer want it, they can also provide a hog roast.
The couple admit it is a bit of a step into the unknown, but they are confident there is a gap in the marketplace they can exploit, while also delivering the sort of personal service most people planning for their wedding can only dream of.
“We have done research on what people want,” continued Andrew, “but we really don’t know quite how it will go. It’s a bit of a step into the unknown.
“All the food is home-cooked and high-quality. We really care about what we do, and we know we can do it all very well.
“We are also very approachable and people can come and chat to us at any time about what they require. If something is not quite right, we will do everything we can to get it absolutely spot on.
“We are really excited about this.”