Chloe Glazier of Doorstep Dining has been catering everything during lockdown, from intimate wedding suppers for two, to family suppers.
Chloe Glazier, from Woodbridge, is the founder of Doorstep Dining - a catering company with a farm-to-table approach that uses an abundance of seasonal and local produce to create delicious dishes from scratch.
With an absence of parties and gatherings this year due to Coronavirus, Chloe, with the help of her brother and local chef, Fergus, decided to give the people of Suffolk something to look forward to every weekend from the safety of their own homes - by creating top-notch meals delivered right to their front doors.
Chloe and Fergus, who grew up in Brazil before moving back to the UK, have always shared a strong culinary passion, and understand how important food can be for different cultures.
After leaving university, Chloe began her food journey in Tuscany where she met and later went on to work for Claire Ptak, renowned baker and owner of Violet in Hackney. She then settled in Woodbridge and began working at Darsham Nurseries before setting up Doorstep Dining.
Fergus has worked at various well-established restaurants across the county, including The Unruly Pig, The Anchor in Woodbridge and The Bull Inn, and has been assisting Chloe with both cooking and delivering meals to homes across Woodbridge, Grundisburgh, Waldringfield, Shottisham, Rendlesham, Wickham Market, Orford, Snape, Aldeburgh and anywhere in between.
“Throughout lockdown, my brother and I have delivered daily changing menus every Thursday, Friday and Saturday around the Suffolk Coastal area. For every five orders we have sold, we have donated a produce box to The Teapot Project, a local food initiative. We also ensure that all of our meals are packaged in fully compostable boxes, as a big nod to our planet,” explained Chloe.
With people not able to celebrate big events while in lockdown, Doorstep Dining has also been busy cooking up top-quality meals for a number of private shindigs – from socially-distanced birthday parties to romantic meals for two.
“We have received requests from customers to create bespoke events and menus for them and set up ‘pop-up restaurants’ in their homes. We did a 70th birthday party which was held on Zoom, whereby we created a special menu and delivered every meal to each guests’ house before the party began. We also got asked to create a romantic meal for two by someone who wanted to surprise their partner on her birthday when all the pubs and restaurants were shut.
“For this, we asked our customer to leave his home while we went in and set up the table with candles, flowers, linens, plates, cutlery, ice buckets and plated up all of the food on the table and left just before they arrived.”
But perhaps one of Chloe’s biggest and most memorable events was when she catered one of Suffolk’s first weddings after lockdown restrictions were eased back in July.
“We got asked to do a wedding for two NHS professionals - a total dream event. As soon as we received the brief, we wanted to make sure everything was perfect for their special day.
“For this, we created a bountiful southern European spread made up of four courses, which included antipasti boards with local cheese, charcuterie & focaccia, freshly made ravioli & salt-baked sea bass. This was followed by brown sugar meringues, cream and balsamic Suffolk strawberries.
“The bride and groom were both thrilled with all of the food, and were very touched when they saw the table and decorations that we had set up just before their arrival. It was such a beautiful day and a real pleasure to have catered for two key workers who had been working solidly throughout the pandemic, keeping all of us safe.”
However, with lockdown gradually easing, Chloe is determined to continue making sure that those who are still isolating, or aren’t quite ready to dine out, can still enjoy freshly-made gourmet food at home.
“We can see our customers have really missed eating restaurant standard food but perhaps don’t feel totally comfortable with the idea of eating out just yet.”
In addition to supporting her local communities, working alongside regional suppliers is also at the heart of Doorstep Dining’s ethos - as Chloe works closely with businesses across the county to source her ingredients, including Orford’s Pump Street Bakery, Virginia Nurseries, Aldeburgh butcher Salter & King and Maple Farm in Saxmundham.
With Doorstep Dining having been such a roaring success over the last few months, Chloe hopes to expand her business as she embarks upon a new culinary venture right here in Suffolk.
“We are now in the process of planning some supper clubs, and hope to tie up with some amazing local farmers and winemakers to host these on their premises for a real field-to-fork experience - which goes in line with our farm-to-table ethos.
“We are also excited to start planning some ‘freedom feasts’ with clients from Suffolk, or those visiting Suffolk during the summer holidays, who want to curate meaningful experiences, with food and entertaining at its core, or who simply just want a little break from cooking.”
Doorstep Dining can be found on Instagram at @doorstep_dining
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here