There’s a certain romance to a wedding in a marquee in a field in Sussex. Rolling countryside, fairy lights, champagne corks popping… and a catering team quietly trying not to trip over extension leads while carrying 20 trays of canapés.
This particular wedding was in August, for around 150 guests, with canapés followed by an enormous hot and cold buffet spread. The brief from the couple was simple: make the food the centrepiece of the day.
No pressure then.
6:00am (or earlier, depending on the wedding)
Every wedding is different. Some of our team are up as early as 3am, others a little later, depending on prep schedules, distances and menu complexity. By wedding morning, most of the equipment is already on site from the day before, the van is loaded, and the kitchen prep is either done or down to final touches.
The first ritual is always the same:
- Coffee
- Check the weather (and quietly judge it)
- WhatsApp the team
- Pretend not to panic
The kitchen team arrive looking suspiciously cheerful for that hour of the morning, fuelled by strong coffee and whatever playlist is deemed motivating at 6am (usually something far too upbeat). Someone always says, “Right, let’s do this,” as if we have a choice.
The Van of Absolute Chaos (but very organised chaos)
Our van is basically a mobile catering insurance policy. Inside you’ll find:
- Three different types of tape (duct, gaffer and the mysterious one that only works when it wants to)
- Extension leads for England, Europe and possibly the International Space Station
- An induction hob, just in case
- Blue roll in quantities that suggest we’re preparing for a minor flood
- Cling film, foil and bin bags (the thing we still somehow worry we’ve forgotten)
- Phone chargers, safety pins, spare knives, lighters, and at least one item nobody remembers packing
At this point, it wouldn’t surprise us to open a cupboard and find an oven and a kitchen sink in there too.
Which is awkward, because we do actually carry both.
On Site: Turning a Field into a Restaurant
By late morning we’re on site, transforming a marquee in a field into what is essentially a fully functioning pop-up restaurant.
Tables go in.
Buffet tables are dressed.
Serviceware is set.
Chilled storage is checked.
Power is tested.
And then tested again.
Because power is always the thing.
This is also why, for marquee weddings, we always recommend having a dedicated power technician on site. It keeps everything running smoothly and means the catering team can focus on, well… catering, rather than trying to troubleshoot generators in chef whites five minutes before canapés are due out.
The Camping Gas Incident (a true story)
At around 1pm, just as we were congratulating ourselves on how smoothly everything was going, we realised we were going to need extra camping gas.
Not because we were unprepared — we always carry backup — but because the venue power load was lower than expected, and we wanted a completely separate heat source for one of the live cooking elements.
Crucially, we spotted this early, while some of our front-of-house team were still en route. So two of our trusted team members were dispatched on a noble and time-sensitive quest to source camping gas from civilisation.
In August.
In the UK.
Which, it turns out, is the exact month every single person in Britain has already bought all of it.
What followed was a real-life goose chase.
Shop to shop.
Garden centre to garden centre.
DIY store to DIY store.
Each of them hopping between locations like contestants on a very niche game show called Britain’s Got Camping Gas.
Meanwhile, back in the middle of a Sussex field, we were coordinating the operation via WhatsApp like a low-budget action movie.
After what felt like a small lifetime (and was, in reality, just over an hour), one of them finally struck gold in a tiny corner shop that nobody else had thought to try.
The messages that followed suggested he felt like he’d just won a competitive sport.
Gas was secured.
Disaster was avoided.
Live cooking was saved.
We pivoted.
Re-routed power.
Adjusted the live cooking plan.
Guests were none the wiser.
This is roughly 80% of catering: cooking.
And 20%: quiet logistical gymnastics.
The Buffet Reveal
This couple wanted the food to feel like a moment, not just a meal.
They were also keen to avoid anything that felt remotely “school-dinnery”, which is something we hear a lot — and completely understand.
So instead of a single straight buffet line with chafing dishes and queues, we created a full, abundant spread that guests could wander around and explore:
Hot BBQ meats
Big seasonal salads
Roast vegetables
Fresh breads
Sauces, dips and dressings
Cold sharing platters
Everything was layered and styled at different heights using boards and platters, so it felt more like a food display than a service line.
When we lifted the covers, there was a very satisfying collective,
“Oh wow.”
That’s the moment we live for.
Things Brides Never See (But We Definitely Think About)
Behind the scenes, we are always quietly tracking:
Power load
Food temperatures
Timing against speeches
Weather clouds that look a bit too committed
Weather is the big one.
We always joke that the bride should plant a sausage in the garden the day before for good weather luck.
(It has about a 60% success rate. We’re still collecting data.)
The Compliment We Hear Every Single Time
No matter the menu, the season or the guest list, someone always finds one of us and says: “I know this sounds ridiculous, but… these are the best sausage rolls I’ve ever had.”
We take it very seriously.
The End of the Night
There is no standard finish time.
Sometimes we leave at 9pm.
Sometimes it’s midnight.
Sometimes it’s when the DJ is playing bangers to three very committed guests.
We’re usually:
- Weirdly hyper
- In pain from the knees down
- Smelling faintly of garlic butter
- Mentally replaying every tray we served
What happens next depends entirely on whether we have another event the following day.
Sometimes it’s straight home for:
- A hot shower
- A debrief WhatsApp
- “Great job today” messages
- Immediate hibernation
And sometimes… the alarm is already quietly judging us from the bedside table because we’re doing it all again in a few hours.
Either way, the debrief always happens.
The team always pulls together.
And someone always says, “Right. Same again tomorrow.
Why We Love It
Every Sussex Chef wedding is different.
Different fields.
Different marquees.
Different menus.
Different couples.
But the goal is always the same:
To create food that people talk about.
To make the buffet feel like a centrepiece.
To make the couple feel completely looked after.
And to quietly solve problems before anyone notices they existed.
If you’re planning a wedding in Sussex and want food that feels like part of the celebration — not just something people queue for — we’d love to chat.
(And yes, we’ll bring the camping gas.)
Pip Ravi
Sussex Chef is led by Chef Pip Ravi, combining high-end hospitality experience, locally sourced seasonal food and a hands-on approach to create thoughtful, beautifully presented catering for events of every size.
