At the end of August I cooked for an intimate wedding at Carlogie House in Angus — a handsome stone house with a bright, glass-roofed ceremony room, white drapes, and a working kitchen that any chef would be happy to walk into. This is the story of that day, and of a style of serving that I believe suits a small wedding better than anything else: family-style, with one generous centrepiece carried to the table whole.
A venue built for smaller weddings
Carlogie House is exactly the kind of venue more couples are looking for now. Not a hotel ballroom for two hundred — a beautiful room at a human scale, where every guest knows the couple and the celebration feels like a family table rather than a function. Venues across Scotland are investing in spaces like this, and as a private chef who cooks in venues, country houses and self-catering properties all over the country, I love working in them: the venue provides the room and the kitchen, and I bring everything else.
The morning: everything from scratch, on site
I arrived in the morning with the van packed — ingredients, equipment, trays, heat lamps — and took over the kitchen while the room next door filled with flowers. Nothing I serve arrives pre-prepped from somewhere else. Everything is cooked fresh, in the venue’s kitchen, on the day.
The arrival canapés were arancini — risotto rice rolled by hand around a heart of mozzarella, tomato and basil, the way I learned in Italy. There is no shortcut for these. You roll them one at a time, and by the time the trays are lined up the whole kitchen smells like Sunday lunch at my grandmother’s farm near Modena.
The centrepiece: a whole salt-baked salmon
The main event was a whole salmon baked inside a salt crust, with lemon and herbs tucked into the belly. The crust seals everything in while it bakes — the fish steams gently in its own moisture and the perfume of the lemon — and it comes out looking like a golden treasure chest. Then comes my favourite moment of the day: carrying it to the table whole and cracking the crust open in front of the guests.
This is why I serve small weddings family-style. A plated service keeps people in their seats, waiting. A sharing table does the opposite — the platter goes down, the room leans in, someone reaches first and laughs about it, and the meal becomes part of the celebration instead of a pause in it. One generous thing, done properly, with enough for seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Do you cater small and intimate weddings?
Yes — they are some of my favourite events to cook. I cater weddings and elopements across Scotland, from a table of ten to a full room, with menus built around the couple rather than a fixed package.
Can you cook at our chosen venue?
Almost always. I bring my own equipment and I am self-sufficient in any reasonable kitchen — venues, country houses, lodges and self-catering properties across Scotland. If you have a venue in mind, just tell me where it is.
What does family-style service mean?
Instead of individually plated courses, generous platters and centrepieces are brought to the table for everyone to share — like the salt-baked salmon here. It suits smaller weddings beautifully: warmer, more social, and nobody waits while thirty plates are dressed.
In short
A small wedding at a beautiful Angus venue, everything cooked fresh on site, and a whole salt-baked salmon cracked open at the table. If you are planning a wedding, an elopement or a celebration anywhere in Scotland, I would love to cook for you. With 35+ years of cooking and 220+ five-star Google reviews, I will build a menu around your day — check availability and request a tailored quote here.