FAQs

At Canababes Food Co we like to create a dialogue with you to try to find out as much about you and your event as possible. From there we will work with you to create a tailor-made menu, offering advice on all aspects of the event production. Our ethos is that the event is yours and thus we like to have your input, enabling an all-round special day for you.

Canababes doesn’t have standard menus, although of course we have tried and tested favourites and sample menus that we know our clients love. We welcome as much input as you would like to make on your menu choice, but equally, if you want to just give us a few pointers and leave it to us then that is absolutely fine. Also if you have a family recipe or a favourite dish you would like us to recreate then just let us know. This keeps us on our toes and means we never stop learning how to cook new and exciting things!

We like to consider ourselves chameleons of cuisine. Ottolenghi is a clear inspiration, as are all other cooks and chefs championing the use of fresh, healthy, colourful and high-quality ingredients. Our aim is to make the food for your event delicious and beautiful!

Our style is usually that of feasting or family dining, with sharing platters and buffets, but we do individually plated food too. All food is usually served by our team, but depending on the requirements of your event it can be delivered with no need for staff. We want you to enjoy the social experience of eating, the food a shared enjoyment for your guests and a talking point that brings people together. For corporate events, we maintain our friendly but professional attitude but are sensitive to events that require a more discrete staff presence.

While we aren’t an entirely plant-based caterer, the majority of our food is vegan or vegetarian-friendly. When we do use meat, it is ethically sourced, and only makes up a portion of the meal as a whole. We will always accommodate any dietary requests you may have. If you can let us know which of your guests has a dietary requirement or an allergy a minimum of a week before the event, this will give us time to ensure that there is a delicious adequate replacement for whatever it is they can’t eat.

Absolutely. We hold tastings at our kitchen in Hackney Wick, and you may try as many courses of your proposed menu as you like or just have a smaller selection and a chat. A tasting gives us all a chance to get to know one another, and discuss the logistics of the event in finer detail. We charge a nominal fee depending on how many courses you taste.

We are a couple of extraordinary women, with a wonderful, strong team around us. We have years of experience between us, ranging from operational event management, cheffing, and hospitality, but most of all WE LOVE FOOD, feeding people and talking about it! The combination of this means we are interested in who you are and what you want for your event or wedding. We are really passionate and professional but we also have fun whilst we work. You can rely on the Canababes to think of everything so you don’t have to!

We would love to help you with the planning. Organisation is our thing! Typically, we would sit down with you, either at a meeting or tasting. You would tell us about the running order and timings for the day or event and highlight any areas where you might need any extra input from us. As a company, we already offer a full bar service, staffing, and equipment hire, along with the food. All events will have a manager on-site, but we can also offer a dedicated wedding planner for those weddings requiring a little more assistance on the day.

Dry hire means you are taking on the space only, leaving you free to pick and choose all the other elements to suit your event, which works perfectly with our ethos and the style of events we work on! Whether your venue has a fully functional catering kitchen or nothing at all, we can make it work. We often hire in full kitchen set ups, or can design a menu that requires limited or no cooking facilities. We can either order the hire equipment for you or help you decide what you need.

We have a number of companies we work closely with, who are listed below. However, if you are keen to source your own, that works for us! We will just help by putting together an essential list of equipment to make sure nothing gets missed.

Adams www.cateringhire.co.uk  / Hallmark www.hallmarkcatering.com / Classic Crockery www.classiccrockery.co.uk

It is important that our team are as enthusiastic about food as we are! Our team are handpicked by us through years of working in the industry, and we ensure that they will be friendly and informative to your guests. They love food as much as we do and are always helpful and attentive, without being overly stuffy or informal.

Once our staff have completed a short trial period with us, we pay everyone the London Living Wage as a minimum. Our staff are super important to us as the face of our company, and we always promise to pay them a minimum of 4 hours per shift.

We are on our way to using 100% bio-disposables, and we’re already there with any disposables used on an event such as plant-starch cutlery, recycled & biodegradable plate-ware & coffee cups. We have reusable hard plastic cups for water service and are veering away from single-use plastic wherever possible. 

All our meat is from Swaledale who supply us with free-range and ethically-farmed meat from Yorkshire. Our fish comes from Fish 4 Thought in Cornwall, who only use sustainable sources. Our veg is supplied by Teds Veg, keeping it seasonal and locally sourced where possible. We have worked hard on our menus and recipes to keep food wastage to a minimum, and any leftovers are enjoyed by our staff after a shift.

Where possible and for all smaller deliveries we use Pedal Me, a bike-powered courier service to avoid extra cars on the road.

Absolutely! Canababes is a movable feast. Day to day, we are based in Hackney Wick, but  we love to get out of London and pop up a kitchen. This might mean there are additional costs, for transport and if we need to hire extra equipment. It all depends on the venue, facilities, size of the event and style of food being served.

As every event is different, we first need to know a bit more about it before we can quote i.e. how many guests, how many courses, the length of time for canape service, the style of dining and whether or not you would require assistance with the bar or setting up the venue and tables. Drop us an email to get an initial quote from us as a starting point.

All prices quoted are always exclusive of VAT unless otherwise specified. Hopefully this is clear from our email signatures.