Our Approach

Honest About What We Do

We're not going to claim we're perfect. We'll tell you where our food comes from, what our packaging is made of, and how the food gets to your venue. No green-leaf stock photos. No vague pledges.

Last updated 7 October 2026

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By the Numbers

Cornish food suppliers: all deliver to us

47 mi

Furthest food supplier from our kitchen

Conventional single-use plastics in service

1 van

Trips from kitchen to your venue per event

Fossil-gas line at our Redruth kitchen: fully electric

700+

Events catered using this same supplier list

Who We Buy From

Every supplier. All of it.

Where does Salt Wind Catering source its food?

Four local Cornish suppliers handle the food. One cash & carry handles top-ups, gloves, cleaning supplies, and tea & coffee. That is every supplier we use.

Distances are measured from our kitchen in Redruth. Four of the five suppliers deliver to us, that\'s their van miles, not ours.

Salt Wind Catering supplier list, category, supplier type, area, approximate distance from Redruth, and delivery model.
Category	Supplier	Location	Distance	Delivery
Bread	Cornish bakery	West Cornwall	~5 mi	Delivered to us
Meat	Cornish butcher	West Cornwall	~10 mi	Delivered to us
Dairy, fish & dry goods	Cornish food wholesaler	West Cornwall	~11 mi	Delivered to us
Fruit & veg	Cornish fruit & veg merchant	East Cornwall	~47 mi	Delivered to us
Top-ups, gloves, cleaning, tea & coffee	National cash & carry	West Cornwall	~3 mi	We collect (cash & carry)

Some specialist items, spices, oils, occasional ingredients, come from further afield via our wholesalers. We won't pretend otherwise.

Packaging

Already there.

What packaging does Salt Wind Catering use?

Service packaging we leave with you is plant-based, no conventional plastic cutlery, plates, cups or boxes. The bagasse pots are commercially compostable; we don’t yet publish a disposal route for the kraft boxes, and why is below. The inventory below is what we use today, not a 2026 target.

In the kitchen we use beeswax wraps instead of cling film for short-term food storage.

Packaging inventory: item and material.
Item	Material
Platter & sandwich boxes	FSC-certified kraft board (some lines have a film window)
Salad & sauce pots	Bagasse (sugarcane fibre, compostable)
Cutlery	Wooden
Napkins	Unbleached, biodegradable
In-kitchen food storage	Beeswax wraps (no cling film)
Conventional single-use plastics in service	None

A restaurant:

Prep for 80. Serve 60. Bin food for 20.

Us:

You confirm 80 guests. We prep for 80. Nothing left at the end of service.

Food Waste

We cook what you order. That's it.

How does Salt Wind Catering reduce food waste?

Every event starts with a confirmed guest count. We prep to that number. No half-eaten buffets at the end of service. No trays going in the bin.

This isn't a sustainability decision so much as just how event catering works when you don't have a restaurant to sell leftovers from. Made to order is the only way we operate. It happens to be the right one too.

Logistics

One van. One trip.

How many vehicle journeys per event does Salt Wind Catering make?

Most of our suppliers deliver to us, so the bulk of food miles happen on routes that exist anyway. Our part is the journey from kitchen to venue, one diesel van, one trip, everything loaded.

We don't do multiple runs and we don't have a second vehicle bringing kit on the day. It's as consolidated as event catering gets.

We're scoping a switch to HVO100 renewable diesel for the van in 2026, subject to manufacturer warranty confirmation and a written supplier quote. We'll update this page when the contract is signed, not before.

We're not going to publish a kg-CO₂e number for your event. Honest carbon accounting at this scale needs measured supplier data we don't yet have, and a made-up figure helps no one.

Kitchen Energy

All-electric kitchen. Heat pump throughout.

Is Salt Wind Catering's kitchen all-electric?

The Redruth kitchen runs on electricity end to end. Heating and cooling come from an air-source heat pump (no gas boiler, no separate AC unit). Cooking, prep equipment and refrigeration are all electric. As the UK grid continues to decarbonise, our prep-day footprint follows it down. There's no fossil-gas line on our utility bill to drag against that.

The exception is on the road. Cooking on site at events, BBQ, hog roast, giant pan, runs on charcoal or LPG because nothing else delivers the thermal load needed for outdoor cooking at scale. We won't pretend there's an electric alternative for a hog roast on a clifftop wedding. Where we can use sustainably-sourced lump charcoal we do; we don't use briquettes.

Being Honest

What we're still working on

We're not finished. Here's what we're actively improving.

HVO100 Diesel: Scoping 2026

We're scoping a switch to HVO100 renewable diesel, subject to manufacturer warranty confirmation and a written supplier quote. We won't claim it before the contract is signed.

Kraft Disposal Route: Confirming

Our platter and sandwich boxes are FSC kraft board. We used to call them compostable; we’ve stopped until the supplier confirms the lining in writing, because food containers are often lined and contaminated card is refused by many streams. The bagasse pots and plates do compost commercially, and we say so.

Seasonal Menus: Ongoing

We're building seasonal menu rotations tied to what Cornwall actually produces, menus that follow the land, not a fixed annual list.

Supplier Expansion: Ongoing

We want more Cornish suppliers across fish and produce. We won't switch anyone for marketing purposes if it compromises quality or reliability.

Common questions

Is your kitchen really all-electric?: Yes. Our Redruth kitchen runs on electricity end to end, heating and cooling come from an air-source heat pump, and cooking, prep equipment and refrigeration are all electric. There is no gas line on the building. Cooking on site at events (BBQ, hog roast, giant pan) uses LPG or lump charcoal because no electric alternative delivers the thermal load needed for outdoor cooking at scale.
Where do your ingredients come from?: Four Cornish suppliers cover the food: bread from a bakery 5 miles from our kitchen, meat from a butcher 10 miles away, dairy, fish and dry goods from a food wholesaler 11 miles away, and fruit and veg from a merchant 47 miles away. All four deliver to us on existing Cornwall rounds, those van miles happen anyway.
Why do you list a cash and carry as a supplier?: Because we use one and we'd rather disclose it than hide it. We pick up from a cash and carry 3 miles from our kitchen for top-ups, gloves, cleaning supplies, and tea & coffee, same A30 corridor as the rest of our suppliers, no separate journey. Most catering operations in Cornwall use one too; many don't mention it. We list it so the supplier picture you see is the whole picture.
Do you use compostable or biodegradable packaging?: Everything we leave with you is plant-based, and we don't use conventional single-use plastics in service. On disposal we'll only claim what we can stand behind: the bagasse salad and sauce pots are commercially compostable, cutlery is wooden and napkins are unbleached and biodegradable. The platter and sandwich boxes are FSC kraft board, and we don't yet publish a compost or recycle route for them, food containers are often lined and contaminated card is refused by many streams. We're confirming it with the supplier and will say so here once we have it in writing.
Can you cater a zero-waste event?: We can get close. We cook to your confirmed guest count, so there's no over-production from our side. Kraft boxes, bagasse pots and wooden cutlery are standard. If you have specific zero-waste requirements, mention them when you enquire and we'll work out what's possible.
Can you provide a sustainability statement for our ESG report or procurement file?: Yes. For corporate, film/TV and public-sector clients we generate a per-event sustainability statement (PDF) listing the suppliers used for your event, the packaging composition, the vehicle movement, and our made-to-order policy. Mention it on your quote request and we'll attach it. We do not publish a per-event kg-CO₂e figure, honest carbon accounting at our scale needs measured supplier data we don't yet have, and a made-up figure helps no one.
How far do you travel to events?: Cornwall and Plymouth from our kitchen in Redruth. We make one trip per event, in one van, with everything loaded. We plan routes to avoid unnecessary mileage.
Are you switching to an electric or HVO van?: We're scoping a 2026 switch to HVO100 renewable diesel for the existing van, subject to manufacturer warranty confirmation and a written supplier quote. Battery-electric vans don't yet deliver the range plus refrigerated load capacity we need on a 60–80 mile event run. We'll update this page when the HVO contract is signed, not before.
Can you source fully organic ingredients?: Not as a standard option. Fully organic sourcing adds cost and lead time. If it matters to you, mention it in your quote request and we'll tell you what's actually feasible.
Do you cater for vegan and plant-based diets?: Yes. Fully vegan menus across all our services, buffets, BBQ, hog roast alternatives and more. Plant-based isn't an afterthought; it's a proper menu in its own right.

Ready to book?

Tell us about your event. We'll handle the rest.

Tell us about your event and we'll put together a free quote. No obligation. Usually back to you the same day during office hours.

Get a Quote Call 01209 206255