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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.

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By the Numbers

4

Named Cornish food suppliers — all deliver to us

47 mi

Furthest food supplier from our kitchen

0

Conventional single-use plastics in service

1 van

Trips from kitchen to your venue per event

0

Fossil-gas line at our Redruth kitchen — fully electric

500+

Events catered using this same named-supplier list

Who We Buy From

Every Supplier. All of It.

Where does Salt Wind Catering source its food?

Four named local suppliers handle the food. One cash & carry handles top-ups, gloves, cleaning supplies, and tea & coffee. These are the names on our invoices.

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 name, location, approximate distance from Redruth, and delivery model.
Category Supplier Location Distance Delivery
Bread Prima Bakeries Scorrier ~5 mi Delivered to us
Meat RJ Trevarthen Penryn ~10 mi Delivered to us
Dairy, fish & dry goods Westcountry Food Falmouth ~11 mi Delivered to us
Fruit & veg Continental Fruit & Veg Liskeard, PL14 5RE ~47 mi Delivered to us
Top-ups, gloves, cleaning, tea & coffee Booker Pool ~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 and commercially compostable — no conventional plastic cutlery, plates, cups or boxes. 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 (compostable; recyclable window film where windows are present)
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. Live cooking 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 spit 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.

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 named 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. Live 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 named Cornish suppliers cover the food: bread from Prima Bakeries in Scorrier (5 mi), meat from RJ Trevarthen in Penryn (10 mi), dairy / fish / dry goods from Westcountry Food in Falmouth (11 mi), and fruit & veg from Continental Fruit & Veg in Liskeard (47 mi). All four deliver to us on existing Cornwall rounds — those van miles happen anyway.
Why do you list Booker as a supplier?
Because we use them and we'd rather disclose it than hide it. We pick up from Booker at Pool (3 mi) 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 Booker 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?
Yes — across our service packaging. Platter and sandwich boxes are FSC kraft. Salad and sauce pots are bagasse (sugarcane fibre). Cutlery is wooden. Napkins are unbleached and biodegradable. We don't use conventional single-use plastics in service.
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. Compostable 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?
All of Cornwall and Devon 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?

Your Event. Our Kitchen. Wherever You Are.

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Behind the pass

Fire, food, and what we’re cooking next.

Seasonal menus, off-menu specials, and early-bird pricing — one short email a month.

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