"rhubarb" History

"rhubarb" London | Cranleigh | Henley

Founded in 1996 by Lucy Gemmell, and defined by her drive and creative flair from the outset, "rhubarb" has now evolved into a truly formidable food company. With a team of skilled and experienced staff members, "rhubarb" has rightly earned its reputation as a member of the catering industry’s elite.

Founded in 1996,"rhubarb's" early days were spent catering for small and exclusive canapé parties from Lucy’s own household kitchen. In 1998, the company had grown enough to move to small offices in Lavender Hill and shortly afterwards business really began to take off as "rhubarb" established a presence at all major London venues. Over the next five years "rhubarb" gained a truly superb reputation for catering for some of the biggest events around, such as Elton John’s Aids Foundation White Tie and Tiara Ball and the Ark Charity Gala.

In July 2004, the company moved to their current, extensive (over 11,000 square feet) and purpose built premises at Burr Road. The team goes from strength to strength and on average, "rhubarb" London now caters for over 400 events per year, for 10 to 2000 people at a time.

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“rhubarb” Cranleigh

The company started over 30 years ago with Jenny Maclean's passion for fabulous food and quality ingredients, in her domestic kitchen at The Cottage in Albury, in the midst of the Surrey Hills. Jenny started cooking for exclusive local parties and supplying nearby restaurants with delicious desserts.

The team moved to its current premises at Manfield Park in Cranleigh in 1991. The new state-of-the-art premises have enabled the company to attract and accommodate increasing numbers of corporate and private clients every year. Over the past year alone the team have planned and catered for more than 100 events.

In 2011 Cottage Caterers was acquired by "rhubarb" food design has been subsequently rebranded as "rhubarb" Cranleigh. Together with "rhubarb" the team have been able to develop its bespoke service even further, whilst still maintaining it's dedication to local suppliers, it's solid client base, and it's exceptionally high standards in every area of service.

With an extensive and impressive portfolio of weddings, family parties, corporate events and exclusive wine tasting evenings behind them, "rhubarb" Cranleigh has the know-how to put together the perfect event package, whatever the occasion.

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“rhubarb” Henley

Founded by Simon Cromack in 2002 as “Eventuate’, the company’s mission was to bring the best of London’s catering scene to Henley and the home counties at a reflective price point. The company quickly grew after acquiring contracts to provide catering solutions for large businesses attending the Farnborough Airshow in 2003. Since then, the team have worked across Europe working at other major airshows including Paris and CESNA in Geneva.

In 2004, Eventuate reinvented the Henley Regatta hospitality experience from a traditional and conservative service into a fresh and contemporary environment by creating ‘The River Lounge’ which continues to grow in popularity every year.

In 2005, the team founded the Henley Food Festival based on the principles of the best of British cuisine. Live cookery demonstrations by celebrity chefs including Raymond Blanc Atul Kochhar and Antony Worrall Thompson pack marquees across the town centre.

In 2011, Eventuate was acquired by "rhubarb" and subsequently rebranded as "rhubarb" Henley. After starting life as a small specialist catering company, we have evolved into a business that now offers a full event planning and management service that can deliver on every requirement that you may have.

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