How we work?
Here at the Hampstead Kitchen we are a bit obsessed about fresh home cooked food styled beautifully to share & enjoy.
We specialise in dishes from the Middle East, Persia, Mediterranean & the Indian Subcontinent
We love to create menus and unique private dining experience in the comfort of your own home or a venue of your choice.
We don’t like to limit you from a menu, we chat with you to see what you like and you can pick dishes you have liked elsewhere and prepare diverse ones that work well together. We work with you create you own bespoke menu for your special party or event.
You tell us about your event & how many people you are expecting and we work with you to create the best menu, cuisine, and food setting to make your party a success.
We arrive on the day with our fresh produce & spices and only start cooking on the day of your event in your kitchen to ensure the food is as fresh, hot & tasty as it can be.
We set the scene, by laying a great table, creating the right atmosphere to compliment the party or event, be it causal or formal, modern or traditional. We take care of everything leaving you free to entertain & enjoy your party with your guests. We ensure we leave your kitchen & dining area so clean you won’t even know we were there, let alone had a party.
Things we have done
- Catering all meals for 20 on private yacht in Monaco;
- Proposal dinner for 2 in a cosy flat in London;
- Canapes & Cocktails for 100 at jewellers in Bond street;
- Persian banquet for 250 at a startup launch;
- Mezze for housewarming for 60 friends.
How we started
The Hampstead Kitchen was created by a panicked call from a close friend saying they needed a chef to cook for a party that evening... Read more
Her aunt was having a party for 30 people, for a 40th Wedding anniversary. The chef had cancelled last minute and with guests arriving especially from abroad, cancelling wasn’t an option, something needed to be done quickly.
With 5 hours till the party and failing to find another chef, I was asked to step in and help. Nervously I agreed and somehow tried to focus on just pretending I was in my own kitchen cooking for friends. I had never catered for an event outside of my home, however I was assured I could handle it since I was always hosting parties for large numbers.
My biggest challenge was having to use ingredients intended for a French 4 course sit down meal and turning into big platters of middle eastern & Persian dishes.
The response was overwhelming, people loved the food and even gave me a standing ovation which was the when I knew I had pulled it off. For the majority of people it was a new way of dining, where they enjoyed sharing huge platters of food and all the dishes being served all together at one time as a banquet. I couldn’t believe my food was so well received and that they thought I was a professional chef, I had simply turned my humble everyday home food into a professional catered formal banquet that everyone responded so well to.
I was further surprised at the end of the evening when some of the guests asked for my details to host their upcoming parties both here and abroad. I jokingly agreed thinking oh dear I’ve really dropped myself in it this time. However from that day onwards and through word of mouth I started gaining lots of regular clients without any social media presence or company name.
At the time I was working for an American Conglomerate travelling to and fro between NY and London. I enjoyed cooking for private events in both London & NY, during the weekends, which was tiring, but really great fun.
After 2 years of juggling with my day job with my private catering events I made the leap to leave the world of Investment Banking behind and focus on my private catering. Was a bit scary at first but it’s the best decision I have made and I haven’t looked back.
So if it wasn’t for the French chef cancelling last minute, then the Hampstead Kitchen may never have been born. It’s still funny to think that something I fell into purely by chance has now become a thriving business that I love and am very passionate about.
We still cook for our original clients who have been with us from the very beginning with the same passion and excitement. We cater for a vast array of events from intimate dinners to formal corporate parties.
So although we are relatively knew to social media and only just named ourselves “The Hampstead Kitchen”, we’ve been around for a while.
Our aim is simple it has always been and will remain the same, and that is to make our clients happy by creating unique menus tailored for your party and event. We take great care to deliver great food beautifully presented to be shared and enjoyed.
So if you’re just having your first thoughts about your occasion but aren’t sure where to start, I’m sure we’ll figure out something special between us.
Charity & Community Projects
We donate 10% of our profits to various food, children & educational charities and organisations in the UK, Middle East , Africa & the Indian Sub Continent... Read more
Food & Education are both topics we feel very strongly & passionate about, and we often do one off pop ups or charity events to help raise funds.
Every weekend we use our residual ingredients and feed our homeless guests at a central London location.
Our food waste is recycled for our local community garden projects.
We also support our local food bank by creating one off food events.