Richard and Claudia Bramble, Founders of Bramble Dining
What inspired you to start a business during such a challenging time?
We started Bramble Dining as we wanted to have the best work/life balance. As parents to two young children, we felt it was the best time to break away from working for other people and be our own boss and building our own future. Little did we realise what the next twelve months had in store for us and the rest of the world!
As a couple, we have always enjoyed going out to restaurants and being with friends and family, and we have seen first hand how the dynamics changed once we had our firstborn. All of a sudden, you have to organise babysitters as well as deciding if one of you will be the designated driver or get a taxi home.
With this in mind and with Richard’s experience of running professional kitchens and front of house staff, it made perfect sense to pursue a career in the catering industry, specialising in private dining.
Tell us about the products and services you offer?
We are a catering company which specialises in private dining, providing each party with a private, professional chef to cook for you in your home. More and more people are opting for using a private chef within their home instead of going out, and you can see why, even more so in the current climate.
We also offer wedding and event catering and have catered for a handful of intimate weddings when restrictions have allowed, and now we are planning celebrations with brides and grooms-to-be for the second half of 2021, and we already have weddings booked for 2022.
We believe we are all ready for a celebration after being separated from so many of our loved ones.
How did you manage the juggle during that time?
It hasn’t always been easy, but we have remained a team throughout. Richard’s experience in professional kitchens has always been based around structure, and he has brought the same way of working to the business. We both have designated roles within the company, and we ensure the work is based around the children, this has included many a late-night working whist the children are sleeping! Balancing family life and our own business has been a learning curve but a challenge that we relished. We
