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Original poster

If you do UK cottage holidays, can I ask you...?

131 replies

VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 01:45

..If the offer of a hot meal on arrival day would be of interest?

I've just taken over the housekeeping/management of a rural family sized holiday cottage about half a mile from me. The owner lives in London, he is a very nice older man, always arranges a nice bottle of wine and flowers and a welcome card - likes to offer a personalised welcome via the manager.

We have day jobs but my DH and I are keen cooks, run an occasional pop up restaurant etc. We have food safety certs and a 5* hygiene certificate for our own kitchen. We have a Facebook page that could be checked out.

We were thinking that for those who have a long journey, there might be an appeal of a home cooked casserole in the fridge ready to be heated up etc. We are miles from any shops at all, although there is a decent, fairly pricey local pub.

A few months ago, we were asked to provide a 3 course special meal for a multi generational family group staying at a different local holiday let. We cooked it mostly at home, served it and cleared up again. It went well - great feedback. Would love to do it again.

Has anyone tried this at a holiday let? If you haven't, is it the sort of thing that you would be interested in? To me, it offers the ease of eating out but with no taxis, babysitters or expensive restaurant wine...but I'm probably biased!

OP posts:
flugelhorn811 · 10/01/2019 08:04

I'd like this! It would be so easy if you were a big group and didn't want to faff around with preparing dinner on the first night. And I love cooking...

I understood your OP to suggest that you would offer this as an option, not a mandatory thing for those saying it needs to be optional!

Personally I wouldn't expect breakfast items such as bacon or bread as standard. I would normally expect to find some tea/coffee and a small milk and perhaps a cake or biscuits though. We usually do an Ocado order or bring food with us for the rest.

I would have no issues with eating your homemade food or cake, and nor would my family.

anniehm · 10/01/2019 08:08

Yes, though a homemade cake went down very well along with milk, tea and coffee last time.

MeetOnTheledge · 10/01/2019 08:08

I'm curious about Cook - those that have used them are they really that much better than other ready meals? Even high end supermarket ones such as Charlie Bigham are nothing like homemade so I struggle to believe they could be any better and wince at the prices.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Holidays
blueskiesandforests · 10/01/2019 08:09

We'd use it if it functioned like ordering a takeaway, but not if you were in our holiday cottage cooking nor if we had to order way in advance. Not necessarily on the day of arrival as we often eat to break the journey. There would have to be something that everyone in the family would eat too, which there might not be...

So maybe in certain circumstances.

Didiusfalco · 10/01/2019 08:18

Are you the poster who lived in an old mill (?) and was wondering how much to charge for a New Year’s Eve supper club? I remember that thread and if so then yes! I would definitely like a meal cooked by you at my holiday cottage.

Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 08:29

Haven't really costed it yet, would need to look at ingredients and add something in for labour. The 3 course celebration meal for 6 was £45 a head but that included all the food costs, plus us being there all night. Not sure I would have had the confidence to ask that but they'd been let down by someone who was charging slightly more! We threw in canapes and a birthday cake too. I suppose a lasagne, salad, garlic bread etc perhaps £10 a head? This is in addition to our day jobs, never going to get rich on this!

OP posts:
Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 08:31

Yes, we're the mill people! Extending our very modest empire.

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Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 08:33

I am going to suggest a home made Dorset Apple cake in the welcome pack; I think that would go down well.

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cushioncovers · 10/01/2019 08:34

Would you be prepared to accommodate gluten free, nut allergy or vegan requests?

tackybell · 10/01/2019 08:34

@MeetOnTheledge

I like a couple of the Charlie Bigham's (moussaka, fish pie) so maybe I'm not the best judge, but the Cook meals are generally great, especially the stew type ones imo. There's a few I'm not fussed about (paella, risotto, chilli) but it's probably worth tasting a couple! I only started eating ready meals (and only infrequently) when we had our first baby as previously I found the supermarket ones mostly disgusting. So my standards may have slipped in desperation!

I think £8 for 2 people isn't too bad but if you're buying the ones for 4 ppl it probably doesn't scale as well as if you were making it yourself.

Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 08:36

Yes, cushioncovers, could take all those into account.

OP posts:
Villanellesproudmum · 10/01/2019 08:40

I would pay £10 a head for a pre cooked arrival meal. I do look for welcome hampers, had a lovely one in Wales with homemade welsh cakes, wine etc and a biscuit for the dog.

HundredMilesAnHour · 10/01/2019 08:53

I would be delighted to pre-order one of your meals for when I arrive (or at some random point during the stay). They sound like a fabulous idea!

I'd be less keen on a cake in the welcome pack but that's because I'm trying to avoid 'bad food' and the temptation of a cake sitting there would not be fun.

A friend of mine runs a successful business letting her own holiday cottages (she has 4).She provides a lovely hamper as a welcome pack with muesli, bread, milk, butter, prosecco, cheese straws, sparkling water, etc (plus the usual tea, coffee). She is constantly refining it based on guest feedback. In the winter, the log burner is always prepared so it just needs lighting by the guests. It's a really nice touch. There's also a huge stash of logs kept outside each front door so no worries about running out.

Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 09:21

I think the key is the personal touch at the end of day, making sure guests know their custom is valued.

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SalitaeDiscesa · 10/01/2019 09:35

There's a Cook 3 mins from us and I've tried quite a few things. The only really good one was a beef chilli. I've given up on them now. The simplest home cooked meal is better. The puddings are over-sweet too.

LoisLanyard · 10/01/2019 09:41

I've stayed in cottages where there is an offer of a service of home cooked meals - we always take it up for a night or two, provided they arent too pricey! I think its a great idea.

KipperTheFrog · 10/01/2019 09:48

I'd love this option! We've stayed in a variety of holiday cottages, and the ones that provide some kind of welcome pack we always remember and more likely to go back to. Never had a meal waiting though, that would be good.

MarilynSlumroe · 10/01/2019 09:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Sitranced · 10/01/2019 09:50

I wouldn't order it if it was on offer. I'd rather know my custom was valued or a personal touch just with some tea/milk & biscuits on arrival. I'm not keen on over-involvement from the owners/managers, I'd rather not see them at all during my stay because it is a self catering cottage at the end of the day.

MarilynSlumroe · 10/01/2019 09:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LowbrowVictoriana · 10/01/2019 09:54

We stay in cottages a lot, and this wouldn't be done thing we'd use: some of us are vegetarian, some vegan, some meaty, some fussy... and I'd prefer eating out. I can see that others may appreciate it though.

One thing to consider, though: if you're cooking food for people and they're paying for it, won't you need to have food hygiene certificates and kitchen inspections from the relevant authorities?

Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 09:57

As long as you get there before the kitchen closes, Marilyn! Opening hours are quite restricted out here...

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LoisLanyard · 10/01/2019 09:58

I'd pay £10 a head. When we've paid for meals before I think its been a cost for the lasagna (or whatever) as a whole, and with it serving 4 or something. I cant remember what we paid though....(not very helpful!)

LowbrowVictoriana · 10/01/2019 09:58

Duh, sorry, I see you've covered that!

Original poster
VeryFoolishFay · 10/01/2019 09:58

One thing to consider, though: if you're cooking food for people and they're paying for it, won't you need to have food hygiene certificates and kitchen inspections from the relevant authorities?

As I mentioned upthread, I have a food safety certificate and our kitchen has a recent 5* food hygiene rating from Dorset County Council.

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