African Catering in Suffolk

Based in Felixstowe in Suffolk, Jabulela provides South African inspired BBQ food. They cover the whole of Essex as well as Suffolk, and cater for business events, festivals and private parties.

What do you need to know from an organiser in order to provide a comprehensive quote?

For us to engage with a customer, we need them to be as honest as they can! We work with a number of budgets and cater for both small and large parties / events. From our customers, we need them to give us a true representation of their budget, number of attendees, where the event is going to be held, for the organiser to pick some of their favourite foods from the sample menu's we provide and why they are having the party / event. With these few simple items, we will be able to provide a quote both fit for budget & taste buds. At Jabulela, we want all of our attendees to have an 'enjoyable' time - the clue is in our name!

What advice would you give to a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

Given that there are many in/outdoor caterers, we feel it is important that customers look beyond the fancy website or menu and focus rather on the un-sexy nature of the business. Asking a provider to share his/her's insurance documentation should also give you peace of mind and assurances that they are a professional who cares about their clients. Ask your provider about the menu options that they have offered and why they serve this food - at Jabuela, we use South African recipes, with a dash of British sophistication, tied up with local produce from local hard-working businesses.

Please tell us a little bit about how and why you started the business.

Jabulela, meaning 'enjoy' in Zulu, has come to fruition from a great deal of talking, for about a decade, and lots of hard-work! Having spent years in the hospitality industry from managing and running restaurants and bars, we took the leap into providing our own great sunny hemisphere experience into the public arena; with a focus upon first-class customer service, an explanation of our food (no lion or zebra on our menu!), and lots of fun around our fires. We often tell people to "follow their nose" to find us. Our unique imported wood and charcoal fires not only titilate the senses, but our sizzling signature sausages and slow cooked beef hanging
- being licked by flames will make your mouth water. We want our customers to walk away happy, satisfied & being part of the 'Jabuela -life' family; we don't just BBQ, we braai!

Please tell us about a booking you've had through Add to Event, how did it go? Would you recommend us to others?

We are so excited to have secured our first two bookings with Add to Event, having only recently joined the site! We are catering for a 40th wedding anniversary and a birthday party in a back garden. We are looking forward to these events, as we engage with our clients in their home environment and give them a chance to show off to their guests through our amazing cooking and fun experience. Having catered for 100+ guests at private events in 2017, we love cooking for smaller delegates and usually have at least 3 people camping around our fire at any one time, chatting and grabbing a few tasty morsels. As the platform grows for both customers and producers, we are excited to be on board and share our corner of South Africa in the UK. We have recommended Add to Event to our street food family and will continue to do so!