Country Roads Catering; Case Study
Over the summer, I found myself back in catering. It wasn’t planned, but sometimes the best ideas come when you least expect them. I’d taken on some work with another company as a favour to a good friend of mine, helping out at weddings and large events. On the surface, things were fine, food was being served, and guests were happy enough. But having been both a sous chef in fine dining and someone who has run front of house teams in the past, I couldn’t help noticing the cracks. Corners were cut, communication broke down, and the standard of service didn’t match what I knew catering could be.
That’s when the thought landed: we could do this better.
Together with my long-time friend and now business partner, a chef with serious talent and experience, we decided to stop talking about “what ifs” and build something real. That something became Country Roads Catering.
The Plan — From Concept to Brand
Our vision was ambitious but clear: create a catering company that combines restaurant-level quality with the warmth and professionalism needed for weddings and events.
The idea wasn’t just about food. We wanted:
Menus that reflect fine dining standards, not generic buffet lines.
Front-of-house service that runs smoothly with a team trained to anticipate problems before they happen.
Digital systems that make the booking and planning process effortless for clients.
In short: a business that works at every layer: the kitchen, the floor, and the backend.
Building the Website
The website was our first move. www.countryroadscatering.co.uk needed to feel premium, approachable, and trustworthy.
The homepage leads with visuals that echo our ethos: natural yet refined, modern yet personal.
Menus aren’t hidden away as clunky PDFs. Instead, visitors can browse visual examples online and request the full menu by email. This creates an immediate touchpoint while building our pipeline. The menu we provide is a single document, detailing everything we offer and how to contact us.
Services are clearly outlined: weddings, private dining, corporate events, showing flexibility without diluting focus.
By approaching the site as both a brand showcase and a lead generation engine, we made sure it does more than look good. It actively supports the growth of the business.
The Technology Behind It
Unlike many catering businesses that rely on drag-and-drop builders, Country Roads Catering was built on a custom AI-developed framework.
This gave us three major advantages:
Functionality without bloat. The framework generates clean, lightweight code tailored specifically for the site’s needs, avoiding the heavy plug-ins and cookie-cutter templates that slow down most websites.
Scalable architecture. From the very first line of code, we designed it so that features like online payments, event scheduling, or client dashboards can be added without ripping the whole thing apart later.
Automation integration. Because the framework is AI-assisted, it ties neatly into the backend workflows we’ve built with Assist.wtf — enquiry capture, lead management, and automated email sequences.
The site is self-hosted on a cloud-deployed server, giving us full control over performance and uptime. At its heart sits Nginx, acting as the web server and reverse proxy. Nginx handles SSL certificates for secure connections, load balancing for future scaling, and ensures fast response times even during traffic spikes (like when wedding season enquiries come pouring in).
This choice might sound over-engineered for a catering business, but it’s the opposite. It means we’re not tied to a platform’s limitations. We own the infrastructure, we control the code, and we can adapt as the business grows, and most importantly, it’s basically free to host.
Handling Enquiries and Bookings
Weddings are stressful enough without endless email chains. We wanted to make our enquiry system as smooth as possible.
Clients visiting the site are encouraged to reach out to us directly. Our email flow is then hooked up to some advanced automation that begins the process of gathering details about the event, price ranges and any further information that we need to put together an event. We want a human approach, powered by AI.
Enquiries are logged instantly.
Notifications hit our inbox the second they come in.
Leads are tracked in a CRM automatically, meaning nothing slips through the cracks.
For clients, it’s seamless. For us, it’s efficient. And with my FOH background, I know just how much a quick, professional reply matters in building trust.
Automation That Works Behind the Scenes
Because I also run an automation agency, I was able to bake digital efficiency into Country Roads Catering from day one.
Menu downloads trigger automated emails and add users to a mailing list.
Every enquiry receives an instant confirmation, so potential clients know we’ve received their details even if we’re working a wedding that day.
Leads are tagged and segmented by location and event type for smarter follow-ups later.
It’s the same philosophy I apply in automation projects for clients: make the system handle the repetitive tasks, so the team can focus on what actually matters. In this case, cooking and delivering flawless service.
Branding and Positioning
The name Country Roads Catering reflects both our surroundings and our ethos. We’re rooted in the South Coast’s rural charm, fresh produce, and natural landscapes, but everything is delivered with a professional, fine dining edge.
The branding follows suit. The dark, elegant palette and clean typography mirror our positioning: premium but grounded, high-end but not unapproachable. It’s a visual identity designed to appeal equally to couples planning a rustic barn wedding or a sleek modern celebration.
The Outcome
In just a few months, we went from an idea sparked during a hectic summer to a fully operational catering company with a professional online presence.
www.countryroadscatering.co.uk is live and actively generating enquiries.
Automation has cut down admin overhead dramatically, freeing us to focus on the kitchen and client experience.
The business is already building traction with venues and couples across the South Coast.
Our custom AI-driven, Nginx-powered infrastructure means the site is built to scale alongside our ambitions.
Reflection
This project is personal. I’ve been a sous chef in fine dining and led front of house teams, so I know what excellence looks like in catering. Later, I spent years in the gaming industry before launching Assist.wtf, gaining the digital and operational knowledge to build systems that scale.
Country Roads Catering is where those paths meet. It’s food, service, and technology working together. It’s a company I co-founded, not just because I wanted to run a catering business, but because I knew we could raise the standard of what catering can be.
We’re now live and already seeing strong demand, and as of today, we are taking bookings for 2026 weddings and events.
If you’re planning something special and want food that matches the occasion, visit www.countryroadscatering.co.uk.
