Boris and Carrie Johnson’s wedding party guests will feast on ‘eco-friendly South African BBQ’
Guests at Boris and Carrie Johnson‘s wedding party are set to feast on a South African-style barbeque from an eco-friendly street food truck. Preparations were well under way on Friday night at Daylesford House, an idyllic Cotswolds country retreat, with dozens of haybale benches for guests to sit on and van-loads of contractors coming and going to spruce up a giant marquee. One of several caterers to arrive on the grounds on Friday appeared to be Smoke and Braai, a small family business serving grass-fed locally sourced meat, aligned to Mrs Johnson’s values as an environmental campaigner.
The Telegraph understands that around a dozen Conservative MPs will be among around 200 guests invited to the Gloucestershire country pile.
A marquee has been erected on the grounds of Daylesford House, Gloucestershire, for Boris and Carrie’s wedding partyCredit: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
Sources said the guest list from Mr Johnson’s friends in Parliament increased after he resigned. Mrs Johnson is said to be the driving force behind the party, working closely with Lady Bamford, the wife of Lord Bamford, Tory donor and JCB tycoon, who is hosting it. Guests have been asked to arrive for drinks at 5.30pm, with the party set to last until the small hours after a stunning sunset over views across meadows and orchards.
They had better turn up hungry, as at least three street food outlets were seen setting up amid a hive of activity on Friday to turn the property’s landscaped grounds into an extravaganza.
Smoke and Braai’s trailer can be seen third to the right of the marqueeCredit: Steve Parsons/PA Wire
Smoke and Braai infuses “Low n Slow Americana BBQ together with fire and charcoal cooking Braai”, a South African cuisine of roasting food over an open fire. The items on its menu include grass-fed British beef braai boerewors rolls, masa corn tortilla tacos, smoked barbacoa lamb and ancient grain salad. Its new wooden-panelled and vintage-lit trailer appeared to be positioned near the haybale dining area in a row of eateries and cask drinks, adjacent to the huge marquee.
The firm was established three years ago by Simon Chiremba, based in Corby, Northampton, who attended a private school in Zimbabwe before studying culinary arts at University College Birmingham. His recent events have included the Silverstone Grand Prix.
Smoke and Braai’s founder Simon ChirembaCredit: https://www.smokeandbraai.co.uk/
Much of its grass-fed meat is sourced from the nearby West Lodge Farm near Kettering, Northamptonshire, alongside a large vegan and vegetarian offering. At a host of other wedding parties, film crew bashes and vintage car shows served by Smoke and Braai in recent months, flavours included lime and mint-infused pineapple, loaded barbecue skin-on fries, cherry wood-smoked pork with honey and mustard slaw, locally-sourced Aberdeen Angus ox cheeks, and wood-smoked vegan barbecue cauliflower.
“We have lived in, travelled and experienced both cultures of BBQ and Braai and one thing they all have in common is that they bring people together and make everyone happy,” Smoke and Braai says on its website. It says its vision is to “support local farmers and communities” and “believe that we are all ultimately stronger together and we can all grow and learn from each other”.
Smoke and Braai infuses ‘Low n Slow Americana BBQ together with fire and charcoal cooking Braai’, a South African cuisine of roasting food over an open fireCredit: www.smokeandbraai.co.uk
A large gazebo has been erected at the rear of Daylesford House, a Georgian grade I listed mansion, while an orchard cut out into a heart shape may also provide a romantic backdrop to a party long overdue. Mr and Mrs Johnson had hoped to celebrate their wedding at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat, but the furore following his forced resignation scuppered those plans.
Lord Bamford stepped in at the 11th hour to rescue the event, providing a backdrop every bit as grand. The couple married in a low-key private ceremony at Westminster Cathedral last year, organised in secret, in front of a small group of family and friends. This was followed by a reception in the gardens of 10 Downing Street with a limited number of guests thanks to coronavirus curbs, but a bigger bash was always planned.
Lady Bamford set up the upmarket Daylesford Organic Farm, with a chain of shops selling its produce across London.