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The hire
department was one of the original
departments of the company. It became a
colossal organisation responsible for
providing all the paraphernalia to mount
the largest of catering events. These were
undertaken for both inside and outside
functions. So many catering events were
held outside that an Outside Catering
Department evolved. Any item could be
supplied from their stores at Olympia from
large marquees with chandeliers, to
toothpicks and menus designed to customers
requirements. On one occasion in 1895, it
provided all the necessary equipment,
including horse-drawn vans, for the Guards
Officers' Mess when they were on a six
week manoeuvre from Hounslow to Aldershot.
The caterers followed the army by day and
camped overnight erecting the tents, with
their oil lamps, so that the officers
could dine in relative comfort. The team
were visited frequently during this period
by Isidore Salmon who travelled down by
coach to check that everything was going
to plan.
Although small in comparison to many
private banquets, one of the most
important must have been the banquet given
to His Excellency Li Chung Tang, a
diplomat in the service of the Emperor of
China, in 1896 when he visited the
Telegraph & Maintenance Company works
on the River Thames. Just 141 Admirals,
Vice-Admirals and other important guests
sat down to lunch which started two hours
late due to late arrival of Li Chung Tang.
In contrast, the banquet given by Lord
Strathcona, the Scottish-born fur trader
and financier who built the Canadian
Pacific Railroad, numbered 2,400. On this
occasion all supplies, waitresses
included, had been sent to Aberdeen,
Scotland, by special train from London,
the food having been cooked in field
kitchens.
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