Catererbackin buoyantmood after flooding
ONE OF the country’s leading kosher caterers has returned to its premises eight months after being forced out by flooding.
Celia Clyne Banqueting had to leave its warehouse in Salford when a nearby river burst its banks during heavy rainfall last December.
The flooding was described as the worst in the area for more than 70 years.
“It was a logistical nightmare,” said Mark Clyne, the firm’s managing director.
“The floors were damp and they had buckled, obviously from a health and hygiene point of view we had to have everything deep-cleaned.
“We had to have the floors dug out, because the ovens we had were slightly older and weren’t made anymore. It’s been a real challenge.”
The company managed to honour every booking despite the damage.
“We didn’t fail to cater any event,” Mr Clyne said.
“We were quite lucky in many ways. If it was going to happen it couldn’t have happened at a better point, because we were catering the Limmud conference at the time and most of our mobile equipment was off site in Birmingham. “Because of that, we were able to carry on. We had lots of cutlery and crockery there and some catering equipment.”
In the first weeks after the storms the company cooked for simchas using kitchens at a synagogue in Whitefield, in north Manchester. Staff then moved into spare premises, before finally being able to return last week.
Plans are afoot to ensure the firm is better protected the next time floods threaten.
Mr Clyne said: “The landlords of our building are looking at putting in flood defences and we’re taking some precautions of our own as well”,