Maidenhead caterer vying for third national award sees 'dramatic change’ in clients

A home-grown catering business in Maidenhead is a finalist for another national award, recognising it as ‘Best Catering Company of the Year’.

Shilpam Bidasaria has come a long way since launching Desi Flavorz, specialising in Indian vegetarian food, in 2017.

She earned national recognition at the SHE Awards 2023 for her ‘outstanding culinary skills’ and was named Caterer of the Year at the English Curry Awards in December.

The St Mark’s Crescent resident will now find out whether Desi Flavorz is the ‘Best Catering Company of the Year’ at the 11th Oracle Awards, celebrating sole traders and charities, in Bradford in October.

“I feel happy that coming from a family where I was being a homemaker and taking care of children, and now coming to this point, it definitely makes me very happy,” she told the Advertiser.

“I had never, ever thought of coming to this point.”

The various award recognitions have made her business popular in the corporate sector, and Shilpam has seen a ‘dramatic change’ with more ‘huge’ corporate clients since last year.

“To be very frank, there was a moment when I thought, ‘Am I getting prank emails?’

“ Because there were so many clients asking for Indian food, but it was all true,” she said.

“The demand is huge now, and being a vegetarian caterer, I was not expecting that kind of demand.”

When speaking to the Advertiser in 2023, Shilpam was catering for more than 500 clients, mostly residents, and now she could cater for up to 550 people at one corporate event.

Through word of mouth and social media publicity, Shilpam’s clients now span a radius of 100 miles outside of Maidenhead.

Although the 49-year-old remains the sole cook, she sometimes employs up to five people to help prepare for big corporate events.

Her menu is constantly changing with the season, and the takeaway menu is so extensive that it sometimes takes five months for a dish to return to the menu.

When asked what makes her eligible for the ‘best caterer’ title, she said her ‘personal attention to small things makes a big difference’ for clients’ demands.

“Each and every dish is made by me. We cater for each and everything, so it does make a difference in taste,” she added.

“Being a home caterer and reaching this point is a big thing for me.”

Shilpam took her love of hosting dinner parties and passion for cooking as an opportunity to launch her catering business and says she hopes to be an inspiration for other women.

“I do get a lot of calls from other ladies around the UK – they do get in touch [wanting] to start their business and get some ideas, and I do help them,” she said.

“I would love people to come into this field – I think it's a great feeling.

“Food is always in demand and everybody loves food.”

However, the increasing competition from new home catering and tiffin businesses in Maidenhead doesn’t faze Shilpam, who credits her loyal customer base for feedback.

“When a new catering or tiffin service arrives in Maidenhead, it does make a difference to my business for a couple of weeks.

“As a human, even if I see a new restaurant in the area, I would love to go and try it and leave my regular one, so it does happen with my clients.

“But in the end, I have all my clients back to me. There's the quality that we maintain, and people come back to us.”