purpleplumcatering Reviews 117

Julia really let us down on our wedding day by not showing up. We didn’t get a single message from her to warn us she wouldn’t be joining.
It was a beautiful day but right away things were very off when her stand in staff arrived at 11am and hurried off to the shops to get ingredients to make all the Middle Eastern dishes and salads for 120 people.

Later when the canapés arrived it was clear things weren’t right as they handed out shop bought cocktail sausages and supermarket tortilla cut in to little cubes…
At dinner it was chaos and none of the veggie / vegan guests got any food at all. On top of this they didn’t follow allergy requirement or have a plan for my friends with nut and gluten allergy’s.

The menu was not as planned and various random plates of couscous and raisins appeared. None of the dishes we had tried in our meal tasting with Julia appeared at all.

My husband and I had to leave at 8pm to get the baby to bed. We arrived back at 9pm and apparently the pudding had never shown and there were dirty plates still lying on the tables.

There was no staff at all, not at the bar or the tables. We had paid for various staff to stay until 12pm at least to help clear and man the bar. No evening snacks appeared either.

Julia let us down and lied to us. We managed to get in touch with her a few days later. She didn’t apologise. We asked for a fraction of the money back and received but honestly they would have spent around £100 on the meal and pocketed the rest herself.

She did say she had a chest infection and it was an anneverosy of a bereavement. However it’s clear this isn’t a reliable excuse as from the previous comments we have found every other wedding has had the same experience with this being the excuse but all with totally different dates dating back to 2018.

Weirdly for our first tasting she cancelled and said she had a chest infection. We managed to see her the next day but I asked her what would happen if she was ill on the day of the wedding. Does she have backup etc. and she said she’d never miss work and she’d have to be “literally dying” to not turn up. Quite a bold statement for someone who does it frequently.

The thing is we know she can cook well because she cooked our second taster menu (after the first wasn’t right) and it was delicious. She hugged us and was very warm and a pleasure to work with. Which is why it’s even more confusing looking back. It was a total act and clearly a scam. I’m not sure why she continues doing wedding catering if she hates the whole thing so much. ( I guess so she can walk away with a few thousand in her pocket )

Interestingly we since found an article saying she had suspended jail time for 22k of benefit fraud in the Norwich evening news.

Purple Plum catered for my cousin’s wedding in June 2025 and I can honestly say that everything about the food and service on the day was an utter shambles.

Julia did not turn up nor let them know that she wouldn’t be attending on the day. She gave no warning to the bride and groom that she wouldn’t be coming herself. This would have been fine if she had a backup plan, but the staff she sent in her place were clearly inexperienced and out of their depth.

The canapés were not as described and many were dry and flavourless. The salads were also dry and lacking flavour, with not enough sauces or dressings to compensate. The general standard of food was very low.

The service was uncoordinated and chaotic. There was not enough meat laid out to serve everyone, and many guests had to wait until the meal was nearly over to get any. Unopened wine was placed on the table so guests had to fetch corkscrews to open bottles themselves. Then all of a sudden a different, opened wine was placed on the table, meaning that there was huge wastage at the end. Much of the white wine was warm.

Julia had agreed that her staff would remain until midnight to help pack down, but they decided to leave at 9:30 while the bride and groom were putting their baby to bed, leaving dirty plates on the tables. Tea and coffee was not served as agreed. No vegetarian options were provided.

When the bride and groom sent an email to Julia following the wedding day, they didn’t receive a response until they had to chase her a few days later. Julia’s response was then brief with no real apology or recognition. She only managed a measly “I’m very sorry if you felt let down”, taking no accountability for her actions.

If you are considering hiring purple plum for a wedding or large event, please please consider this and numerous other negative reviews. She has previously mentioned in a response to another negative review from 2022 that she has no desire to cater for weddings, so it is beyond the pale that she decided to agree to cater for such a large event. She has truly disgraced herself and her business.

I recently attended a wedding catered by this company Julia Martin at Purple plum. The bride and groom are both real foodies and had taken a great deal of care with their menu etc so we were all surprised when the food that materialised was not a delicious middle eastern spread but dry cous cous with no seasoning or dressing and a very few other bits and pieces. The staff were totally out of their depth, managing as best they could, but we heard the next day that Julia had not showed up at any point and had not been in contact to let anyone know. It would take too long to list all the things that were wrong but suffice to say it was not a professional catering experience!
Subsequently, people found other reviews describing a similar experiences and using similar excuses even though on different days and years!
A clue perhaps was that she had not showed up for their initial food tasting but they had given her the benefit of the doubt. There were not nearly enough people to serve, there wasn’t enough food. They all left without clearing away anything and the bar unmanned although had been paid to stay until the end. The couple have managed to get a bit of money refunded for specific items, and service missing, but this in no way compensates for their huge disappointment after all the careful planning of their special day. They haven’t received a proper apology but a very perfunctory message that she had a chest infection and it was the anniversary of a bereavement. It feels as though this is not a bona fide caterer and putting it generously this lovely young couple have been badly scammed.
It sounds as though the yoga retreat food is good but don’t book this company for your wedding!

Private dining event for my mother 65th Birthday.
Julia and her team are simply fabulous. Professional and friendly with the ability to cater and accommodate several allergies,fussy children and last minute changes. Would highly recommend and will be sure to use purpleplum catering again soon.

THANK YOU so much for all the soul food on our Yoga Retreat weekends in Norfolk! Our guests love indulging in your tasty delights and colourful feasts. I highly recommend you and your fabulous team to everyone who would like Inspirational and friendly Catering! Looking forward to more of your nourishing and fresh food at our new venue…

Fantastic food, healthy and colourful,very friendly team and second time I've been catered for by them.
Always try something new and always yummy
Would definitely book them for any event 👍👍

We were thrilled to have Chef Julia & her team cater our weekend wellness retreat! Her passion for vegetarian cuisine made every meal a highlight, with vibrant, flavorful dishes that exceeded all expectations.

Many guests shared it was the best vegetarian food they’d ever tasted! Each meal was thoughtfully crafted & beautifully presented. Thank you, Julia & team for making this experience unforgettable—we can’t wait to work with you again!

Absolutely incredible food! Honestly cannot recommend them enough!

We loved working with Julia for our wedding. Her and her team made the whole experience amazing from start to finish. The food was delicious and she really went above and beyond to give us a smooth experience. Thank you Julia you're a star!

We had Julia cater at our wedding! It was absolutely fabulous like nothing I’ve seen before - so clever with ingredients for the Lebanese style platters and canapés were exceptional! Please hire her for 2024 - you won’t be disappointed!

Julia catered our retreat at West Lexham and the food was absolutely delicious. There was so much variety and everything was cooked lovingly from scratch using fresh produce. We ate well and there was plenty for everyone. We would definitely recommend purple plum catering, they were super helpful and available for video calls and email chats ahead of our event to make sure everything went smoothly.

A great experience having Julie be our chef during our retreat. Gorgeous healthy food always served with such a smile. And there was always a delicious gluten free option which I was so appreciative of.

I just got back from a retreat last weekend and have to say that Purple Plum Catering blew me away with the incredible spread they provided for the entire weekend. I wholeheartedly recommend them and Julia is a whizz at creating recipes to cater for all needs. I was so impressed, I invited them to cater for my own events this year. They are definitely my ‘go to’ caterers for any future events I hold from now on.

Exquisite, wholesome, tasty, innovative vegetarian food lovingly prepared and beautifully presented by Julia and partner at our retreat in West Lexham. Every meal was a veritable feast, in every sense. Imaginative use of ingredients and spices meant there was something for everyone. Purple plum were a significant factor in the success of the weekend. Came home feeling nourished!

What a revelation the food was to me, I never knew vegetarian and vegan food could be so delicious 😋 what Julia and those at Purple Plum Catering deliver was amazing. I spent three days at a yoga retreat and they did all the catering and I could not have been happier (even as a meat eater!) The Tagine was incredibly tasty as was all the sides and even desserts were great, I could go on and on about their food as Delicious just doesn’t seem to cover it!

Julia provided the most wonderful food for a work's retirement do today for a much loved colleague. Staff thoroughly enjoyed the food. Cannot rate the food highly enough and the excellent service provided by Julia.

The food on our recent retreat to West Lexham was truly 5 star. I'm not a vegetarian but I can honestly say that over the 4 days I was blown away by how tasty and varied the food was. Nothing was too much trouble such as teas. coffees and hot chocolate and the desserts were fantastic. Highly recommended

Julia and her team were absolutely incredible on our recent yoga and Pilates retreat. All the food was delicious, nutritious and really substantial. Everyone on the retreat mentioned how amazing the food was and felt fully fed. I love that all the food is fresh and so most (if not all?) grown on site at west lexham. I can’t wait to come back and use purple plum again knowing we are in really safe hands.

Just got back from a retreat at West lexham where the warm, kind and talented Julia cooked up a storm for our very hungry group! As a vegan I wasn't left with one solitary plate of food. It came in abundance!! With gorgeous produce she created a real variety, no one night was the same but it was always delicious and filling! You can tell Julia loves what she does and cooks with care and love 💕 being home I'm having to acclimatise to my own cooking again 😅 don't hesitate to use Purple Plums!

I have just returned from a yoga retreat at West Lexham Manor in Norfolk, where we were all spoilt rotten by Julia and her team.
We were 18 in total and every request for drinks, ice, food was met with a smile and a cheeky exchange.
They are based on site in a central kitchen / dining area and it felt like the heart of the operation.
I felt like I was popping in to see a friend.
As the food arrived buffet style, we would ask what each dish was and Julia being modest and also hilarious would make up some random name for her dishes.
The food was on another level. I think there was a comment that as a group we ate more than any other group she had had through.
Sorry love - that's on you!
Best quinoa lasagne thingy I have ever eaten!
Boring vegan / veggie / gluten free food - you won't see any of that on Purple Plums menus.
I would turn vegan if I could eat like that everyday.
Julia - thank you so much to you and John for making our weekend so special and fun xx