Oula Creative Catering: Business booming for luxury Leeds caterer creating food magic in celebrity homes

The founder of Oula Creative Catering, Megs has been invited into the homes of the Leeds' rich and famous to transform their kitchens with her vibrant spreads.

Her customers can pick and choose from an enormous menu of platters, canapes, crowd-pleasing mains and sweet treats, with the option of a complete table set-up with fresh flowers, table linen and styling.

It doesn't come cheap, but Megs has seen orders pour in since launching her business just 12 months ago.

The 35-year-old, of Calverley, has a background in food marketing and advertising but was a full-time mum to her two young children when the pandemic hit.

Megs told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I grew up in a huge foodie family; mum was an adventurous cook, dad was an adventurous eater.

"I was eating things like ramen as a child and food is all I used to think about, reading recipe books and blogging.

"I always wanted to launch a food business and during lockdown, like everybody, I had loads of time on my hands.

"If I wasn’t going to do it then, I wasn’t going to do it at all. I had to give it my all and get on with it.”

Oula launched its Friday Night Feasts in September 2020, a luxury meal-for-two delivered straight to customers' front door.

The dine-at-home experience was an immediate hit and when Covid restrictions were eased, the business expanded into events and parties.

It now boasts a celebrity clientele including Leeds United stars Stuart Dallas, Luke Ayling and Mateusz Klich, as well as renowned bridal make-up artist Shama Malik and BBC Interior Design Masters finalist Siobhan Hannah Murphy.

“I think a lot of people were experimenting with food over lockdown," Megs added.

“I sat down and really thought about my strategy - what my brand looked like, what it wanted to convey.

“I wanted a luxury lifestyle brand, that tone was really important, as well as the type of food and the clientele who I wanted to approach.

“The strategy worked, but there is a bit of luck involved. You need hard work and the right product, but we were lucky to get the right people to notice us and it took off from there."

From rainbow-coloured sliders filled with homemade falafel and spicy Asian cheeseburgers, to Middle Eastern mezze and grazing platters, Oula's food is packed with bold flavours.

“The creativity of what we offer is what makes it so unique," Megs added.

“Food brings us joy. It’s the main part of any gathering so we want it to look amazing. We want the food to be ‘grammable, as well as having that ‘wow factor’ when you taste it."

Megs now employs a team of three to help her in the kitchen and she's eyeing up expansion.

She hopes Oula will become the go-to caterer for celebrity weddings in years to come, as well as launching a luxury cookbook.

"We’re still learning on the job, we’re not experts by any means," Megs added.

"We make mistakes, we’ve had massive flour explosions in the kitchen, and we laugh about it. We want to bring that fun aspect to your gathering.”

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