Owner and Director, Derek Freeman, is a qualified chef to Michelin star standard with a fascinating background. We talked to him about his growing business:

How did you come to be in the private jet catering business?

I have my origins very firmly established in the fine dining world. Before setting up Bon Soirée in 1997, I was cooking at the highest levels as personal chef to Sir John Paul Getty Jnr. and alongside chefs like Gordon Ramsay whilst cooking on private yachts. I have Michelin star cooking experience at Baur au lac in Zurich, Switzerland; The Fairmont Hamilton Princess in Bermuda; and Gordon Ramsey invited me to his first restaurant kitchen at Aubergine to observe and learn his style of food. I saw a gap in the market for quality private jet catering and thought it was a natural progression from what I'd been doing.

Derek has turned the entrance of the Bon Soirée premises into an artisan style café

How has Bon Soirée grown over the years?

I started the business with a handful of staff based at our establishment in Berkhamsted - a market town in Hertfordshire, about 25 miles north west of London. Since that time we've grown to 28 staff working in both the Jet Catering and Home Entertaining divisions of the company.

When another part of the building complex we occupy became available for purchase about three years ago, we opened a French- style café serving food from an additional dedicated kitchen. We now have 3 Kitchens, 14 chefs and 18 supporting staff making all that Bon Soirée offers come together.

Jet catering is a particularly competitive business - how do you differentiate yourselves?

It sounds simple, but by providing the highest quality food at a price customers are happy to pay, and by engaging with our clients so that they feel we are part of their team - that's what sets us apart. As a fine dining company, you would expect exceptional food and service, however, our chefs are craftsmen creating their food in an artisan manner which is something which we feel is unique to Bon Soirée. It's not only me that has the experience of operating at the highest levels, our chefs do too and that clearly shows in our innovative food.

We are also the first jet catering company to have invested in developing an app to make ordering our food more efficient. We wanted to give cabin crew a tool that would meet their needs and it's an investment that has definitely paid off.

You've been described as a ‘boutique’ company

I think Boutique is a good description of the kind of operation we are. We offer a very personal service with food that is out of the ordinary. We regularly cater for some very large passenger numbers as well as the smaller groups so small scale is definitely not our business. The last large order we produced was for 30 passengers - a challenge, but we're well used to it!

You're well placed for the major business aviation airports

Yes, because of our location we can reach most of the airports in the London and South East area quickly. We're very busy with customers flying from Luton, Farnborough, Northolt and Biggin Hill. Luton has always been busy, however in the past two years we have seen a significant increase in business from clients flying from Farnborough.

Derek tries out a new dish in one of the company’s kitchens

What plans do you have for the future?

I was based in the South of France whilst providing fine dining on the private yachts and I would love to take the business to its next stage by opening an operation in that part of the world. The name Bon Soirée was conceived during my time in the area and I believe that the company would fit perfectly in that environment. Watch this space - we have lots of plans!

www.bonsoiree.co.uk