SUCCESS has been sweet for Carly Jervis-Goode since officially launching her business Goode Choice Catering in the hardest of times.

And she is now our well deserved Trader of the Week.

Despite starting out as COVID-19 hit the UK she personally made and delivered 8,100 afternoon teas during the first lockdown and has been phenomenally busy ever since.

The infancy of the business also coincided with the very sad death from prostate cancer of her father, Ian Goode, in October 2018, who was a well known figure in the town, running the Manchester Hotel and the Pier Theatre for many years.

But Carly says it was her dad's idea that she launch the business and she is heartened to think of how he would have approved.

Carly, who has three daughters - Mia, 12, Isla, 4 and Eva, 2, said: “It was dad that set me up. I was making cakes for the kids and was constantly making cup cakes and Victoria sponges and he said you should make this into a business. He came up with the name and put the idea out there.”

It began with cakes and buffets for kids, Christmas and office parties, such as fruit kebabs and home made sausage rolls and then snowballed.

“A couple of friends getting married needed catering for 250 people and I asked Mum to help. Then Hoburne Holiday Park director Simon Phillips called me just after my dad died to offer his condolences and was interested in me hosting a charity night in aid of Prostate Cancer and said they would sponsor me. He asked me to speak to their food and beverages manager about putting party boxes into lodges when they were newly sold. So I provided afternoon teas with all local produce.

We then set up a system where they could order afternoon teas but then the first lockdown happened in March 2019 just as we had everything in place and the boxes ready to go.So I took the initiative and just put out an advert doing afternoon teas. “

"The floodgates opened.I almost couldn’t keep up with what people were wanting to order. Then in the second lockdown it got even busier!”

It resulted in her adding cheese and charcuterie boards to her deliveries as well as afternoon teas. Most recently she is enjoying success with the Sandbanks Savoury Board (£30 for two people) made of locally produced ham, beef and veggies from Bournemouth and Poole mobile market and Oxfords in Canford Cliffs.

Her Mother’s Day orders are fully booked.She has many regulars. An added bonus is she has managed to get many businesses to donate to Prostate Cancer and /or book tables for her next big variety fund raising event. Since 2019 she has been an ambassador for the Lewis Manning Cancer Trust and hopes to help open a prostate cancer awareness clinic with doctors locally in one place along with Clare Gallie the CEO.

Carly sais:“I want to do something in Dad’s name so that men of a certain age have regular routine check ups.”

For now Carly is working hard baking scones and cakes every night from 9pm so everything is fresh. She starts early in the morning with 6 am deliveries to her home of meats and vegetables. Whilst she sometimes asks Mum, Irene, to help, Carly says she doesn’t want the business to grow too big but she is delighted she is spreading happiness in lockdown.

“When we started last March it brought lots of people a little bit of pleasure in lockdown . So many times I’ve been out doing deliveries and customers say they haven’t seen their families in months. Mia my eldest daughter goes with me sometimes and people want a chat on the doorstep and have become friends - it’s been a very emotional rollercoaster really because we are in the early stages of grief losing Dad so we feel their loss. I feel so sad Dad is not here to see this and to see me celebrate my 40th birthday on March 27. He would have loved it.”

Carly uses all local produce, including clotted cream from County Foods and sliced beef and ham from Oxfords in Canford Cliffs, plus Bournemouth and Poole Market, all freshly delivered at 6am.

Having worked in the commercial department at Goadsby and Harding and in customer services at various hotels Carly has certainly found her niche.

This Easter Goode Choice Catering is offering a tasty range of treats delivered directly to your home or office, including homemade Cupcakes. For £5 you can get 6 or for £10 you can get 12!

You can also order the Afternoon Teas, Kid’s Boxes, Sandbanks Savoury Boards and more!

To find out more, call 07429 523313

www.goodechoicecatering.co.uk