Florence Swift, 34, has always loved cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
‘A family friend gave me some cookery books when I was around seven,’ she tells Metro.
‘I would make “bits and pieces soup”, which was essentially minestrone, or cute little fairy cakes.
‘My parents weren’t interested in food but they were always happy to let me make a mess in the kitchen.’
Despite finding her passion at an early age, Florence became a receptionist in January 2016 — she hopped around between jobs, also working as a barista and in a fitness centre.
Still, she continued to find joy in food. She says: ‘I watched a lot of food content on Instagram and I learnt about veganism, tried chia seeds, and explored lots of different things I hadn’t known about before.
‘I also saw lots of grazing platters on social media and started making them myself.’
Grazing platters are boards filled with different types of food that people can nibble on. Inspired by charcuterie and cheese boards, they’ve taken on a life of their own on social media, with creators artfully displaying picky bits, whether that’s a platter full of pick ‘n’ mix sweets, or more decedent snacks.
Florence would often cook for friends and family and then, in January 2019, a friend asked if she’d cater a birthday party. ‘I was really excited to get the opportunity to give it a go,’ she adds.
‘I took a photo of one of the grazing boards and posted it on Instagram and it got a lot of positive attention.
‘An entrepreneur friend of mine encouraged me to take the step to start my own business.’
Having grown up in a creative, self-employed family, Florence decided to take the risk, and set up garner & graze.
She posted her first garner & graze board on Instagram in March 2019, and began working towards her food hygiene certificate.
Set-up costs were minimal, restricted to buying necessities such as food containers, while she operated out of her home, saving on studio rent.
And, in August 2019, she got her first catering job for co-working space WeWork, to prepare food for their clients.
She says: ‘I was excited but so nervous. I hadn’t catered for strangers before and I couldn’t help wondering who I was to be doing this, but it all went well and I got more bookings from it.’
Florence made assorted bagels, banana bread and granola pots, accompanied by beautifully prepared and arranged fruit.
But in March 2020, the pandemic hit. She lost her job as a barista and with events and public gatherings banned, work dried up.
Self-employed for only a short time, she didn’t qualify for government support.
She says: ‘All my bookings were cancelled and I was devastated.
‘At first I thought it would just be two weeks, but when it became clear it would be longer, I started producing grazing boxes which included crackers, olives, fruit, humous, cheese and sweet treats.
‘It was hard and stressful but I learnt a lot about my business and myself as a business woman.’
And as the restrictions lifted, garner & graze continued thrive. By 2021, Florence had outgrown catering from her one-bed flat, which she shared with her boyfriend Markus.
She says: ‘I went from doing small jobs to events for 300 people. Work items were taking up one of the two storage cupboards we had.
‘We had a two metre long commercial fridge in the living room and a 600 litre standing fridge in the kitchen!’
Now Florence has moved to a larger studio, in east London.
Her days can start as early as 4am or can run late into the evenings.
She says: ‘I have to be flexible around produce and price. I use seasonal produce, particularly fruit, so now we’re using figs and pomegranates, while in the summer I use stone fruits and strawberries.’
And pricing can prove tricky. Florence says, ‘Around 2022, brie went from £5 a kilo to £12, along with other cheeses. I had to raise my prices and swallow some of the costs.’
‘My income is very variable but I earn more now, while also having so much more flexibility and downtime.
Showing Florence’s passion for her work, a DIY grazing board challenge featured on her hen do, with her hens trying (and failing) to make boards like the bride’s.
She even catered for herself and her bridesmaids on her wedding morning in May 2024, making banana bread topped with mascarpone, granola pots and preparing fruit.
She says: ‘It might be most brides’ worst nightmare, and people thought I was insane, but I needed to eat and my bridesmaids did too. I wanted good food, a supermarket croissant wasn’t going to cut it. It kept me calm and grounded on such a big day.’
Her biggest achievements have included working with huge brands such as Cult Beauty, Anthropologie, Lululemon, John Lewis and Damson Madder.
The business has been so successful The business has been so successful that Florence’s husband Markus has left his job to join her team.
Now, at 23 weeks pregnant, she looks forward to the future.
She says: ‘We’re going to have a baby soon and it’s lovely that we are going to be able to run the business and raise our baby together.’
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