How Haarlem began

As we approach our sixth year anniversary here at Haarlem, we find ourselves getting nostalgic and just a little bit curious about how and why it all started. So we asked Helen and Natalie, owners of our fabulous wedding venue, to look back to the beginning and tell us how it all began! 

Nat met Hel back in 2006 when she was just 15 and looking for a part time job! Hel was running her small catering business and mobile coffee van Kiwi Coffee Co and jumped at the chance to employ Nat! It soon became apparent that Nat had something about her and quickly became a key part of the team. By the time she turned 18, she was basically running the coffee van single handedly during her summer breaks from Uni. 

Fast forward three years and the business had hit a crossroads. Hel was pretty burnt out with 2 young children and a growing business and she was struggling to keep up with the challenges that brought. It felt like she couldn’t continue at this pace on her own, so she decided to ask Nat (who had graduated from Uni and was thinking about her next move), to join her as partner in the business. She says this was one of the best career decisions she has ever made! Zest Catering was born. They threw themselves into some serious business coaching and doubled the business in their first year together. Wedding catering was their main area of expertise, which they both loved, but after an exhausting summer of weddings in fields and village halls, they realised that what they really needed was their own venue. It all sounded so dreamy on paper! The idea of having everything in one place! All the electrical sockets they needed, as well as a fully fitted out commercial kitchen! No more lugging buckets of water across the field or navigating deep mud and sloping floors to feed hungry wedding guests in the pouring rain! 

So in 2015, their search for the perfect venue began. They were open to anything, scouring the Derbyshire countryside, driving down lanes and around towns looking at dilapidated barns, industrial buildings and big empty fields with a view! They say that in the end Haarlem Mill found them. The owner of the mill had used Zest catering over the years, but had no idea they were looking to settle into a venue! It was by complete chance that he called Helen one random day to suggest they come down to Wirksworth to “have a look around my old mill”. And the rest, as they say, is history!…

Well not quite… After their first visit, they actually walked away saying it was an amazing space but way too big and beyond their reach! 6 months later they were back there (having not been able to get this building out of their heads) with an interior designer and a dream was born! Quite literally blood, sweat and tears were shed over the two years of designing and building the venue from scratch. It very nearly broke them both at times, working tirelessly in Zest to generate the money to pile back into the build! Every tile, paint colour and wine glass was painstakingly considered. A website was created and every detail, from licensing to menu creation was tackled…by these two women who had NO IDEA what they were doing! 

There’s no doubt that Nat and Hel have created two successful businesses out of a passion and love for the hospitality industry and delivering the very highest level of product and service to their customers. They understand that in this business, they can’t afford to sit still or ever get complacent. It’s a world that is constantly changing and throwing new challenges at them. They say that without each other, their amazing team and all the incredible couples who have chosen to trust them with their special day, they could not do it!