Why I Started Yum Yums

I have been cooking for as long as I can remember.

Abi's Story

When I was thirteen, my mum worked long hours and my brothers were always hungry. So I cooked. It started out of necessity, but very quickly it became something I loved.

There was something powerful about putting a plate down in front of someone and knowing you had made their day a little better.

Food felt like care.

A Different Path

My career did not begin in catering. I worked in the City as a consultant across investment banks. It was structured, disciplined and demanding. I learned about systems, accountability and high standards. But even then, food was always the thread running quietly through my life.

The Turning Point

The real shift came when I spent a year in Zimbabwe volunteering in children’s homes.

What I saw there changed me.

Food was not abundant. Some days there was fruit. Some days there was not. Children were often living on the simplest of meals. Ingredients we take for granted here simply were not available.

I remember being sent out to try to buy a single banana to split between two children.

It was not just about hunger. It was about nutrition. About growth. About development. About how much a child’s ability to learn and thrive depends on what is on their plate.

I learned how to stretch ingredients. How to make pulses, lentils and grains work harder. How to build real nutrition even when resources were limited.

I learned that thoughtful cooking can change outcomes.

We Can Do Better

When I came back to the UK, I could not ignore what I had seen. I started looking at what was being served to children here and thinking, we can do better than this.

Children deserve food that is fresh, balanced and full of flavour. They deserve meals cooked from scratch, not reheated. They deserve care in every detail, from allergen management to cultural dietary needs. They deserve consistency. They deserve standards.

That belief is what became Yum Yums.

This Is Personal

This is not just catering to me. It is personal.

Every menu is built carefully across the day and the week.

Every ingredient matters. Compliance is not a tick box exercise , it is a responsibility.

Reliability is not optional, it is fundamental.

Over two decades later, I still feel the same way I did at thirteen, standing in the kitchen feeding my brothers.

Food is care.
Food is trust.
Food shapes children's confidence, energy and focus.

Yum Yums exists because I believe feeding children properly is one of the most important jobs there is.

And I take that responsibility seriously, every single day.