WHEN COLIN FARRELL THANKED CRAFT SERVICES IN HIS GOLDEN GLOBE SPEECH IN JANUARY, HE SHONE A LIGHT ON POSSIBLY THE MOST OVERLOOKED PEOPLE ON SET: THE CATERERS. KNIVES — AND FORKS — OUT, THEN, AS WE GET COOKING…

WORDS KYLE MACNEILL BILL MCCONKEY

IT IS, IT TURNS OUT, NOT A WRAP.

“Not wraps, no. It’s paninis we need,” says Chris Blyth, after one of his chefs checks whether they need to get tortillas or ciabattas from their mobile larder. Empire is at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden with Hot Goblin, a catering company owned by Blyth that has worked on productions including The Crown, Peep Show and Call The Midwife. His team

is cooking for the 400-strong cast of The Franchise: last year’s HBO metadrama following a film crew’s less-than-heroic attempts to make a superhero movie. “There are actors playing runners next to runners helping actors,” Blyth says. Luckily, he confirms, they’re not in competition with any pretend caterers.

A rainbow has arched its way across the sky, leading not to pots of gold, but to industrialsized stock pots of king prawn linguine, aubergine tagine and chicken katsu curry, all rustled up in a fleet of vans. “We’re a well-oiled machine now,” Blyth says, destoning a vat of avocados. Alongside a full fry-up breakfast — which it’s only polite to partake in —there’s a spread of cereals, toast and fruit made for grazing, plus an omelette station. “Ben’s in charge of omelettes. He’s a showman,” Blyth jokes, explaining that Anthony Hopkins liked them so much, he got one of the chefs to make one for a scene in The Father (Hopkins also liked his salmon very, very, very well-done).

Suddenly, a fireball behind us erupts into the sky. Luckily, it wasn’t the deep-fat fryer going up in flames. “That was dramatic!” Blyth roars over the superhero din.

Welcome to the world of the film and TV catering industry, where the unofficial tagline seems to be, “You are only as good as your last meal.” It consists of a small group of UK-based location caterers —including Hot Goblin and the likes of Red Chutney, Fayre Dos and Chorley Bunce —who make a living by feeding the stars.

These catering services work side-by-side with craft services —known affectionately as ‘crafty’ —who sort the snacks, tea, coffee and gossip. And they’re priceless. At January’s Golden Globes, Colin Farrell thanked “Carolina” in “craft service” for keeping the “whole [The Penguin] crew going… on those cold winter nights in New York” with an endless cascade of coconut water. (“Never ever stop working with passion and love,” she later responded, “because at the end, everything will taste delicious.”)