Flying Scotsman in Shropshire: Deli delighted by the chance to feed VIP guests

The Deli in the Village, which is owned and managed by Jodie Mondon-Lines, has been chosen to cater for nearly a thousand of the passengers.

They will be travelling on the VIP Charity Day services, hauled by Flying Scotsman on September 21.

Jodie has been building up her catering business for six years, and tells of how winning the contract is a dream come true.

She explained: "This is a huge break for the Deli in the Village and a real chance to really put ourselves on the map for high-end catering.

"The scale of the project is much bigger than anything I've done before.

"I'll be pulling out all the stops to make sure we deliver a top quality service."

Jodie will be providing luxury picnic hampers for VIP guests on board the three Flying Scotsman services on the first day of the locomotive's six-day residency.

Her brief is to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner hampers with a selection of varied and tasty food, that is suitable for on-board dining.

The Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust is putting on the special day to raise funds for the Railway.

Shelagh Paterson, director of development, said: "It was important to offer our VIP guests a selection of wonderful things to eat during their journey.

"We chose the Deli in the Village because of its reputation as a provider of locally-sourced, high quality food.

"The fact that Jodie and her team hand-make most of the food that is in-house was another winning factor.

"We're delighted that local businesses like Jodie's are benefitting from Flying Scotsman's visit to the SVR.

"The Railway continues to play an important role in boosting the local economy."

Cooking and assembling the items for the hampers will involve several days of round-the-clock working.

Amongst the delicacies on offer will be locally-sourced turkey and ham pie, mini quiches, home-roasted ham, and Jodie's speciality individually-sized picnic loaves, which are all made from bread, eggs, cream, cheese and herbs.

The VIP Flying Scotsman Charity Day starts early on September 21, with the first of three services departing from Kidderminster at 8.20am.

Flying Scotsman's renovation was completed earlier this year, coming at a cost of £4.2million.

Following the VIP Charity Day, it will take part in the Railway's Pacific Power event, alongside Tornado, from September 22 to 26.

Up to four other public services will operate during the event.

An extensive list of safe viewing places and temporary car parks for the latter event can be found here