Dave Nelson from Truffle & Thyme is looking forward to a crazy couple of months for the end of 2023!

IT’S NOVEMBER! The year is coming to an end and Q4 is well under way. We’re talking to businesses about their plans for the final two months of the year.

Up today is Dave Nelson, owner of Truffle & Thyme who are a gifting and grazing company, based in Sherston near Malmesbury. They provide everything from picnic style grazing boxes as gifts and treats, to Christmas hampers, and full catering options from x10 – 300 for parties, weddings and events in both the private and corporate world.

What’s your business highlight for this month or last month? 
November marks a business birthday for my business, Truffle & Thyme; we’re three years old this month – so it’s a bit of a milestone for us. However, there’s not much time to celebrate as we’re gearing up for Christmas and the gifting season. We’ll be sure to take a break to have some birthday cake, though!

And what about a personal highlight?
As for me, I love Autumn. I love the colours on the trees, log fires and welly walks. From a foodie perspective, I also love the switch to those comforting autumnal dishes of slow cooked stews and hearty soups, with big bold flavours that leave you all warmed up from the inside. 

This was a month for Bonfire Night & Diwali. Do either of those hold meaning or memory for you?
Bonfire Night is always a favourite at home. As a family we try to visit 2 displays locally, one in Luckington and one in Uley, Gloucestershire. The simple reason we love it so much is that once the bonfires are out and the fireworks have stopped, we know we’re only a few weeks away from December and all the fun which it brings. 

Are you doing anything in November or December for charity or for a community or volunteer project?
In September I cycled from Paris to Geneva over 4 days with a group of 75 others. We raised 70k for a charity called 1moreChild, who provide basic needs, such as 3 meals a day, school fees and supplies, and medical care to Ugandan school children, their families and communities. I’ve decided that I’m going to donate 5% of my Christmas hamper profits to the same charity. 

What’s your top tip for being positive as we enter the last month of autumn? 
Exercise, if you can – you get an immediate buzz from it, and it leaves you feeling in a better frame of mind. I’ve always loved doing sport, but this last year has seen me unable to do much as I’ve been too busy with work. As a result, cycling in September was incredibly hard, but it kick-started my exercising again, and the change in my mental wellbeing was immediate. I can’t recommend it enough. 

Did you know November 13 was World Kindness Day – has anyone shown kindness to you in the last month or so? At home and/or work?  Tell us how you view kindness in your business or professional role?
For me, working in hospitality and ‘being kind’ go hand in hand – I wouldn’t be very good at what I do if I was grumpy all the time! Kindness, in this day and age, though, is something that seems to be hard to come by. Children at school are now beginning to be taught about how to manage money; maybe some sort of lessons in kindness, from an early age, might be something to think about? 

Are you preparing for Christmas in your business? What are your plans are going to be? 
Truffle & Thyme hand-deliver a lot of Christmas hampers in December, so there’s a lot of planning to be done this month. We start to plan our delivery routes and are constantly processing orders, plus we’re also dealing with catering enquiries on that side of the business – so there’s lots to keep us busy. 

You can find out more about Truffle & Thyme here: https://www.truffleandthyme.co.uk