Our story
A short history of Breading and Coating Ltd
Breading and Coating Ltd (B&C) was founded by former chef Mr Darren Bull and formulation chemist Dr Muhammed Khurram Qureshi – affectionately known here as Dr Q! Their successful partnership has in itself proved a winning formula: their combined knowledge – amassed over many years working in differing yet complementary fields and along education paths – being vast.
About DARREN BULL (B&C Partner)
If Dr Qureshi is also known as ‘Dr Q’, perhaps Darren Bull should wear a ‘Mr Thorough’ name badge around our state-of-the-art manufacturing plant here in Hertfordshire! Darren’s in-depth knowledge of the food industry is the result of years of hands-on hard work coupled with dedicated study.
“If you’re going to do something, do it properly.”
Born in Hackney (London), Darren has always been an achiever — an extraordinarily focused individual, determined to go about things properly, no short-cuts taken, no skimping on the finer details… His ‘food industry journey’ began way back in the Eighties. Determined to start at the bottom, and to gradually work his way up, Darren committed himself to serving a demanding apprenticeship as a chef in the Home Counties.
Success after success in the Food Sector
After successful completion of his training, Darren moved into sales, selling food-associated products, before founding Simply Filling in 1987. Five years later, the company merged with Go Foods to form Simply Go. The business rapidly grew. Then, in 1994, Darren left to launch The Sauce Company, which he part-sold to Calder Foods (where Dr Q was under contract) in 2009. It was during the sale that Darren recognised Dr Q’s expertise. Two years later, Darren resigned from the Board at Calder Foods to set up Breading and Coating (B&C) with Dr Q.
About DR Q (B&C Partner)
Born in Lahore (Pakistan), Dr Q is a renowned formulation chemist and has a PhD from the University of Cambridge. He enjoys a brilliant academic career, enabling him to teach at highly respected institutions such as a Pakistan Centre of Excellence, and the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore.
A much in-demand consultant
During his seven years at UET, along with post-graduate teaching and research, Dr Q was much in-demand as a consultant to the chemical, cosmetics and food industries, advising on an eclectic array of challenging projects, such as the procurement of raw materials, the development of new formulations, and education of new concepts to the market.
After happily making the UK his home 15 years ago, Dr Q has established himself here as a leading consultant, expertly advising numerous food manufacturers on a wide range of matters; and it is his expertise and understanding of the UK’s thriving Fast Food Industry that has enabled B&C to offer exceptionally close matches of mainstream popular breadings.
Sharing a common passion
Adopting a painstaking approach, the two men took the time to patiently explore their target market, covering all aspects both here in the UK and across the Globe. B&C operated in a low-key way for two years, before being launched fully into the market. Both men felt that it was a chance of a lifetime, a single opportunity to share a common passion for food and to create the best breadings, coatings, peri-peri sauces and marinades that they could. With their combined knowledge of formulation and business acumen, it has proved to be nothing less than the perfect recipe for success!