Devastated groom breaks silence after 50 guests struck by food poisoning at his wedding

A groom has told for the first time of his heartbreak after 58 guests suffered food poisoning from an undercooked hog roast at his wedding reception.

Phil Kemp, 37, conceded the illnesses marred what should have been "the happiest day of mine and [wife] Vikki's lives".

Galloping Gourmet, which provided the catering at Packington Moor in rural Warwickshire, was last week ordered to pay more than £250,000 for causing great "distress and discomfort".

Mr Kemp was so unwell he and Vikki were unable to go on their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic.

We did go away eventually, but this was obviously an extra cost on top of everything we had already paid. It was heartbreaking, the IT operations technician said.

I was totally devastated and we never got any money back from the tour operator or insurer in relation to it.

It got to the point where I had to go to a local walk-in centre and after tests I was told I had salmonella – I just couldn’t believe it.

My illness lasted around 10 days all in all, but the symptoms were so bad that we had no option but to cancel our honeymoon to the Dominican Republic.

The wedding photographer and three members of staff at Packington Moor also fell ill in October 2017.

Cannock Magistrates Court heard the national salmonella reference laboratory was able to isolate genetically identical bacteria from 20 samples provided by some of the victims of the food poisoning, proving they were linked to eating food from a point of source.

Mr Kemp, who lives in Burntwood, Staffordshire, added: 

News of the prosecution is very welcome and I hope that it is an outcome that caterers across the country pay attention to and learn from.

No one should have to go through what we have, especially in relation to their wedding day – it is just not acceptable.

Sadly a lot of the memories about what should have been the happiest day of mine and Vikki’s lives are spoilt by what happened.

Nothing will change what has happened, but we now just hope these issues will never happen again.