Food is a big part of your Wedding Day so Research your options and your Caterer to ensure they are the right choice for your day.
Choosing a Food Van for Weddings
The Hungry Plaice • November 29, 2019
What To Think About When Selecting A Street Food Van For Your Wedding
Check Out Their Credentials
Please make sure that you ask your Caterer for documentation and certifications. A professional company should have no problem in being able to provide these.
Every Food Business by law MUST be registered with a Local Authority and after a short period of time they would be subject to an EHO inspection which leads to a Food Rating this is rated 0-5 which 5 being the highest, details of which can be found on the internet. You can also find listings for each Food business ratings on Government Ratings websites.
All Caterers should be qualified in Food Safety
to a minimum of Level 2
as required by law, this includes all staff that are handling food, some Caterers may have higher level qualification particularly if they are managing the business.
You must make sure that your Caterer has Public Liability Insurance, most businesses will have a minimum of £5m cover, if you are unsure ask them to provide proof of this to you, it's better to be safe than sorry.
A Caterer should adhere to a Safety Management System
so should be able to provide Risk Assessments covering Health & Safety, Food Safety and Fire Safety this would show you are dealing with a business that takes safety seriously.
There are plenty of Food Related Organisations that Caterers may be a members of and they can easily provide you with proof or a membership number that you can check out.
Other documentation which may be relevant to certain businesses such as some Equipment Certifications, DRB Certificates, Operating Licenses (where you have vehicles or combinations of vehicles and trailers over 3.5t), or Alcohol Premises and Personal Licenses.
Consider the setup of the Catering Company, look at photos of Vans/Equipment that they have. Look at the types of events they attend and how they present themselves.
Ensure They Can Handle Your Wedding Catering
We can all say that we handle something and it's difficult to actually have proof of that.
Consider the setup of the Catering Company, look at photos of Vans/Equipment that they have. Look at the types of events they attend and how they present themselves.
A Van with a tabletop or floor length basket fryer will cook fish and chips much much slower than a Chip Shop Range Fryer as the equipment is not designed in the same way.
Consider if the Caterer has the skills and capabilities to cater effectively at your Wedding, this relates back to their credentials, can the Caterer prove make you feel confident that they can keep up with the demands of what you need in terms of numbers and queuing.
Ask questions
about how serving is completed and how many people they can serve in an hour, an experienced caterer would happily share this information with you and explain why this is so. Some types of food can take longer to prepare no matter how quickly the Caterer is working.
Don't be put off by a smaller scale businesses, with a bit of planning and experience 2 people can work just as fast as 4 people. They will also give you a personalised service and you will probably be served by the person you first communicated with rather than staff sent along in their absence.
Check out Websites, Social Media Pages and Supplier Listing Websites
for more details and if you can read any feedback from previous customers they are often truthful and to the point on the service they received.
There is no harm contacting past customers/venues directly and asking them any questions that you have.
Are You Getting The Best Deal?
Pricing is a subjective subject!
You cannot compare a 10ft Burger Van Trailer to a Vintage Citroen HY Van that provides Gourmet Burgers, it all depends on what your budget is and what you are looking for from your caterer.
There are lots of different types of Caterers out there to choose from so its best to start with what your budget is, you might come across a van or trailer that completely fits your theme and so you are prepared to take money from elsewhere in your Wedding Budget to pay for it!
Just remember that Caterers are not just paying to run a Trailer or Van buy stock and get to your event, they are running a business which is expensive and they have to have prices to reflect that.
You should also consider that some Catering Companies have full time businesses and can concentrate on their craft whilst others work weekends around their full time jobs, again their offerings will reflect that.
Take a look at past customers
of your Caterer have they only worked at small local public events or have they worked with local or national businesses or brand names, just remember that corporate clients can at times have much higher expectations and regulations to follow in terms of business conformance so can only work with Caterers with certain credentials.
An important point to consider is of course the food itself, the quality you are being offered and how this is presented. There is a difference between being served using a Polystyrene Tray or a Cardboard or other Biodegradable Tray that costs more money.
Ask the Caterer where their food is sourced from and which suppliers are used, bear in mind whilst everyone would love to be able to provide locally sourced product this may not always be what is feasible if you have large events to cater for.
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