Providing The Catering At A Festival?

Here’s What You Need To Know!

If you run a mobile catering outlet and you’re thinking of branching into festivals then you could do a lot worse. Festivals are full of hungry people looking around for comfort food to soak up their hangovers! Then there are the health freaks that are desperate for something that isn’t going to send their cholesterol through the roof, and the kids who just want LOADS of sweets! No matter what you offer, you can be sure that there will be a big uptake!

Here’s the lowdown on running a catering outlet at a festival:

What You’ll Need

Obviously you’ll need your trailer and all your gear but you’ll be well in the swing of all of that already. You’ll also need your licence to trade but you should already have that too. What you might not have is a canopy or pop-up tent for your customers to sit under in the event of strong sun or a downpour. It’s a really great addition to your trailer and it creates a feeling of community amongst the people that are sitting in it. Get some plastic chairs and tables for people to use, and have a table with condiments and cutlery for people to help themselves to. Then it’s just a case of stocking up on all your provisions and getting geared up to go!

How to Get a Pitch

It can be quite competitive getting a pitch at a festival, and it helps if you have a contact that can pull some strings. You’ll need to pay for the pitch and this can be quite expensive, depending on the pitch placement as well as how many people are likely to attend the festival. You’ll have to do your sums to make sure that you are confident you’ll sell enough to cover your costs and make some profit, and if you’re not you may need to rethink.

When You’re There

You really must advertise and do all you can to tempt festival-goers to your tent. There will be plenty of competition, so make sure your food is of the utmost quality and reward people that come back for more, or tell their friends. Offer a second-to-none service to rival that of a proper restaurant. Don’t run out of anything at all as it looks really bad – you should have someone with you that you can send out for supplies as and when you need them. You’ll want to make as much money as possible to offset the cost of being there, so make sure you keep your prices realistic yet competitive.

There’s not a lot of downtime when you’re working at a festival, but you will still get a chance to have a wander around from time to time and soak up the atmosphere. If you’re lucky you will get a spot somewhere central where you can watch and listen to all the action as you work. Running a catering outlet at a festival is a really fun thing to do, and if you get it right, it can be pretty lucrative too!

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Today’s featured writer, Shaun Leon, works for MDM Shelters which sells all weather shelters and instant garages. Being an ardent music lover, he attends music festivals on a regular basis.