Catering outdoors is always great fun, and certainly now more than ever, cafés, bars and restaurants have turned to outdoor catering as a bit of a lifeline following the COVID pandemic. As we’ve come out of lockdown, these hospitality establishments have turned to their outdoor space to try to generate some vital revenues, as customers were not allowed to dine inside as part of the Government’s social distancing regulations.
In a ‘normal’ world, however, outdoor event catering can involve a huge amount of different event types including BBQs in the pub beer garden, hog roasts outside a wedding marquee, canapé events at historic venues in London for a corporate client and many others.
Suffice to say that all food tastes better outdoors and when cooked fresh, and so there’s always sure to be huge demand for professional caterers who are able to provide an effective outdoor catering service, whatever the occasion.
So, if you are a professional caterer and are approached to carry out an outdoor catering event, here’s our top 3 tips to make it a success.
If this sounds obvious, then that’s because it’s an essential element of any successful event, indoor or outdoor! Site visits are even more important for large-scale catering events as they allow you to gauge important factors such as access to the site, power, refuse & recycling facilities and so on, all of which you’ll need to understand in order to carry out the project to the best of your abilities.
Again, this might sound obvious, but it’s imperative that you get this right! Of course, price is important, but not everything! If you’ve already got a trusted relationship with a catering equipment hire company, then all well and good (but this should never stop you looking around at all the available options of course!).
Cheap catering equipment hire should potentially be avoided as it’s like anything else – you get what you pay for! As a professional caterer fulfilling an outdoor catering event, you want to make sure that your catering equipment will turn up in the right condition, clean and ready for instant use. You want it to be LPG or PAT tested. You want the company to arrive at site on time, and in the right place.
If you don’t have access to any washing up facilities on site, then you want them to be able to take back the catering equipment from you and clean it, and you want them to reliably arrive at the end of your temporary catering event to collect the equipment. It’s not too much to ask, but it’s amazing how often these don’t happen!
OK, so this is a bit of a cop out, but it’s fair to say that the weather plays an almost pivotal role in determining the overall success or failure of an outdoor catering event. Unfortunately, the great British weather can never be relied on, and so the only thing you can do is hedge your bets and have a plan B up your sleeve. Have access to a gazebo or two if you need them if and when it starts raining. But, fingers crossed, your event will be blessed with plenty of sunshine.
When the time comes to hire commercial catering equipment, BBQs and much more, you can rest assured that the team here at Event Hire UK are primed and ready to provide you with a seamless hire experience from start to finish. Our range of catering equipment rental here online at Event Hire UK is second to none in the UK market, and available in large quantities and at affordable prices. We’re here to help make your outdoor catering event the complete success you want it to be and so work with the experts here online today and put your faith in us – you won’t be disappointed!
