Food festivals in the UK have become a massive hit in recent years, with people flocking to these events to enjoy diverse culinary delights from across the country and the world. From street food festivals showcasing gourmet burgers and exotic dishes to larger festivals highlighting artisan products, these events attract thousands of hungry and excited visitors, looking forward to sampling the delights.
But behind every successful food festival is the careful planning of vendors, particularly when it comes to not just what they are going to cook and serve, but actually the catering equipment rental they will need to arrange, in order to achieve this.
For street food vendors, ensuring they have the right catering equipment rental for food festivals is essential for smooth operations. Given the temporary nature of these food festivals, most vendors rely on hiring equipment rather than buying it outright. Of course, there is a cost implication of buying, and hiring is always a cheaper option, but renting catering equipment is also the most hassle-free solution as well. But what exactly is needed when it comes to catering equipment rental for UK food festivals? In this guide, we’ll explore the essential catering hire items vendors should consider, and why we believe it’s so important to choose the right equipment for each event.
Just before looking more at the equipment itself, it’s worth taking a moment to recognise the sheer popularity of food festivals across the UK. These festivals have popped up in every corner of the country, from bustling cities to quaint country estates. The UK food festival scene is incredibly diverse, from small local events to massive international showcases, and they offer a unique opportunity for vendors to connect with food lovers. As an example, here are some of the largest, most popular food festivals that take place annually around the UK.
Taste of London is perhaps the most famous food festival in the UK. Held in Regent’s Park, this event attracts foodies from around the world, showcasing dishes from some of London’s top restaurants. The festival is known for its diverse offerings, and is definitely worth a visit!
Another popular event is the Abergavenny Food Festival in Wales, which attracts food lovers from all over. With its mix of local produce and international street food, there’s no doubt that vendors here need top-quality catering equipment rental products in large quantities to meet the demands of the large crowds.
The Great British Food Festival is another major event, held in various locations across the UK each year. This festival combines local produce with cookery demonstrations and plenty of family-friendly activities. Vendors here serve everything from freshly baked goods to gourmet sausages, making it a must-visit for food lovers!
Let’s not forget the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival, which is a two-day event in Sefton Park that celebrates local food and drink. This is certainly one of the highlights of the year in the North West for food vendors and food festival-goers alike.
Lastly, it’s also worth mentioning The Big Feastival in the Cotswolds, hosted by Blur’s Alex James. This is a fantastic blend of music and food, and is all about gourmet street food, with vendors serving up everything from wood-fired pizzas to Mexican tacos. It’s an event where catering equipment rental plays a significant role, as vendors need to be well-prepared to meet the high expectations of the hungry visitors.
And finally, further north, you’ll find the Edinburgh Food Festival, held in the heart of Scotland’s capital city. This festival draws crowds eager to try Scottish delicacies alongside international fare.
Each of these temporary events showcases how diverse and widespread the UK’s food festival scene has become and, behind the scenes, every vendor is relying on good catering equipment rental to serve customers efficiently, so that’s where we come in!
Running a food stall at a festival is no small feat. Whether you’re selling wood-fired pizzas, burritos and tacos or slow-cooked meats, the key to success lies in having the right tools for the job. Catering equipment rental from Event Hire UK allows vendors to access the best gear for cooking and serving food, without the need for long-term investment. After all, food festivals are usually weekend-long events, and the logistics of buying and transporting equipment permanently simply don’t make sense for most vendors.
The good news is that there’s a wide range of catering equipment to hire, and vendors can select the specific items they need for each festival. The right catering equipment rental decisions can make a world of difference, not only in terms of efficiency, but also – importantly – in ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
So, let’s get into the nuts and bolts of what equipment hire you’ll need for a food festival. Whether you’re setting up at a large festival like Taste of London or a local market-style event, here are some of the key catering equipment rental items to consider.
At most UK food festivals, you’ll find vendors using LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas, also known as propane) catering appliances. This is because many festivals are held in outdoor locations like parks, high streets or even the grounds of stately homes, where access to mains electricity is limited or non-existent unless you also hire a generator. Gas ovens and burners are, therefore, essential for most vendors, as are water boilers and urns, for instance, for access to instant hot water.
For those cooking large quantities of food, LPG gas ovens are ideal, providing consistent heat and allowing you to bake, roast, or grill. Meanwhile, LPG twin ring burners are perfect for frying or boiling, and many vendors also hire commercial gas BBQs for their grilling needs. It’s safe to say that we’re able to offer most gas catering equipment rental and cooking appliances for hire!
Keeping perishable ingredients at the right temperature is a challenge for food vendors, especially during multi-day food festivals where access to refrigeration can be limited. Thankfully, cool boxes and trailer fridges provide the perfect solution.
Cool boxes are great for keeping smaller amounts of ingredients cool, such as dairy products, sauces or drinks. For vendors working with larger quantities of perishable goods, trailer fridges are the way to go. These are essentially large mobile refrigerators that can be towed into position, hooked up to a generator and used to store everything from meats to vegetables at the correct temperature. For longer festivals, having a reliable cooling solution is critical for both food safety and quality.
Cooking at a festival is all about scale. With potentially hundreds or even thousands of hungry customers, you need to ensure you have the right cooking vessels to handle large batches of food. Large saucepans and cooking pots are a staple for many vendors, allowing you to prepare dishes like stews, soups, curries and sauces in big quantities. Hiring large cooking pots, chafing dishes, bains maries and other catering equipment rental items, therefore, is a must.
Needless to say that hygiene is an absolute priority when handling food, especially in an outdoor setting. Having access to running water for washing hands, utensils and dishes is crucial, but not all food festival locations provide this infrastructure. That’s where our portable sink units come in. These are essential for maintaining a clean and safe environment, allowing vendors to comply with health and safety regulations
In fact, many local councils now also insist that food vendors have a portable handwash unit on-site, and failure to do so could result in being prohibited from trading. Portable handwash units, like the ones offered by Event Hire UK, are an easy solution, as they can be set up wherever needed and don’t require a mains water connection. These freestanding, foot pump-activated units ensure that food is handled in the most sanitary way possible, which is critical at any event where food is served.
And, whilst the pandemic may feel like a distant memory, many food vendors continue to prioritise hygiene measures, including the use of portable hand sanitising stations. These stations can be placed at various points around the stall, allowing both staff and customers to maintain good hand hygiene. With thousands of people attending festivals, ensuring that hand sanitising is easy and accessible is a simple way to minimise the risk of contamination.
As an example, Event Hire UK offers outdoor freestanding hand sanitiser dispensers, which can be hired along with other catering equipment rental items. These are ideal for high-traffic areas like food stalls, giving peace of mind to both vendors and customers. Indeed, the food festival organisers might also want to hire hand sanitiser stations to position in high traffic areas around the site – it’s good practice!
While LPG is the most common energy source for outdoor food vendors, there are times when electrical appliances are required. Some festivals provide power hook-ups, but many don’t, especially at more rural or large-scale outdoor events. In these cases, generators are often hired by vendors to power their electrical equipment, including fridges, mixers, doughnut fryers and even lighting for evening events.
Generators can be rented in various sizes, depending on the power requirements of the vendor. For example, if you’re running multiple appliances, you may need a larger generator to ensure there’s enough power for everything to run smoothly. When it comes to food festivals equipment hire, always factor in your electrical needs to avoid any hiccups on the day.
Ultimately, the right catering equipment rental can make or break a vendor’s success at a UK food festival. By ensuring you have everything from LPG appliances to portable handwash stations, you’ll be well-equipped to meet the demands of festival-goers while staying on the right side of health and safety regulations. And, when it comes to choosing the best equipment hire for food festivals, you are definitely in the right place here online with the team at Event Hire UK.
Earlier in this guide, we mentioned some of the most popular food festivals in the UK, and we’re proud to say that we are associated with many of these. The organisers of food festivals know that they can guide their vendors to our range with confidence, safe in the knowledge that all our LPG catering equipment rental products are regularly LPG tested, whilst all our electric catering equipment hire products are regular PAT tested in between hires, to ensure that you receive the very best catering equipment rental products, right first time.
You want your equipment rental for catering products to arrive in good condition, in good working order, at the right time, in the right quantities and in the right place. Food festivals, like any other live events, are busy and, sometimes, chaotic, and so the last thing you need to be worrying about is your catering equipment, so let the team at Event Hire UK take care of this for you!
With this in mind, therefore, don’t hesitate to browse and place your secure order online 24/7, safe in the knowledge that you are putting your faith in the hands of the catering equipment rental experts – we very much look forward to hearing from you soon. After all, we are your #1 source when it comes to the best food festival catering equipment rental in the UK!
