Food Van Hire in East Sussex

Kent & Sussex Catering Ltd are a friendly, reliable family business providing high-quality mobile catering services in Kent, Sussex and across the UK and pride themselves on the quality of their ingredients and products. Here they share a few thoughts on what you should check when booking a supplier.

What do you need to know from an organiser in order to provide a comprehensive quote?

We understand how stressful organising events can be. Knowing what you've ordered and budgeted for is what you'll get and pay for is crucial. To help us to really understand what you're wanting and for us to get it right for you we'd ask you to provide a few details up front:
1. The event date, venue and timings!
2. A brief explanation of the event and any themes you might want us to follow
3. The estimated number of guests
4. Whether it is indoors or outdoors

That's the essential basics. From this, we can use our experience and expertise to put together a basic quote. We can fine-tune this with you before finalising.

If you have something special in mind, why not send us some pictures or links to the type of equipment you're looking for? This will really help us to get it right.

We will always be honest with you and upfront about costs. We'll also say if we don't think we're the right people for the event.

What advice would you give to a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?

Cleanliness and Quality are king. You absolutely want to know that they understand the importance of hygiene and have the certificate to prove it! Even with the best suppliers, sometimes things go wrong so also check that they have valid and adequate insurance. If they don't have either of these, walk away now!

Then you're into the quality of the ingredients and taste. This can make or break your event. Its often what people remember the most. It might not be so important to you if its Mr Whippy Ice Cream but for food like burgers, hot dogs and Thai food this is critical. Your guests will know the difference between a cheap and a gourmet burger or a genuine bockwurst and a cheap frankfurter. If they're local, ask if you can sample the food they'll use...and make sure it will be the same!

Finally, if it's a large event, check out their maximum delivery capacity and how good their equipment is. You don't your guests queuing for ages to get their food. The better the equipment and experience of the provider, the better and more consistent their delivery will be.

Please tell us a little bit about how and why you started the business.

Kent & Sussex Catering Ltd has its roots back in 2014 when Frankie bought his first ice cream van. You might even say we go back to Frankie's youth because it's his fond memories of helping run a van as a teenager that inspired him to re-enter the trade after a successful career in retail. From these humble beginnings the business has grown and expanded to now where we have six ice cream vans, a fabulous purpose built tram replica providing gourmet burgers and hot dogs, a wonderful old Citroen HY van serving waffles and various stalls and even a gazebo! What remains important to us is quality. We won't compromise on this. You will get what you pay for...and you can be assured of quality.

Please tell us about a booking you've had through Add to Event, how did it go? Would you recommend us to others?

We have been amazed at just how many requests we're receiving and the range of customers using the site. The structure of the site has also made us really think about who we are, what matters to us and how we can stand out from the rest.