Food Van Hire in Nottinghamshire

Thefoodbox supply grilled cheese sandwiches and toasties from their newly renovated vintage horse trailer throughout Nottinghamshire and beyond. Their largely meat-free range makes them a good choice for events where diet choices may vary, but they still carry meat products for those looking for that option. Thefoodbox stock only fair trade hot drinks and all ingredients are sourced from local farms or suppliers where possible.

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

To provide our customers with a meaningful quotation and a first class service we need some basic information. The obvious ones are date, time, location and numbers to be fed as well as your budget but equally important is a description of the event, the type of guests attending and how people will be eating. Will they all queue and want feeding at the same time? Will they want to 'graze' during the period of service? There are also practical issues regarding the venue such as ease of access, parking, electric and water supplies. Is the location suitable for use of a generator (think night time and neighbours)? The organiser needs to ask themselves 'What would I need to know to cater for this event?'.

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

By being specific with your brief you will build a picture of the sort of food, caterer and service that best fits your event. It is then a case of checking the best match from the quotes you receive. Not only do you need a price but a full description of what you will get for your money. Ask about the provenance and quality of the food. What is their rating with The Food Standards Agency? Do they specialise in a particular food type or style or are they a general caterer? Talk to the caterer as they will probably be able to offer options you may not have considered.

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

The food and service we provide has been greatly influenced by where we live. The Vale of Belvoir sits at the junction of Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire and is a brilliant location for some great food producers. Our vintage trailer is a converted Rice Europa horse trailer originally built in Leicestershire. The concept behind thefoodbox is to keep everything simple, local and of the best quality. We collect our bread, cheeses, bacon and pies direct from the people who make them so we see first hand the bakery, dairies and smoke house which makes things personal. Using first class ingredients makes our job easy with the added reward of prompting some very flattering compliments.

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

We were recently pointed towards Add To Event through another caterer. Registering on the site was easy with clear guides and explanation how things work. Within hours the first work opportunities were arriving in our mailbox. Costs are tiny when compared to the pitch fees at some events. It is still early days and we are awaiting feedback from potential customers on the quotes we have submitted but Add To Event has certainly created very affordable leads which otherwise we would not have been aware of.