Hog Roasts in Hampshire

Fat Hog and Big Pan Catering are a professional mobile event catering company operating throughout Hampshire and beyond. Their rustic style of cooking coupled with the wide range of catering options mean that your event can benefit from trained chefs covering BBQs, sharing boards, afternoon teas, big pan options, hog roasts, lamb roast, desserts, fajita bars and more!

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

For a quote we need to know the food options you are particularly interested in and narrowed down. We offer fresh food and can cater for any function with a range of food. It's helpful to know not only the basics including numbers, location but also how many courses you want, what courses and if you require help with drink service etc. We don't need a kitchen and use gas equipment but knowing what facilities are available may mean we can offer a wider choice of food.

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

When looking for a mobile caterer the most important thing is to check their Food Hygiene Rating - there should be no reason for a mobile caterer to have less than the top score of a 5. The second thing is to check that the 'chef' is in fact a professional chef with their Food Hygiene Certificate. The third most important part is health and safety and if they have public liability insurance and ask for a copy. Beyond this talk to the caterer to find out if the food is freshly prepared and cooked on site or if its cooked off-site, where are the ingredients sourced, what is their experience and what is included in the price e.g. linen, crockery, cutlery etc. A caterer that is set up or advertised as a mobile caterer should never charge you for the kitchen equipment they bring with them on the day as this should be part of the price.

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

Fat Hog and Big Pan Catering started the business over 5 years ago when they wanted to offer alternative wedding and corporate catering that was fresh, locally sourced food with a rustic theme that allowed guests to choose the meal they want rather than the meal they are given as well as creating an interactive food style to make the food a feature at people's events. The business has gone from strength to strength and our unique style and street food ideas becoming ever more popular.

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

I would recommend Add to Event to others as overall you get a vast range of enquiries. We have been looking to build on our corporate catering and Add to Event has given us the requests to be able to evolve this part of the business that we may not have been able to otherwise. We do not cover festivals or public events but have recommend the website to many catering suppliers that do as there are a lot of opportunities that otherwise people would just not be aware of. It gives smaller local suppliers the opportunity to get themselves out there and the customer a wider choice of unique caterers that otherwise they wouldn't have heard of.