This is Our First Time Starting a Mobile Catering Business.

by Dushyant

Hello there,

We are complete beginners my wife and I will be operating this business together. We have never done this before and we want to make sure we do this right & properly.

Please can you give us further advice, as we are not planning on purchasing a mobile catering van/trailer at this stage, but we would like to hire for a day and what should we go for.

We have been approached by our local town to supply Indian snacks at a festival for just a day, this will be in September 2011, so we have plenty of time to get organised.

But we need to get all the necessary certificates and insurances in place before the event. We have been offered a pitch but don't know how much space we should actually obtain as the prices vary, so we need help on this too.

Our Indian snack food will be cooked on site, so what do we need to account for, how much in qty, pricing, suppliers, etc..

We have many questions and would really appreciate some help.

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Mar 21, 2011
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starstarstarstarstar 		Indian Food - Mobile Catering
by: David

Hello there,

I have written my response at the end of each question.

Please can you give us further advice, as we are not planning on purchasing a mobile catering van/trailer at this stage, but we would like to hire for a day and what should we go for.

The size does not really matter as long as long as it contains all the equipment you will need for the day and some storage space.

Why not go down and see a few trailers to get a feel for the space in side.This will give you a good idea of what you will be renting and if it will be big enough for you both.

We have been approached by our local town to supply Indian snacks at a festival for just a day, this will be in September 2011, so we have plenty of time to get organised.

But we need to get all the necessary certificates and insurances in place before the event.

This is great news for you and could be the beginning of something great. You will both need to get a food and hygiene certificate to start off with (level 2)

Search locally at collages/councils for courses near you which last around a day.You will also have to get some liability insurance to protect you and memebers of staff

We have been offered a pitch but don't know how much space we should actually obtain as the prices vary, so we need help on this too.

I think this will be dependent on the size of the trailer, ask event organisers to be more specific ? do you need space for the towing vehicle as well

Our Indian snack food will be cooked on site, so what do we need to account for, how much in qty, pricing, suppliers, etc.

This can be tricky as you don?t know exactly how many people will be attending - how many other food trailers will be present.

Again, try and get this information from the event organisers ? do they have footfall number from previous years.

Also ask them for a map of the site so you can see where you will be located and choose the best position for your trailer.(which may cost more)

As it?s your first time mobile catering at this event you won?t know exact numbers of people attending, so preparing food quantities may prove difficult.

Try your best to find out as much information as possible so that you can prepare accordingly and avoid food wastage. Since this will eat into any profits that you are likely to make.

Hope this helps,

Best of luck

David

p.s Get my free guide on Starting a Mobile Catering Business

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