Food and drink

Mobile food vans

Local authorities can give you advice on the licensing that mobile food vans should have, and possibly help you to select approved and licensed mobile food vendors.

As most mobile food sales outlets use bottled gas to provide the heating source, they present a fire hazard and must be risk assessed as such. For example a mobile gas-burning chip van should not be located between the go-cart fuel store and the hay barn!

Static food sales

Some events are arranged at sites where kitchen facilities are available, e.g. schools and club houses etc. If the owners approve of you using those facilities during your event, the local authority can advise you on what you need to do, to be allowed to use the facilities.

Food storage

Foodstuffs will need to be stored prior to the event opening, during the day(s) of the event, or overnight for an event running over several days. Once again there are many rules and regulations that vary from foodstuff to foodstuff concerning the storage of food. Check the local regulations and try to make sure that all food outlets abide by them.

Waste-food disposal

There are many rules and regulations that can vary from foodstuff to foodstuff and from area to area, concerning the storage and disposal of waste food. Check the local regulations and wherever possible negotiate for food outlets to deal with and dispose of their own food waste off-site, and under no circumstances in your bins and skips.

Drinks

Local authorities will advise about the sale of food and drinks. It is likely that the static and mobile food sales outlets will also provide drinks, but it is worth checking on your proposed or planned arrangements.

Alcoholic drinks

The local authority, police and local magistrates become involved if you decide to include a bar or beer tent. Although you can arrange all of this yourself, it is more sensible to simply contact the local pub or one of many commercial organisations that will arrange and operate the bar/beer tent for you. You can either pay the cost of staff and stock, then take the profits from alcohol sales, or get them to pay you for the right to run the bar/beer tent from which they then keep any profit on drinks they sell.