BBQ Catering in England

The Crafty Swine, based in Surrey, is a hot food trader specialising in handcrafted, incredibly tasty artisan sausages, low 'n' slow wood smoked pulled pork & craft beer. Here they share their passion for proper bacon and sausages and also their extensive insights into what you should ask when looking to book a caterer.

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

For us to provide a comprehensive quote to a customer we need the event date, a brief explanation of the type of event they are hosting, the estimated number of guests, potential venue and dietary requirements. From this, we can use our experience and expertise to tailor a package that suits your needs, and your budget.

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

Be specific; you'll get far better results if you add more information to your advert. It costs suppliers money to respond to each advert, so if you're specifically looking for Indian Food but only specify Mobile Caterers in your advert, with no other information in the description, it can get very frustrating for the suppliers, and you'll be inundated with quotes you're not interested in. The supplier you might want could also avoid quoting.

Do your research. After receiving some quotes, check their feedback - not only on this website but on Facebook etc. See if they have an Instagram page or any Google reviews.

Decline quotes if you're not interested, or if you have hired another supplier. It helps suppliers who may be waiting for your response before quoting for another event.

If it is for an event, please be honest about numbers. No one can help the weather, but responding to an advert with a footfall of 2000 people only to find out that it's more like 150 on the day is heartbreaking. This is our profession. It's what we do on a day-to-day basis to make ends meet, so the more accurate the information, the better.

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

I got tired of awful sausages and watery bacon, so I did some research and started making them at home as a hobby. It was extremely time consuming, but the results were out of this world. Like nothing you can buy in the supermarket, or even most butchers! I highly recommend anyone who likes proper bacon to order a bacon making kit. You'll find plenty of options if you Google it, and it's very easy to make.

After a couple of years of friends and family begging me to make them sausages, I decided to quit my previous job and form The Crafty Swine. We're still in the early days and things are progressing nicely. The amazing feedback we have received makes every day worth it.

It's a huge learning curve. There have been an incredible amount of pitfalls, and things to learn, but we're getting there. Hopefully, you'll see The Crafty Swine on supermarket shelves at some point!

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

I can't nail down any particular booking as being "the one". We've had some shockers, and some brilliant events. You never know how things are going to go until you get there.

At every single event though, even with poor numbers or weather, the response from customers has been fantastic.

I'd highly recommend Add to Event for anyone in the industry.