Coffee Van Hire in Aberdeen

Eat Van Drink are the most versatile mobile caterer in Aberdeen and the northeast of Scotland. With a state of the art coffee machine, a passion for using only local ingredients in all dishes and a very unique van - they are the ideal choice to add something different to your event! They offer up some very useful tips here on how to ensure you choose the best and safest caterer.

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

Since we provide a bespoke service for each event it is important for us to get as much information about your event from the outset. For all events it is important we know the exact location you will be using so that we can check if we can safely access the area with our van and equipment. For private events, we like to know the type of event, expected number of guests along with any dietary requests so that we can start to plan menus. For public events we like to get a realistic estimate of the expected guests - this would ideally be from tickets sales, RSVPs or from attendance figures from previous events. We are very flexible with our offering and so we like to know how many caterers you expect at your event along with their proposed cuisine so that we can ensure we don’t overlap with our menus.

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

Food is often a crucial part of your event and so it is essential you source the best and safest caterer for your event. We’d recommend checking out any potential caterers on the Government’s Food Safety website as all caterers should be listed on there if they are registered with their local Environmental Health Department. If caterers are setting up in your event area it is important to check they have the necessary Public Liability Insurance along with a Gas Safety Certificate if using LPG equipment or PAT Certificates is using electrical equipment. Finally, we’d recommend asking any potential caterers about their suppliers, premium caterers will spend time selecting the best suppliers and so will happily discuss their supply chain with you so you know where your food is coming from.

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

Travelling extensively over the years has given us a passion for great tasting food but attending events in northeast Scotland always left us disappointed after we found a lack of good quality, affordable food and so the idea of Eat Van Drink was born. With almost three decades of experience in the hospitality industry between us, we felt we could bring good quality food to the local event scene. Using our beautiful vintage van and focussing on using local ingredients in all our menus we feel we’ve added a unique touch to the events we have attended and look forward to continuing to do this with our future events.

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

We’ve attended many events over the years and no two events have been the same. Our Add to Event bookings are generally private clients allowing us to work closely with them to provide a bespoke service for their event. One particular event was an important birthday party where the client requested a specific menu based on the principal guest's favourite dishes. The guests had no idea we were attending and were absolutely delighted with the van, chosen menu and barista service - all provided in the comfort of the client’s garden. The client sent a lovely Thank You card after the event expressing their gratitude for our service and we have had multiple bookings from guests who attended the event which is the best feedback we can receive. We work with a lot of fellow caterers and always recommend Add to Event as a great resource for bookings.