Why choose us
What to look for when you are comparing catering quotes
- 30 yrs
- Chef experience
- 1
- Chef, every event
- 0
- Hidden extras
- 60 mi
- Travel included
The case
Ten reasons people book us
The person who quotes is the person who cooks
Your enquiry is read by Adam Skinner himself, and he is on site for every event he quotes. There is nobody to be handed to, and nothing gets lost between the sale and the kitchen because there is no gap for it to fall into.
Thirty years, all of it in this trade
Restaurant kitchens through the nineties and two thousands, outdoor events since. Not a career changer with a grill — a chef whose entire working life has been cooking for other people to a deadline.
Everything is cooked at your venue
No central kitchen, no cook-chill, no reheating in a van. The consequence is that food reaches your guests minutes after it was finished rather than hours, which is most of what people mean when they say catering tastes 'like catering'.
The team is the same handful of people
They have worked together for years, know how Adam plates and know what to do when the timings slip. No agency staff meeting each other in your car park an hour before service.
One price, with everything in it
Chef, equipment, gas, refrigeration, gazebo, lighting, serving tables, service ware, travel inside 60 miles and full clear-up. The most common nasty surprise in event catering is a staffing or delivery line added at the end; there is not one here.
We are entirely self-sufficient
Gas, generator, water, refrigeration, lighting and hand-washing all travel with us. A bare field is no harder for us than a fitted kitchen, which is why we can quote sites other caterers turn down.
Dietary requirements are handled properly
Separate preparation, separate utensils, clear labelling on every dish, and severe allergies plated and handed over individually. Not a single tray of something beige at the end of the table.
The paperwork is ready before your venue asks
Public liability insurance, Level 2 food hygiene for all staff, local authority registration, risk assessment, method statement and HACCP. We will send it all directly to your venue a month ahead.
You are told the truth about your event
If 40 guests does not justify a whole hog, if your access will not take our van, or if your budget cannot produce something we would be happy to serve, you will hear that before you pay a deposit rather than after.
Booking is transparent and takes a minute
Price it up online with real numbers, pay 25% to hold the date by card, PayPal or bank transfer, and get a written confirmation with a reference. No "call for a quote" and no three-day wait to find out whether you can afford us.
Side by side
Us, a typical event caterer, and a mobile van
| Pig & Pickle | Typical event caterer | Mobile van | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who cooks your event | The chef who quoted it, every time | Whichever team is rostered that weekend | The owner-operator, usually |
| Where the food is cooked | On your site, from scratch | Central kitchen, finished on site | On site, limited menu |
| What the per-head price includes | Staff, equipment, travel, service ware, clear-up | Food; staff and delivery often extra | Food only, service ware sometimes |
| Guest range | 25 to 800 | Usually 50 upwards | Typically under 150 |
| Dietary and allergen handling | Separate prep, labelled, plated individually | Varies considerably | Often limited |
| Venue paperwork | Insurance, hygiene, RA/MS, HACCP as standard | Usually available on request | Varies |
| Best at | Events where the food is meant to be remembered | Very large, highly formal, multi-course service | Casual, low-cost, high-volume street food |
One practical tip that has nothing to do with us: when you compare quotes, ask each caterer for the total including staff, equipment, travel, service ware and waste for your exact numbers. The ranking frequently changes.
If it goes wrong
What happens when something does not go to plan
It rains all day
The cooking is under a gazebo and the fire does not care. We will talk to you in advance about where your guests will stand, and point you at local marquee hire if that is not sorted.
Your timings slip by an hour
Common, especially at weddings, and planned for. A hog holds beautifully and a grill can be paced. Tell whoever is running your day to find Adam and we will adjust rather than serve on time to an empty marquee.
Guest numbers move late
Final numbers are confirmed 14 days out, and we build in headroom above that figure. Late additions on the day are usually absorbed without anybody noticing.
Equipment fails
We carry spare gas, a spare burner and a generator, because a single point of failure in a field is not acceptable. It is why the van is as full as it is.
Someone declares a serious allergy on the day
Find Adam and tell him. He would far rather plate something safe on the spot than have a guest take a risk with a buffet table.
Straight answer
When we are not the right choice
You want the cheapest quote in your inbox
We will not be it. Our prices have the chef, the equipment and the clear-up inside them, and there is a floor below which cooking on site by an experienced chef cannot be done properly. If price is the deciding factor, a mobile van will beat us and we will tell you so.
You need a formal plated three-course service
Silver service and multi-course plated banqueting for 200 is a different discipline with a different brigade. We do relaxed, generous, cooked-in-front-of-you food extremely well. We will happily point you at someone who does the other thing properly.
Your venue insists on its own in-house caterer
Plenty of hotels and licensed venues do. It is worth checking before you get attached to a menu — there is no point either of us spending a week on a quote that the venue will not allow.
You need us next Saturday in high summer
Summer Saturdays are booked six to twelve months out. We would rather say no than take a booking we cannot cook properly. Phone anyway — occasionally a date frees up, and midweek is a different story entirely.
If none of those apply, we are probably a good fit — and the quickest way to find out is a two-minute quote or a phone call.
Read on
Check us the way you would check anyone
Decide with numbers
Get a real figure for your event
No 'call for a quote'. Pick a date, a headcount and a menu and see the per-head price, the deposit and the balance immediately.
Adam Skinner answers his own phone — no call centre, no sales team.