Oh Hello,
Sorry, far too long for a blog. Check out my ESSAY!
The Festivals! -
Spent a fair portion of the last 6 weeks looking into festivals, writing to organisers and sending off applications. Was incredibly daunting to start with.. I had no idea whether any of them would be interested as the van isn't actually ready and i'm still yet to trade anywhere. The response i've had has been quality though! Have been accepted into two so far and am waiting to hear from lots of others.
I've decided to steer clear of the massive festis that charge high prices for pitches. At the moment, the first one i'm doing is a tiny one in Hampshire which has 1000 people attending and only 3 or 4 food traders. The other one is a 15,000 person 7 stage rave up in Suffolk! My back yard. Definately gonna take my white gloves, glow sticks and luminous postman's jacket and invite all my toothless 3-fingered friends and relations (of which I have many).
My dad.
Other Trading Spots -
I've spoken to a lady down at Brick Lane about the Sunday market. She seemed very positive and fingers (all 3 of 'em) crossed i'll be allowed to trade there once i'm ready. Been thinking about getting local artists/ local school kids to paint my weekly menu. I'd give them the food description, prices and a colour scheme... they do the rest. Will have to see if this can work but i reckon it can.
Midweek?? I LOVE the idea of rocking up to an "out of the city" spot like Hackney and selling office people their lunch. It'd need to be advertised right and done in a way where I sell alot in a short space of time (I think you only get 20 minutes in one place by law). The alternative is markets but they can be difficult to get into. Need to work this one out.
I've spoken to people who organise H van rally's and I'm going to do a couple this year. I'll be able to trade as well which is a bonus. There's one 11-13 May in Dorset which may well be my first gig.
The Van -
Good and bad news. I drove Jesus H Van to Chepstow to meet her maker. He's called Mark Haynes and he and his son Max convert vans. They're called Embers (www.http://www.emberscatequip.com/) and are based in Chepstow. It's a long drive and I was worried that Jesu might not make it. I shouldnt have been, she did amazingly! Made it all the way there for Mark to check her out and back to Colchester. Then back to Chepstow the following weekend to be converted once i decided to use Embers.
Driving her is a bit like being in a small aircraft but much slower. If you shout, you can just about have a conversation with the person in the passenger seat. Earplugs are essential. Lorries went past me in a blur. I overtook a broken down vehicle and one that had crashed, that was it. Lots of people smiled and waved. Some swore at me. I got egged in Reading by children and screamed at in Marlow by drunk girls. None of this is the bad news (I consider most of it very good!).
The bad news is that my van poisons me with carbon monoxide. The exhaust pipe runs underneath the body and the fumes get sucked up in air currents and enter my cab through the side window. I had the side window open the whole way.. cos i could smell fumes ;o) I didnt die or anything but it screwed me up for a couple of days after the second drive. Memory was shot to bits and I felt delerious and paranoid. Wierd. Luckily it'll be fixed in Chepstow and should be fine after that.
The good news is basically everything else. I went to see the van this weekend just gone and she's looking sweet. Mark and his son seem to take great pride in their work and they've made good progress on the conversion. Should be ready by the end of Feb.
The Food -
This is the area I am most excited by and currently my biggest concern by far. I've got a festival menu planned and in theory I can produce outstanding food at a fast rate. This has only been vaguely tested in practice though. Until I get the van I wont be able to know for sure. The worst thing that can happen though is that the menu changes slightly - no big deal.
By far and away the most crucial thing with food is that it is safe to eat. Giving someone food poisoning is the worst thing that can happen to a caterer so I've been giving this alot of attention. I've produced a hazard analysis for catering at festivals and am going to use a pack called Safer Food, Better Business (SFBB) which the Food Standards Agency have kindly sent me. Noone's gonna end up like Kenny
Everything seems to be going well. As it becomes more real I get more nervous and excited. I've had doubts about certain things but the doubts have all just turned into questions that need to be answered. Still a long old way to go.
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