Look After the Paperwork and the Food Looks After Itself

Records can feel like the dullest part of mobile catering, especially when you are loading a van at six in the morning with a hundred canapés to plate. But when an environmental health officer arrives mid-service, or when a guest reports feeling unwell two days after a party, your records are the only thing that shows exactly what you did, and when. A written food safety management system based on HACCP principles — a diary-style approach such as Safer Food Better Business works beautifully for small teams — is only useful if it is filled in daily, in pen, as you go.

The records that matter most to mobile caterers are refreshingly practical:

• Delivery checks — chilled deliveries at 8°C or below, frozen at -18°C or colder, packaging intact, use-by dates sensible.
• Fridge and freezer temperatures — twice a day, morning and evening, writing the actual reading rather than a tick in a box.
• Cooking, reheating and hot holding checks — probed and logged, not estimated.
• Cleaning schedules — signed off, with any corrective action noted alongside.
• Probe calibration — check your thermometer in iced water regularly, and note the date.
• Allergen information — one sheet per dish, updated whenever a recipe changes.

Keep everything on file for at least twelve months. It takes five minutes a day and it protects your business, your reputation and, most importantly, your guests.

Temperature Control from Van to Venue

Chilled food must legally be held at 8°C or below, but aim for 0–5°C — that is where the real safety margin lives. Hot food must be kept at 63°C or above. Everything in between is the danger zone where bacteria multiply fastest, and a mobile kitchen moves through that zone more often than a fixed one.

Transport is where good intentions slip. Pre-cool the van the night before, pack chilled items into insulated boxes with plenty of ice packs, and never bundle hot and cold containers together. Keep boxes out of direct sun, shut the lid between journeys, and probe food on arrival at the venue before you set up. If something has drifted above 8°C for more than a short window, bin it. On the buffet table, keep hot dishes over a heat source and cold dishes on ice, replace serving bowls rather than topping them up, and follow the two-hour rule: anything left out longer than two hours should be discarded, not packed away for later.

Hand Washing — The Habit That Saves You

No piece of kit matters more than hot running water, liquid soap and paper towels. Twenty seconds of proper washing, drying with paper rather than a shared cloth, is the single most effective thing you can do on site. Wash before you start, after handling raw meat, fish or eggs, after the bins, after your phone, after cash, after the toilet, and after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol gel is a useful extra but never a substitute — it does not work on dirty hands.

Gloves are not a substitute either. They give a false sense of security and get contaminated just as quickly as bare hands, so change them as often as you would wash. Set up a dedicated handwash point with a tap-fed container, warm water, soap and a lidded bin, positioned well away from food preparation and serving areas.

Keep Raw and Ready-to-Eat Foods Apart

Cross-contamination is the most common cause of catering-related illness, and it usually happens quietly — a shared chopping board, a knife wiped on a cloth, a leaky box in the cool bag.

• Store raw food below cooked and ready-to-eat food, always in covered, leak-proof containers.
• Use colour-coded chopping boards and separate knives for raw meat, raw fish, cooked meat, salad and dairy.
• Pack raw and ready-to-eat items in separate boxes in the van, and never let raw meat juices sit above a salad.
• Never reuse marinade that has touched raw meat, and never put cooked food back on a board that has held raw food.
• Use disposable cloths on site, or colour-code them and launder them hot after every event.

Setting Up, Serving and Packing Down on Site

Before you unload, walk the pitch. Stay well away from bins, drains, toilets, standing water and animal areas, and choose level ground that will not flood if it rains. Set tables at a sensible height, use ground sheets, keep everything covered until service, and give each dish its own serving utensil so guests are not dipping the same spoon from prawns into potato salad.

At the end of the day, clean and sanitise every surface, board and utensil, then let equipment dry fully before packing it away — damp storage is a breeding ground. Store dirty equipment separately from clean, and never let waste bags share a crate with food containers.

Train Your Team and Keep Them Well

Every food handler should hold at least a Level 2 food hygiene certificate, with allergen awareness training on top. Brief your team before each event: what is on the menu, which dishes contain allergens, where the handwash point is, and who is responsible for temperature logs. Supervise new staff closely for their first few services.

And be firm about illness. Anyone with sickness or diarrhoea must stay away from food for at least 48 hours after symptoms stop — that rule is not negotiable, however short-staffed you are. No jewellery, hair tied back, clean uniforms, blue plasters on cuts, and a lead caterer who visibly follows the same rules. Standards are caught, not just taught.