Most of us can agree – one of the most important aspects of your event is the FOOD! With so many cuisines to choose from, and with increasing awareness about varying dietary lifestyles, it can be very tricky to make a decision.
We caught up with Melanie, the Digital Marketing Manager at Feast It, a catering agency with a twist, to learn a bit more about who they are and what they do.
Tell us a bit about yourselves, and how you got started?
Feast It was created by childhood best friends, Digby Vollrath and Hugo Campbell and launched in February 2017, and started with a simple idea to improve catering. Digby and Hugo were frustrated by the huge amount of time they were spending hunting down the best catering, finding out if they were available and then trying to book them. It seemed odd that there wasn’t a modern, simple-to-use booking platform that would let them book the ideal food and drink for their next event. Delicious food, creative drinks, and amazing service, without the legwork.
Feast It makes event planning that little bit easier by offering a one stop shop where you can discover, compare and book the country’s best catering without any hassle at all.
So how does Feast It work?
Feast It scours the nation for the best food trucks, caterers and mobile bars so you can book them for your wedding, party or corporate event. When you come to the Feast It website, you can either browse and select your favourites from our 500+ street food caterers and mobile bars, or tell us a little about your event and our team will do the legwork and get quotes from traders who match your requirements.
Whichever path you choose, you’re assigned your own dedicated Account Manager from start to finish. They’re there to answer any questions you may have and do all the back-and-forthing with the caterer.
Once you’ve found your perfect caterer, you can chat with them and confirm your booking by making a payment. We even have flexible monthly payment plans to avoid having to pay the whole amount up front. Payment is held securely by Feast It until after your event, for your peace of mind.
How do you choose suppliers for your site?
Every single one of our 500+ caterers have been handpicked and carefully selected by the Feast It team. We are very picky about who we work with and turn away far more traders than we accept – we only work with the best of the best. When considering new traders, our team look for incredible quality food, people who put their heart and soul into their small business and a sprinkling of theatre also never hurts. We work with small one or two person businesses and big names such as Patty & Bun, Dirtyburger and Bao.
Why choose food trucks?
All of our setups add a unique twist to any event – they bring more than just delicious, freshly cooked food; they add a sense of theatre and give your guests something to talk about. Our traders have a whole host of different setups – air streamers, horseboxes, repurposed ambulances, VW vans, trailers and even buses. If your event is indoors, we have great market stall style setups to fit any space.
Do you organise tastings?
Once clients have accepted a quote they quite often liaise with the vendor directly to organise a tasting. Usually the trader will ask them to come to a regular market they attend and will often give them a freebie!
What trends have you noticed cropping up for 2019?
Festival themed weddings in general are really popular and we receive a lot of requests for street food as late night snacks. Using a mobile bar for the drinks reception is popular too – prosecco vans in particular. You can read even more about 2019 trends by clicking here.
Your website has variety great suppliers, if someone is spoilt for choice, how would you help them find their focus/style?
We try and find the best traders for their budget and discuss different menu options and service formats to fit this i.e buffet spreads, help-yourself, table service etc. The look of the stall/truck is always quite important to clients so we advise on how it will impact on the look and feel of the event. We also help clients find traders that work best in the event location, managing all of the logistics etc.
You can find a variety of vendors in action in our previous blog post about Gary & Vic’s festival wedding here.
What options do you have for different dietary requirements?
Most of our traders can offer vegetarian, vegan, gluten free, Halal, nut free and dairy free options. We also have lots of caterers who only serve vegan and vegetarian dishes, if your whole guest list doesn’t eat meat.
How far in advance should you book caterers?
Lots of our traders are already booked on most Saturdays throughout summer so we’d always recommend not leaving it too late. Generally, 6 months or more before the event will mean you have plenty of options! Booking in advance also means you can take advantage of our monthly payment plan and pay for your caterer in bite-sized chunks in the months leading up to the event.
Would you recommend accounting for extra guests when getting a rough headcount?
We would always advise to go with the top estimate. Although, our traders are flexible as long as they are given reasonable notice to make provisions
Does your service vary between corporate, party, and wedding clients?
We always offer the same great service, no matter what the event! Traders can quite often tailor their offering to match the type of event, be it a Christmas theme or personalised wedding menu.
To learn even more about Feast It, check out their website here.
