The Cost of Food From A Van.

[powerrabbit]

I've been to a number of shows and vintage rallies over the season this year and I'm not alone it seems in noticing that the cost of food and drink bought from the catering vans has hiked considerably. £5 for a rather dubious beef or lamb burger in a bun that eats like rubber, £2.50 for a portion of chips perched on a shallow sided bit of polystyrene and £1 for a wishy-washy little polystyrene beaker of tea or coffee that looks and tastes like mud. It's been reported that one caterer at this years game fair was charging £6 for a rather meagre pork bap. I don't bother with these catering vans when attending shows and rallies, I take my own food and drink just to sustain myself whilst there and wait until I return home and then have a proper meal. We know that the price of a pitch at these events are getting beyond what some of the smaller independent caterers can afford and for that reason you can't blame them entirely for the high food and drink prices but there are those that are just outrageous. What do you all think and do for food and drink when at these sort of events?

[MF-ROB]

I also have sen this Tim at the Barmoral show over with us £2.00 - £2.50 for a 500ml bottle of pop and for 2 burgers 2 chips and two bottles of pop £26.00 but from now on il be like yourself Tim bring my own

[powerrabbit]

I also now very rarely go to the pub as the price of pub beer is far more expensive than fuel per litre, if I do go I ask for a pot of tea or coffee, much cheaper and you can be just as sociable. This brings me to the point I want to make, it was about 10 years ago now but in the pub one evening with a friend I asked, for myself, a pint of lemonade and lime, when I was told 'that will be £2.75 Sir' I asked the bar tender where the lemonade came from as I could buy a case of 12 2 litre bottles in the supermarket for not much more than that! I refused it and left.

[Light Land]

Same here Tim, A light pub meal with a tape beer and a glass of coke for the mrs is about 10 pound in some places, the old pie cart at farm shows is the same . We eat before we go out now as a rule.

[Paul Palmer]

 you tight old gits

[Light Land]

^{You can only spend it once Paul, but you can spend the interest many times over.}  

[powerrabbit]

It's not that we're tight or old, it's probably due to the fact that we know what the prices are that we the producer gets for our produce and the extortionate profits made on them by the retailer for very little if any effort on their part, meat products are a little different than vegetable and fruit as meat has to go through more processes to bring it to the public market or point of sale but having said that does the price of meat products in the butchers or supermarket of £8 per Kilo for beef steak justify the price to the producer of £1.25 per Kilo for the whole animal? I know that certain joints and cuts are cheaper than steak or sirloin but there is still a vast profit made even on these. As for veg, example, cauliflower grower, paid 23p per head, supermarket sells for £1.50 per head and all they do is transport it and put it on their shelves, producer has to grow to harvest, chuck out any that don't pass the size/quality criteria, employ labour and finance machinery to harvest and package and everything else in between. Don't even mention raw milk and milk products.

[Valley Axe Man]

Your right about the price of non-alcoholic drinks in pubs.... some are extortionate prices and then you wonder why so many people have a pint or four then drive home. Food at shows is another.... a good vet would bring some of the burgers they sell back to life....

[dm434]

a recent trip down to London we stopped at a holiday inn near heathrow . there was an Italians next to the hotel ,what we used only the once as the coke we ordered for the kids which was a can each was £3.50 per can !!!!!!!!!!!!!. seven quid for 2 cans of pop . robbers !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stabliofarmer]

A point for food stalls, while at the great Dorset this year my dad and I were talking to a company called berry brook steam who had a pitch there, the pitch alone cost £1700 for the 5day event and £100 a vehicle, also if I can remember the price correctly from the exhibitor form a standard dual axle food stand cost £1200 for a pitch. For somewhere like this I can understand higher prices what with rent prices but even then there prices aren't bad with no were near the prices quoted above. For a small agricultural show or auction though with cheaper rent it does seem that there pulling imaginary figures out of there head for food and drinks

[Paul Palmer]

 James,i dont know where the ftf members are getting their prices from,i went to the royal cornwall,and the burger vans/bars were not charging anything like the prices mentioned in this topic,perhaps a bit of exageration,i dont know,dm's post i can believe,everything in london is really expensive,also, you are on a day out,so why would you want to bring your own food,enjoy the day and eat out,its all part of the day,as i said, tight old gits

[powerrabbit]

I can understand and sympathise with the food vendors at shows and events for what their pitch costs them and the need to set their food prices at certain levels in order to cover their costs and then make a bit, but, why patronise these events if they are charged so much? I know they need to make a living but if they said 'no' to the organisers then the organisers might realise how greedy they're being, one of the largest 2-day events in this County this summer had less than half the caterers there this year and speaking to a few at the little shows I've been to this season they've all said that they are not attending the bigger events due to the pitch charges, they are attending more of the smaller events and other venues. It's a vicious circle, people are now taking their own food and drink and not buying food there, consequently the caterers are not doing as much business, can't justify the pitch charges and subsequently not attending themselves.

[Stabliofarmer]

I have seen the prices that others are on about but not often, personally the worst rip of is ice cream, ok so a machine costs £2000 but the price per ice cream to make is about 10-15p. Then sellers at places such as the cheffins auction have the cheek to sell ice cream at £2.50 that means if they sell only 100 ice creams they've made £235! But as you say Paul not all are expensive one food stall at GDSF were selling full meals (gammon and chips etc.) for £3.50 and for that you got two huge pices of gammon a big portion of chips a china plate to eat it on and a gazebo out of the shade to eat it in ( even a few back issues of classic tractor to have a flick through ). Why can't more places justify this? Tight old gits is a wee bit harsh though, money's everything at the moment unfortunatly and that can be seen by the lack of spending at shows etc.

[Stabliofarmer]

That's a point Tim, I may be getting boring now about GDSF but another example from there, by the Sunday a large amount of traders had packed up and gone home, don't no why but I'd say because they can't justify costs and I'd certainly hope things like this will seriously make event organisers think twice about the cost of pitches. Which I would hope would bring prices down

[NIGEL FORD]

don't know about now but many years go the Insurance for running this type of event was stopping many from organising outdoor events so pitch fees to traders were having to go up drastically to cover these, but I agree food prices are usually over the top,so I too usually take my own,tight old git that I am....(leaves more dosh for models though)

[powerrabbit]

The cost to the general public of entry to these events are also having a dramatic effect, £14 to £17 for adults and £5 to £7 for children, an average family of four, two adults, two children means spending £38 to £48 just to get in plus once there, 10o'clock breakfast, two burgers and four portions of chips, burgers between £3.50 and £5 each, chips at £2 to £2.50 per portion would be another £11 to £15. Lunch time pasty and chips for two at the same as burgers and two hotdogs at £3.50 each plus tea or coffee at £1 to £1.50 per polystyrene 'thimble' and two cans of Coke at £2 a 'pop', that's another £24 and that's leaving out Dads 3 pints in the bar tent, Mum's two halves of cider, another two cans for the kids plus four bags of crisps. So just for sustenance you're looking at spending around £73 to £87. I have heard it said that the average family visiting a County Show will spend an average of £100 for their entry and food costs, this I think puts most of it into perspective. When I myself attend shows and events that I go to as a spectator I don't go unless I get a free ticket and take my own food, you can usually find a friend with spare tickets or have tickets but can't go themselves. This way you can afford to spend a bit more on other things whilst there.

[Leakeyvale]

Just to add my two-pennyworth. 

When there is only a single burger van the prices are, in my experience, astronomical. The more food outlets there are , the cheaper they seem to be.  In other words if there is no competition they charge what they like.  Sorry Warner, but Toytrac is a prime example.One van selling food and drink charge the earth and there are no eating facilities within the site as the restaurant is used for displays. The town is a couple of miles away so that is not an option unless you want to drive there.  Even the coffee from the van is expensive considering it is instant although you do get a large one.

[powerrabbit]

The profit made by catering vans is enormous, granted, they have running and staffing expenses but as you say Sue, the cost of the 'raw' materials are negligible compared to profit margin. Burgers bought in bulk from a supermarket, coffee and tea bags in bulk from a cash and carry and we all know how cheap bread rolls and baps are and also milk, cans and bottles of drink are also bought from the cash and carry by the crate as are the chips for frying, in large plastic bags all pre-prepared, in fact it all comes from the cash and carry, in Exeter there's a big c&c on the Matford industrial estate called Makro, in the store, food wise, you can buy tea, coffee, rice, oats and most other stuff by the 25kg bag and bottled beverages, lemonade, Coke and fruit juices by the pallet load.

[super6]

You pays your money

You takes your choice............. or not as the case may be    

 

With regard to having more burger vans and hence competition, generally speaking they all charge about the same 

 

James where was the cheap eating place at the GDSF?

[Stabliofarmer]

You pays your money

You takes your choice............. or not as the case may be    

 

With regard to having more burger vans and hence competition, generally speaking they all charge about the same 

 

James where was the cheap eating place at the GDSF?

Arts cider shack on the corner of the play pen near the vintage spirit and ntet tent great grub at a great price and the way the tables are mean as a small group you get talking to other groups of people which makes it nice