Food service out of renovated caravans is the latest trend in Cornwall
It looks like there is a new way of dining that’s taking over Cornwall and it comes in the shape of mobile food stations, including retro caravans.
True, it’s nothing new, but the recent surge in the formation of new businesses catering from kitchens on wheels is. And, for a few individuals, it seems the reason is simple: they are tired of not being able to get a taste of what they love, so they have decided to take their passions and creativity and turn that into a profit.
They are just ordinary people; some of them are parents, chefs, former social workers, prop designers – you get the drift – and they are taking street food to a whole new level. They travel in anything from Citroën vans; tow converted horse boxes and vintage caravans; making a range of foods that include wood-fired pizza, smokehouse barbecued meats, pancakes, crumpets, pasta dishes and seafood, as well as ‘gourmet’ takes on the staunch favourites of sausages and burgers – not forgetting the tea and coffee sellers.
And now, more than 15 mobile food sellers have brought their businesses to Cornwall since the summer of 2013. This type of employment has brought along with it a new lifestyle that reflects the owners’ interests of the outdoors, meeting new people, and getting a chance to explore their creativity.
Helen Grace, the owner of Truly Crumptious , is a single mum from Falmouth that sells crumpets from a 1967 Cheltenham Waterbuck touring caravan, which took her and friends a year to restore.
She told, local newspaper, West Briton: “My hobbies now are green living, cooking, crafting, festivals and music, so to do what I do now just fits in stunningly with my passions.”
Helen’s not alone. Michelle Northcott and Nicholas Daniel for example, set up Silver Server, a 40-year-old Airstream trailer which assists them in serving up gourmet burgers, the ingredients of which are mainly sourced locally. Michelle stated: “We have an interest in vintage vehicles, love camping and we especially enjoy meeting new and interesting people along the way.
“Although vintage paraphernalia has become extremely popular we did not realise the scale of this until we bought the airstream.”
Of course it’s not always an easy lifestyle and for some it can be hard with unsociable hours, but it seems that the positives highly outweigh any negatives.
For Rosie and Graham Hoppe from the Laid-Back Coffee Company, which trades from a 1969 Morris Minor van known as Bert, stated: “We no longer needed childcare for the holiday season because, when we’re out trading, we can do a tag-team of manning the van and taking it in turns to be with the kids.”
Grace also added: “It’s really wonderful to see new businesses blossom in vintage vehicles, a fabulous way of upcycling and reinventing.
“Cornwall’s producers and restaurants are top notch so mobile catering has to follow, we have a haven of artists and creativity so it makes sense to see a growth of interesting outdoor catering.”
What do you think of this form of dining? Do you think it’d be a fun way to eat out with the family or for a date night? Let us know your thoughts.
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Mobile food service taking Cornwall by storm
