Life as a hog roast caterer is good. I love it and have done for about six years ago. I certainly took a big chance when I started out in this business as I had never worked for myself before and as you can imagine, the world of self employment is very different from the world of being an employee. With self employment you are in control of your own destiny. There is no safety net if you have a bad month. You are on your own. I guess that was also a bit exciting and why I really wanted to make it work!
I had always loved cooking since I was a young child, in fact I would often make my mum and dad breakfast on a Sunday morning and take it up them in bed. I think what really inspired me was the kitchen. We were lucky because we had a lovely kitchen at home with a great cooker and a beautiful view over the fields at the back of the house. I treated the kitchen like some kids treat their bedrooms as imaginary spaceships, but this was real. I could really do wonderful things with the cooker and the ingredients around me. It was great. I was a mini chef and was having a great time, so I knew already that when I grew up, I wanted to be a chef or cook of sorts.
Of course the best laid plans are often blown off course and it was not until six years ago that I finally managed to fulfil my ambition of cooking for a living. It did not matter one little bit that I was not a chef in some fancy restaurant in the City, for I had my own little kitchen in the back of my van. My trusty hog roast machine. And when I describe my machine as a little kitchen, that’s exactly how I see it because everything that I need is here, wherever I need it. My hog roast machine is a Platinum, which may not mean a lot to you but, as I will explain, it really is the cream of the crop when it comes to hog roast machines and is certainly the very best hog roast machine anyone with an interest in hog roasting could choose if starting out from scratch or upgrading from a tired old machine.
Strangely enough, the Platinum hog roast machine is not my first. I made the mistake of trying to scrimp and cut corners when I started out in the business, so that meant me not investing the money that I perhaps should have done. I bought a machine that I thought would last me a fair while and get the job done. What a waste of money. I forget now what my first machine cost me but after twelve months I must have spent over half as much again on repairs and servicing. It was a total disaster. I recall one event that I catered for very early on when the spit roast motor simply stopped for reason at all. I went white with panic thinking I was going to let everyone down. Thank goodness I managed to get it going again otherwise I would have been chased out of the hotel!
When it came to buying a replacement, I was ready to rectify the error of my ways. This time I knew I had to buy a proper machine, so I did not cut corners this time and went straight for the best machine I could find, the Platinum. Curiously the Platinum was not the most expensive nor was it hyped beyond belief by the manufacturers (like certain others) but it seemed to offer the two things that I really need. Quality and reliability. I actually went to factory to see it being made and I was very impressed. For a start, the machines are British made which to me is a guarantee of true engineering quality. The materials were superb including a tough stainless steel construction and the ability to use dual cooking zones really did offer incredible flexibility. It also had the biggest capacity of any on the market, too. It was a no brainer, I simply had to get the Platinum hog roast machine. If you are like me and in the hog roast trade, make sure that you have the tight tools for the job, and don’t go thinking you can cut corners. Make a Platinum hog roast machine your next investment.