Crazy & Co.

Catering, Equipment, Event Planning, General

The Phenomenon of Festival Food Trucks:

22 October 2023

Where Convenience Meets Culinary Creativity

In recent years, the culinary world has witnessed a delightful revolution, one that has transformed the way we think about dining out. It’s the rise of the humble food truck, an innovative and exciting concept that has taken the food industry by storm. These mobile eateries have become a quintessential part of urban culture, offering a diverse range of culinary experiences that cater to every palate.

The Appeal of Food Trucks

So, what is it about these four-wheeled kitchens that has captured the hearts and taste buds of food enthusiasts worldwide? The answer lies in the perfect blend of convenience, affordability, and gourmet delights. Food trucks effortlessly fuse the need for a quick, on-the-go meal with the desire for a unique dining experience. Whether it’s a freshly grilled gourmet burger or a fusion of international flavors in a handheld form, food trucks offer a culinary adventure that is both accessible and exciting.

Culinary Creativity on Wheels

One of the most intriguing aspects of the festival food truck phenomenon is the sheer creativity displayed by these mobile chefs. They are not bound by the constraints of a traditional kitchen, allowing them to experiment freely and introduce innovative culinary concoctions that challenge the status quo. From artisanal ice creams infused with exotic flavors to tantalizing twists on classic street food, these culinary mavericks are constantly pushing the boundaries of taste and presentation.

Community and Culture

Beyond the delectable dishes they serve, festival food trucks have become a symbol of community and culture. They often act as vibrant hubs where people from different walks of life converge, forming a unique social space that fosters connections and conversations. These gatherings provide an opportunity for people to savor mouthwatering delicacies while celebrating diversity and the rich tapestry of flavors that define a community.

Embracing Change and Adaptation

The resilience of food trucks is also evident in their adaptability. During challenging times, such as the recent global pandemic, many food trucks swiftly pivoted their operations to offer delivery services or set up in strategic locations to serve essential workers. Their ability to adjust and cater to evolving consumer needs has solidified their position as an integral part of the culinary landscape, showcasing the indomitable spirit of the food industry.

A Taste of the Future

As the food industry continues to evolve, food trucks remain at the forefront of innovation, promising to surprise and delight with their ever-evolving menus and bold flavors. They serve as a testament to the fact that great food doesn’t always come from a conventional setting; sometimes, it arrives in a humble, but passionately crafted, meal served through a truck window.

Next time you come across a food truck festival or spot one parked in your neighborhood, be sure to indulge your taste buds in the flavors of this modern culinary movement. You might just discover your new favorite dish or even a newfound appreciation for the art of mobile gastronomy.

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Catering, Equipment, Event Planning, General

A Journey through the World of Coffee

19 October 2023

Coffee, the elixir that kickstarts our mornings and fuels our workdays, has transcended its humble origins to become a global symbol of energy, culture, and community. From the aromatic bean plantations of Ethiopia to the bustling coffee shops of New York City, the rich history and diverse flavors of coffee have captivated the hearts of millions worldwide. Join us on a delightful exploration of the world of coffee, from its origins to its modern-day significance.

The Roots of Coffee:

Legend has it that coffee was first discovered in the 9th century by an Ethiopian goat herder named Kaldi. He noticed that his goats became remarkably energetic after consuming the red cherries from a certain tree. This discovery led to the birth of coffee, as we know it today. Since then, the cultivation of coffee has spread to various regions across the globe, with different countries perfecting their own unique methods of growing, processing, and roasting the beans.

Diverse Brewing Techniques:

Whether you prefer the rich, velvety texture of a French press brew or the delicate flavors extracted through pour-over methods, the art of brewing coffee is a deeply personal and cultural experience. Each technique, from the traditional Turkish coffee preparation to the contemporary aeropress method, offers a distinct taste and aroma that reflects the expertise and passion of the brewer. Experimenting with different brewing techniques can open up a whole new world of coffee appreciation, allowing you to discover flavors you never thought possible.

Exploring Coffee Culture:

Coffee is not just a beverage; it’s a social phenomenon that brings people together. The rise of coffee culture has transformed the way we socialize, work, and unwind. Cafés have become communal hubs where artists find inspiration, entrepreneurs strike deals, and friends catch up. From the lively espresso bars of Italy to the cozy, book-filled cafés of Paris, each culture has embraced coffee in its unique way, blending it seamlessly into their social fabric.

Health Benefits and Beyond:

Beyond its invigorating aroma and robust flavor, coffee offers a plethora of health benefits. Research suggests that moderate coffee consumption can reduce the risk of certain diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and Parkinson’s. Its high antioxidant content also contributes to improved cognitive function and a reduced risk of certain cancers. However, it’s important to remember that moderation is key, as excessive consumption can lead to adverse effects such as insomnia and increased anxiety.

Sustainability and Ethical Sourcing:

As the demand for coffee continues to rise, the importance of sustainable and ethical sourcing practices cannot be overstated. Fair trade initiatives, organic farming methods, and responsible sourcing are crucial in ensuring that coffee production remains environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Supporting coffee growers who prioritize ethical and sustainable practices not only promotes a healthier planet but also ensures a better quality of life for those involved in the production process.

From its legendary origins in the Ethiopian highlands to its omnipresence in contemporary culture, coffee has woven itself into the fabric of human existence. It is more than just a beverage; it is a source of inspiration, a catalyst for social interaction, and a testament to the beauty of diverse cultural practices. Whether you savor it in the quiet comfort of your home or amidst the bustling ambiance of a local café., let each sip remind you of the rich history and artistry that culminate in that perfect cup of coffee. So go ahead, take another sip, and let the warmth of this cherished beverage envelop you in its timeless allure.

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Catering, Food Trucks, Fun Story, General

Quirky Food Trucks, From A Container To A Rocket Launcher

16 June 2023

At one time mobile catering consisted of almost entirely box shaped ‘burger vans’. Occasionally someone with a touch of flair, or perhaps just a bit mad, would put together something quirky. With the dawn of the instagram generation, boxy burger vans suddenly dropped out of vogue. To get ahead you really needed people to be sharing your set up. Sure, good food was important, but it was no longer the sole arbiter of success. Your food truck needed to look better.

We are going to be taking a look at some of the quirky, weird, wonderful and downright strange catering outlets around the world.

Happy Larrys

Shipping containers are ubiquitous throughout the world. A standardised method of transporting goods via road, rail and sea. Many of them however do find a second life as something totally different. From bars, to offices to mobile toilets. They have also found favour with catering vendors. The basic container is a strong watertight structure, that is built to accurate dimensions, and lends itself to conversions.

Happy as Larry is an Australian company that specialises in selling Napoli-style wood fired pizza. A nice touch in this container conversion is that they have replaced much of one side with huge glass pains to give a real contemporary feel to it.

Space Shuttle Cafe

If you are looking for something to convert into a food truck, the most obvious thing you could think of is an aeroplane. Probably not! This one was converted to a mobile eatery by GMC in 1976. But it started life as an actual flying machine in 1944.

Cotton Candy Jeep

One of our favourites this, take an iconic WWII off road vehicle, and shove a cotton candy (candy floss if you live this side of the pond) machine in the back. Oh and for good measure paint it all pink.

Walls Mini Ice Cream Truck

Walls ran a campaign called ‘Goodbye Serious’, where they built a miniaturised ice cream truck designed to drive into offices and dispense their best selling goodies. This is one seriously quirky little food truck. Though some of our taller staff might struggle to operate in this one.

K99 Ice Cream Cart

This one is notable, not for being a different type of food truck. But because of its target market. This sells ice creams for your canine companions. That’s right, doggy ice creams. Seems that scientists have discovered that gammon and chicken-flavored ice creams really hits the spot for our doggy friends.

Vintage Caravan

These are gaining in popularity, and are being used for everything from a gin bar to a burger joint. The ironic thing is, was during the late 90’s, the fairground industry used these for staff quarters, then tended to scrap them at the end of the season. If they were scrapped, it wasn’t unknow to just remove all identifying marks and leave them in a layby for the council to dispose of. You try buying one now, I have seen them advertised for upwards of £30k.

Step Frame Food Truck

More of a Stateside set up, they have a plethora of large step fram delivery vehicles from the likes of Dodge, Ford, GMC etc. These are pretty near the size of a 7.5 tonne lorry in the UK and make an ideal blank canvas to fit out as a mobile eatery

Airstream Style Food Truck

Another option hailing from the good ole US of A. Airstreams were originally touring caravans. Till some adventurous soul decided to cut the side out and add a kitchen. They are now a fairly regular sight on the UK scene. With both the original Airstream brand and a number of both EU based and Chinese manufacturers building similar looking trucks.

Converted Vintage Horsebox

A regular sight nowadays, horseboxes are easy to obtain, pretty easy to convert and very flexible, though a bit on the small side for some catering options. Prices are steadily rising, to the benefit of anyone needing to dispose of a horsebox that’s past it’s sell by date. What you once would have scrapped, you can now get a tidy few grand for.

Snow Mobile Food Truck

This one is as far as we know, pretty unique. A burrito joint on a tracked snow mobile platform. Great for last minute corporate jobs in the arctic. Bloody noisy if you need to take it down the M1 motorway to London.

London Red Bus Yoghurt Truck

An iconic British vehicle this time, an ex London Routemaster bus, turned into a yoghurt dispensary by Snog. A cool vehicle for a cool brand serving a cool product (literally)!

The Peanut Van

Occasionally there are totally custom built trucks out there. I’ve seen vehicles that look like hot dogs, doughnuts, oranges. This one is a peanut. Leaves you in no doubt what the product is.

Land Rover Ice Cream Truck

Another off road vehicle pressed into service. We have already had a Willy’s Jeep with a candyfloss machine. This one is the UK equivalent. In vehicles that is, not food. This is one cool ice cream truck.

Monster Truck

Another ice cream van. This time shoehorned into a monster truck. Unless you are 6ft 6 you need step ladders to be served here.

Rocket Launcher Coffee Truck

A big boys toy this one. A coffee truck on a rocket launcher. Though it didn’t work out too well for two of the staff when they were arrested for causing panic on the streets of Malaysia. What’s next, doughnuts served from a Challenger tank?

Tactical Tapas

Another paramilitary offering. Tapas from a tactical armoured car. It’s all starting to get a bit Mad Max.

Fire Engine

The last couple of options were built on trucks designed to blow things up and start fires. These were designed to put them out. Popular both sides of the pond, though the US fire trucks just seem to be a lot more jazzy.

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Equipment, Event Planning, Fun Story, General

New Equipment, Fuel Bunker

13 May 2023

When worked the funfair circuit we needed a generator for powering our equipment. Well, we used four of them in fact. When we moved totally into corporate entertainment we made it a condition of the contract that the client provided power.

This work well for a number of years, as usually we were powering perhaps a candy floss and a popcorn machine, so at most a couple of 13 amp sockets were fine.

During covid we suddenly found our clients asking us to provide larger catering services, such as serving four thousand burgers for Amazon in four hours, though that is another tale lol.

Generators

We suddenly found ourselves needing sixty and seventy amp supplies. So to translate this into a format that made sense to the client we would specify that we needed like four 13 amp supplies. What would happen is that we would arrive at the venue, be handed a four way socket and told here are your four supplies. Trouble is, the four sockets joined into a single 13amp plug. And ‘Oh’ they would say, ‘your sharing with the DJ, pizza truck and rodeo bull!’

Great, we were gonna be pulling 100 amp from a single 13amp plug. So no power problems expected then.

To circumvent this, we ended up adding some generators to our line up.

This gave us the flexibility to power ourselves and some spare capacity to boot.

Initially we would fill them up from a local garage that sold red diesel. But even though it was only about 4 miles away, it was still a hassle to couple up and run down there for fuel. Additionally at the time it was about £1.40 a litre from them. The local diesel supplier quoted £0.82 a litre, which was a massive saving, but would only deliver a 1000 litres a time.

So we added a fuel bunker to take advantage of this. Other people we know had similar but owning for lift trucks, would simply lift them in the air to allow gravity to dispense the fuel. Not owning a fork lift, we added a battery powered system and a metered pump.

We installed the system in the yard and had it filled. Then had a think about security. Some people feel entitled to help themselves to whatever without legal niceties such as ownership being considered relevant.

So we set about fortifying our diesel. A wifi camera provided not only monitoring of the set up, but would automatically light up the area, sound an alarm and alert me at my phone that someone was at the bunker. We also added locks to the on/off valve, filling hole. and pump switch.

My daughter pointed out that the battery just being sat there was screaming take me take me. So we fitted a secured steel lock box with the battery inside. A jokey conversation with a friend who looked at the system ended with him saying I am surprised you haven’t electrified it.

Ha, cant do that someone might touch it accidentally. Ha, they might, ha ha that could be fun. Yeah lets do it.

The end result is that the system is now fitted with a similar energiser to what farmers use to keep cows in their field. To be fair, it is remotely controlled, and not left live all the time. But I can turn it on from anywhere in the world using my phone. We also added a solar charger to keep the whole shebang topped up.

So our fuel bunker is ready for all comers.

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Fun Story, funfair events, General

There was a tree surgeon who ate a goldfish

20 April 2023

Have you heard the old wives rhyme, There was an old woman who swallowed a fly, I don’t know why she swallowed a fly, but no one knows where it came from or if its true… well a new one I heard this week was There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish, I don’t know why he swallowed a goldfish.

The tree surgeon decided at a fun fair that he would swallow his girlfirends prize fish that she had just won and wash it down with half a pint. His girlfriend filmed the incident and then posted the video onto social media primarily her snapchat story with the caption “He ate my fish”.

Snapchat Video

The snapchat video was a 14 second clip that showed the tree surgeon holding the very real and live fish in his palm before he then put it in his mouth and swallowed the fish and then taking a large swig of his beer.

At the end of the video you can then see him opening his mouth to show the viewers that the fish has gone and he sticks his tongue out to prove that he has swallowed the innocent live animal whole.

The video was filmed in Bridgewater Carnival in Somerset in September. Once the video had been shared it spread very fast and was then reported to the RSPCA by all the concerned viewers.

The Tree Surgeon was named as Josh Coles from Devon. He was ordered to appear at Exeter Magistrates court where he then admitted to a charge of causing unnecessary suffering to a project animal, he initially denied the charge, but changed his plea to guilty to avoid the trial. The magistrate stated that the goldfish would have experienced stress and unnecessary suffering as it was eaten alive with no other outcome than dead.

He was fined £300 with an £85 victim surcharge. Considering the victim is now a deceased goldfish, it does beggar the question of who does the surcharge go to?

There was an old tree surgeon who swallowed a goldfish and then entered denial

Coles tried to deny that any animal had been harmed and stated that it was just a stunt for social media and he hadn’t swallowed it. He then claimed that the fish which had been won at the fair was already half dead.

Fish are a traditional prize that can be won at the fair on many of the different game stalls. The fish usually come with a small plastic fish tank, stones and fish food. All fish that are won at the fairground have been properly looked after in the weeks leading up to the fair coming to town. The favoured prize by many of the kids who visit the fair love winning a pet. It is a horror that a grown adult would then find fun in this by swallowing it.

The outcome is that goldfish are now banned from being given out as prizes at Bridgewater fair. As just handing them out in plastic bags without any checks isn’t an acceptable way to do things. Strangely, having bought fish a number of times for our office aquarium, they have always been handed over in plastic bags without any checks in whether I have a suitable tank or know how to care for them.

Different rules for different people I suppose.

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