Tour catering presents a slightly unusual challenge: the location might change every day, but the crew still expect the same standard of food when they sit down to eat.
Having worked around concerts, events and mobile productions, we’ve seen how different one venue can be from the next. An easy load-in with plenty of space can be followed by a city-centre venue where access is restricted, timings are tight and every bit of equipment has to be carefully positioned.
For the catering team, those differences shouldn’t become the crew’s problem.
They should still be able to finish a long shift, sit down with a freshly prepared meal and feel properly looked after.
People understandably focus on food when choosing a caterer, but some of the most important work happens before anybody starts cooking.
Where can the catering unit be positioned? When can we access the venue? What power and water are available? How many people are we feeding, and when do the different departments actually have an opportunity to eat?
Our mobile kitchens are designed to be self-contained because we’ve learned through location catering that you can’t assume every site will provide the facilities you need.
The more we know about a venue before arrival, the easier it is to concentrate on what we’re actually there to do: cook good food.
Catering isn’t the main event, and that’s exactly why it needs to fit around everything else that’s happening.
A tour day can include an early load-in, rehearsals and soundchecks before doors open, followed by the show itself and then a late-night load-out. Different departments may also be working to completely different schedules.
That means catering can’t become another logistical problem for the production team to solve.
Our approach is to agree realistic service windows in advance while retaining enough flexibility to respond when the day changes. That’s something our work in film, television and outside broadcasting has taught us repeatedly: the schedule on paper and the day you actually get aren’t always the same thing.
There’s a time and place for street food, comfort food and something a little different, but when people are working long days they ultimately want a proper meal.
That’s the principle behind our menus.
We cook from fresh and build services around substantial main dishes, vegetables, suitable sides, salads and desserts, while making sure vegetarian and vegan dishes are treated as proper meals in their own right.
We also change menus throughout a run rather than repeating the same safe dishes every few days. When you’re feeding the same people repeatedly, variety matters. Crews notice when thought has gone into tomorrow’s menu rather than simply resetting today’s.
The weather matters too. A heavy dish that works brilliantly after a cold load-in isn’t necessarily what somebody wants during an August arena date, so menus need enough flexibility to reflect the conditions as well as the schedule.
Dietary catering works best when it’s planned from the beginning rather than dealt with at the servery.
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free requirements are common, alongside allergies and religious dietary requirements. We gather that information before service wherever possible and incorporate suitable dishes into the wider menu.
That means somebody with a dietary requirement isn’t automatically handed an entirely different meal while everyone else chooses from the main service.
For us, that’s an important distinction. A dietary requirement might change what somebody can eat, but it shouldn’t change the standard of food they’re offered.
One thing we’ve seen across television, film, outside broadcasts and live events is how quickly the atmosphere changes when a hungry crew finally gets a proper break.
Catering gives people something they don’t get much of during a demanding working day: an opportunity to stop.
For half an hour, different departments sit together, talk about something other than the next job and get some energy back before returning to work.
That’s why we take crew catering seriously. We’re not trying to make catering the centre of attention; if anything, good catering should make the production team’s life easier by quietly doing its job properly every day.
Before starting a tour, there are a few things we’ll want to understand: crew numbers, routing, venue access, expected service times, dietary requirements, available facilities and any known challenges at particular locations.
Those conversations allow us to plan staffing, stock and menus properly rather than solving avoidable problems in a loading bay at six o’clock in the morning.
We also know numbers and schedules change. That’s production. What matters is having clear communication throughout the run so we can adapt with it.
Rhubarb Rhubarb Catering is based around 15 minutes from Pinewood Studios, with fully mobile catering facilities that allow us to travel throughout the UK.
Our team has experience working across television and film productions, outside broadcasts, concerts and live events, where early starts, long days and changing locations are simply part of the job.
That experience shapes the way we approach tour catering: plan properly, remain flexible and never allow a difficult venue to become an excuse for dropping the standard of food.
Because the crew might be somewhere completely different tomorrow.
The standard shouldn’t be.
If you’re organising a UK tour and looking for mobile crew catering, send us your routing, approximate crew numbers and schedule.
We can talk through the practicalities of the tour and build a catering service around the way your crew will actually be working.
