Is That Hog Roast Firm Local? 5 Ways to Check

How can you tell whether a hog roast business is local?

Run five checks: look up its food hygiene rating and note the council that inspected it, check its registered address on Companies House, ask where the machine and pig are kept, look at the phone number and the site's small print, and ask who will actually attend. A business's food hygiene record names the council it is registered with, and a mobile unit is registered where it is kept. That one record usually answers the question.

Why is this a question at all?

Hog roast is organised differently from most catering. Three models are common, and all are legitimate. Independent businesses run from one base and cover the area around it. Franchise networks license a brand to local operators, each running a territory; the website may be national but the operator is often local. Enquiry networks run many websites named after towns or counties and pass enquiries to whichever business takes the job, which may be local or may travel. None of these is wrong. What matters to you is who turns up, from how far, and who you are contracting with.

The five checks, in detail

1. The hygiene rating's council. Search the business name on ratings.food.gov.uk. The record shows the council that registered and inspected it. If a site is named after one county and the rating was given by a council two counties away, you have your answer.

2. Companies House. A limited company's registered office is public on Companies House. It is not always where the work is based, but it helps.

3. Where the machine is kept. Ask. A local business will say.

4. The phone number and small print. A national 03 or 0800 number, a terms page naming a different company, or a privacy policy for another brand all suggest the enquiry goes somewhere else first.

5. Who attends. Ask for the name of the business that will cater, and make sure that is who your contract and deposit are with.

Does it matter if they travel?

Not necessarily. Many good hog roast caterers travel 30 miles or more. It matters for three reasons: travel charges, who you are contracting with if something goes wrong, and whether the hygiene rating you checked belongs to the business that actually turns up. Ask the question and make the choice knowingly.

How this site handles it

caterers.trade lists a business under a town only where there is evidence it is based there, such as a Food Standards Agency record from that council or a trading address. Businesses that cover a town from elsewhere are shown separately as also covering it. Where several websites lead to the same business, the business is listed once. This site does not rank businesses or say that any model is better than another; it shows where each one is based so you can decide.