W&W Event Catering has repurposed a second-hand Kiremko frying range to create a beautiful mobile fish and chip business from a vintage double-decker bus.
Event catering can be a competitive business, both in terms of securing gigs and pulling in the crowds once at a venue. But for Annie, a 1975 vintage AEC bus, neither is a problem.
Since converting the classic vehicle into a fish and chip unit and adding it to her Surrey-based mobile catering business, W&W Event Catering, last year, Serena Jennings has received invitations to cater at events across the country including Royal Windsor Horse Show, Twickenham and The Emirates Stadium. Serving what Serena describes as “a very high output” of cod, sausages and chicken, Annie can turnover anywhere between £3,000 and £12,000 in four hours.
While in its heyday, Annie ferried passengers around routes in Manchester, now she transports a three pan electric Kiremko frying range. Getting the range onboard was no easy feat; it involved cutting a giant hole in the side of the bus and using a crane to lift it in. However, once installed, the Kiremko has met every challenge thrown at it, including the biggest one: producing high quality food quickly and efficiently in a short amount of time.
Serena comments: “We can be hard at that range all day long and it just doesn’t give up. I’ve had so many ranges over the years that just haven’t been able to take the abuse that we give them, but the Kiremko is brilliant. We can take a fortune in three or four hours and it just keeps up. And the food is excellent, it’s high quality fish and chips all the time we are serving.”
Easy to operate by one frier, Serena says the Kiremko frying range is simple to clean and always reliable. “I never open the bus up, plug it in and worry if the range is going to work, not ever. You’re as good as your equipment and your team, aren’t you? And luckily, we’ve got both.”
High quality equipment
Choosing Kiremko because high quality equipment is essential for her catering business, Serena emphasises that she would never compromise on quality. “I wouldn’t suggest to anyone in this world to spend the sort of money that I’ve spent without having the best equipment because you’re just setting yourself up to fail. If you want to be ready to do these events where you’ve got a very high turnover in a very short window, you’ve got to have the right equipment, otherwise, you stand to lose a lot of money.”
Buying a second-hand Kiremko hasn’t meant compromising, as Serena has benefited from the same level of after-sales service had she bought a new range.
At one show, Serena recalls a total shutdown when the staff plugged the range in and the electrics blew due to the organiser’s power supply being faulty. “My first thought was we’ve got three days of trading, I’m set to lose a hell of a lot of money,” says Serena. “But KFE came back and said, ‘stop panicking, we’re sending someone to you’. That was much appreciated.”
Operating a working fish and chip shop on board a vintage bus is hard work, says Serena, but it is enjoyable too. “We go everywhere at 30-35 miles an hour which is hard going but we get so many smiles and compliments along the way. When we stop, people want to know the history of the bus, where it has been, and whether it was a bus before. If I had a pound for every lovely compliment, I probably wouldn’t have to go to work!”
Serena hopes to eventually find a permanent site for Annie, either on the coast or in a tourist location like London, adding: “I’m hoping the Mayor of London sees it and says, ‘oh yeah, I’m going to put that right next to the London Eye’!”
