East Sussex · England
Funeral Wake Catering in Five Ashes
From the first smell of roasting pork to the last piece of crackling, a hog roast for the wake turns the food into a centrepiece of your wake in Five Ashes.
- Remembrance gatherings
- Gatherings at clubs and pubs
- Church and village hall wakes
Planning an event in Five Ashes?
Planning for dietary needs
With a bit of planning, dietary needs are easier to handle. A few tips:
- Ask us to label the vegetarian food
- Ask close family about dietary needs
- Plates are easier for older guests than rolls
- Tell us about vegetarians and vegans
We dress smartly and keep a low profile throughout.
If there was a favourite dish from our menu, tell us.
Funeral wake catering in Five Ashes, slow-roasted on site
Roast pork with salads, new potatoes and coleslaw makes a proper meal. Chicken, halloumi skewers and a vegan option are there for anyone who doesn’t eat pork. Typical bookings include family get-togethers after a service and remembrance gatherings, with apple sauce, new potatoes and halloumi skewers.
In rural Five Ashes, home or the hall is usual, with the roaster in the yard or garden. Everything is cooked on the day, at your venue, slowly, over several hours.
- Where
- Five Ashes (TN20)
- Area hub
- East Sussex
- On the menu
- Hog roast rolls, stuffing, apple sauce, crackling
- Also available
- Lamb, chicken, halloumi skewers (V), vegan option (Ve)
- Price
- Quoted for your event
- Updated
- 26 October 2026
Is a hog roast right for your wake?
If the venue has its own caterer, ask whether outside caterers are allowed. Adding lamb, chicken, extra sides or china changes the price, so each one is itemised. Keeping it simple keeps it affordable.
Why Five Ashes hosts choose us
- A clear quote with everything listed
- A choice of salads and potatoes
- Fresh carving at the serving station
- Lamb, chicken and vegetarian options alongside
Take a look at our prices page or the cost guide.
Common questions in Five Ashes
Do you cater at venues in the High Weald National Landscape?
Yes. Some venues there have rules about cooking and vehicles, so check with yours. We will follow the site rules.
How far is Five Ashes from London?
Roughly 37 miles from the centre of London.
When do you start roasting?
It depends on the size of the hog and the weather, but it is several hours. We will confirm our arrival time when we quote.
What if people arrive late?
Give us a contact for the day and we’ll serve when everyone is there.
Can you do something else?
Yes, add chicken or a vegetarian option for those who need them.
Do you clear up?
Our staff clear the serving area, and we take our equipment with us.
What space does the roaster need?
A level, open area outdoors with room for the roaster, a gazebo and a carving table, away from buildings, marquee walls and overhanging trees. We will check it with you before booking.
Do you come to Five Ashes?
Yes. We cover London and the South East, including Five Ashes and East Sussex. Send us the address for a quote.
Organising for someone else?
Venues often have rules for outside caterers, including where gas cooking is allowed. Ask early, and pass on anything they need from us.
If you’re booking for a workplace, check with facilities about gas equipment and vehicle access. We’ll fit in with site rules.
What a hog roast costs
A few things make the biggest difference to the price:
- The menu and extras such as lamb or chicken
- Numbers
- Access to the cooking area
- Plates or china
Travel matters for the price: we include travel in the quote, with any London charges listed. Tell us the exact address for an accurate figure.
What to tell us
When you contact us, it helps to include:
- Rough numbers
- Any venue rules
- The date and time of the event
- Where the roaster could go, ideally with a photo
To get a quote, just send us your date, venue and numbers. A picture of where the roaster could go helps us check the space. Use our quote form.
The process
The secret is time: hours of gentle heat make the pork soft and juicy while the skin crisps into crackling. Then it rests briefly before our chef carves. Late-December sunset in Five Ashes is about 3:55pm, so for an afternoon wake, light near the serving area and the door helps. Summer wakes have daylight well into the evening.
- Share the date, place and numbers.
- We reply quickly with a price.
- We roast quietly during the service.
- Food is ready as guests gather.
- We clear away discreetly.
Preparing for the day
- Give us a contact number for the day
- Ask about allergies and dietary needs beforehand
- Make sure the cooking area is away from walls, tents and trees
Getting a price
Tell us your date, venue or postcode and roughly how many people, along with your serving time. We’ll confirm availability and send a price. Use our quote form.
Planning help
Also near Five Ashes
Other occasions in Five Ashes
A closer look at the menu
Salads, potatoes and coleslaw
Add salads, coleslaw and potatoes to make it a proper meal, especially at a sit-down event.
Stuffing and apple sauce
Sage and onion stuffing and apple sauce are the classic partners, balancing the rich, salty pork.
What the cooking area needs
It is worth planning the cooking area in advance. The ideal spot has:
- Clearance from walls and branches
- A friend or relative we can call
- The venue’s agreement to a gas-fired roaster
Not sure about the cooking spot? Send us a picture and we’ll tell you honestly.
From the roaster
- Salads
- Hog roast rolls
- Coleslaw
- Stuffing and apple sauce
- Rotisserie chicken
- Vegan option (Ve)
- Halloumi skewers (V)
- New potatoes
Wakes in Five Ashes: venues and practical details
Five Ashes is about 4 miles south-east of Crowborough, in East Sussex. We cover Five Ashes and its neighbours for wakes. We cater all 289 towns and villages across East Sussex, from the larger towns to small villages. We cater events right across the region, from Five Ashes to Brighton (about 19 miles away).
For anyone coming to the funeral by train, the nearest station is Crowborough station, about 3.3 miles north-west. The High Weald National Landscape is within about 3 miles of Five Ashes; tell us about access if the wake is somewhere rural.
Anywhere in TN20, we can bring the roaster to you, from busy streets to quiet lanes. That could mean a wake in a garden on Westfield Close, Leeds Lane and Spring Lane, as long as there’s somewhere outside to cook. For wakes just outside Five Ashes, we cover Skippers Hill (1 mile north), Butcher's Cross (1 mile north), Woolbridge (1 mile north-east), Wellbrook (1 mile north-east) and Mayfield (2 miles north-east). Further out, we also cater in Eastbourne (15 miles south), Bexhill-on-Sea (15 miles south-east), Lewes (13 miles south-west), Hailsham (10 miles south), Crowborough (4 miles north-west) and Uckfield (6 miles south-west).
Other landmarks nearby include Tickerage Castle (3.8 miles south-west) and Crowborough War Memorial Hospital (4.3 miles north-west). The countryside around Five Ashes includes Selwyns Wood.
- Schools near Five Ashes include Skippers Hill Manor School (less than half a mile north)
- Local pubs include The Five Ashes Inn (under half a mile south-west)
Why choose funeral wake catering in Five Ashes?
It copes with timings that shift.
Here’s what people in Five Ashes most often book a hog roast for:
- Hall gatherings after a service
- One-year memorials
- Celebrations of life
- Home wakes
For a service at a church like Church of the Good Shepherd, choosing a wake venue nearby helps older guests.
Questions to ask before you book
- The menu, including sides and any extras
- How long the roast takes and when they’ll arrive
- When payments are due and what happens if plans change
- How dietary needs are handled
- Cooked where you are, slowly, over several hours outdoors
- Carved to order by our chef, with stuffing, apple sauce and crackling
- Lamb, chicken and vegetarian options alongside the pork
- Served when you’re ready, and we tidy the serving area afterwards