Reading · England
Fête and Festival Hog Roast in Sonning Common, Reading
Hog roast for events in Sonning Common: a whole hog slow-roasted on site, carved to order and served in soft rolls with crackling.
- Club events
- School fairs and sports days
- Food and music festivals
Book a hog roast in Sonning Common
Hog roast for events in Sonning Common, carved to order
Shows and festivals last all day, and we serve through the agreed hours. For school events and festivals, we’ll put together a menu of rotisserie chicken, crackling and a vegan burger or sausage and more.
In Sonning Common, one popular trader keeps it simple. A hog roast does that. Tell us about dietary needs and allergies when you enquire, and we’ll tell you exactly what’s in each dish before you book.
Common questions in Sonning Common
Can you come to a school fair in Sonning Common?
Yes, if the school is happy for a hog roast on site. Send us the date and where the roaster would go.
What’s the nearest station to Sonning Common?
The closest is Henley-On-Thames station, roughly 3.7 miles away.
Do you offer gluten-free rolls?
Ask for gluten-free rolls and we’ll bring them. We’ll give you full allergen information for every dish.
Do you have documents for event organisers?
Tell us what your event requires, and we’ll confirm what we can provide.
Where does the hog roast go?
Roughly the footprint of a gazebo or two, on level ground, away from buildings, marquee walls and overhanging trees. We’ll confirm the space with your quote.
Do you serve the food?
No need for your own staff: our chef carves and our team serves and clears.
What’s the price?
Each event is priced on its own, depending on numbers, menu, timings and travel. Ask us for a quote.
Will there be enough to go round?
The roast is chosen to suit how many you’re feeding, so a good estimate matters. We will confirm the menu in the quote.
Catered or do it yourself?
The hardest part of a DIY hog roast is timing: a whole hog takes hours, and it needs to be cooked through safely. If you’d rather not worry about it, let us cook.
Roasting a whole hog yourself is possible, but it takes hours of attention, from early set-up to carving at the end. With us catering, you get to be a host, not a cook.
How we price a hog roast for your event
The price comes down to:
- Time on site
- The date and time of year
- How easy it is to reach the spot
- Whether you want china
Distance is part of the price: we include travel in the quote, with any London charges listed. Tell us the exact address so the quote is accurate.
Details that help
We can quote more accurately with a few details. Here’s what’s useful:
- Any venue rules
- What the outdoor space is like
- Where the event is
- The date and when you’d like to eat
A quote from us sets out the menu, timings, staffing and what’s included, so you can compare caterers fairly. Use our quote form.
Step by step
The secret is time: the meat cooks gently until it is tender while the skin turns into crackling. Then it rests briefly before our chef carves. In late May, sunset in Sonning Common is about 8:55pm, and midsummer ones until about 9:25pm. Evening festivals need lighting by the stall after that.
- Tell us about the event.
- We check the pitch and paperwork and quote.
- We set up early on the pitch.
- We carve to order through the day.
- We pack down and take our waste.
Before we arrive
- Collect dietary needs and allergies in advance
- Keep the spot clear of buildings, marquee walls and overhanging branches
- Choose a level, open spot outdoors for the roaster
Get a quote
Tell us your date, venue or postcode and roughly how many people, plus when you’d like to eat. We will confirm availability and send a price. Send us your details through our quote form.
Planning help
Space, access and the venue
It is worth planning the cooking area in advance. We look for:
- A safe distance from other traders
- Flat, firm ground for the roaster
- A queuing area
If in doubt, send us a picture of the spot and we will advise before you book.
From the roaster
- Stuffing and apple sauce
- Coleslaw
- Crackling
- Rotisserie chicken
- Hog roast rolls
- Halloumi skewers (V)
- Vegan burger or sausage (Ve)
What comes off the roaster
Stuffing and apple sauce
Stuffing and a dollop of apple sauce make the roll.
Crackling
Long, slow roasting turns the skin into crackling, and we break it up so everyone gets a piece.
Diets, allergies and alternatives
You’ll get allergen information for everything we serve. To help:
- Show allergens at the stall
- Gluten-free rolls can be brought on request
- Make the stall easy to find
- Stuffing normally contains gluten
We arrive early, set up on the pitch and start roasting, timed for the gates opening.
Coleslaw goes well with pork rolls.
For planners, venues and organisers
If you are organising for someone else, whether you’re a planner, a PA or on a committee, tell us who our contact on the day will be. We will keep everyone in the loop.
Marquee hire companies frequently have rules about cooking near their tents, so tell them a hog roast is coming. The roaster stays a safe distance from the marquee.
Events we cater in Sonning Common
It suits long days, serving through the agreed hours.
Lots of different events suit a hog roast. Here are some of the most popular:
- Car and steam shows
- Church and village fêtes
- Community days and street fairs
- PTA summer fairs
If you’re organising a summer fair or sports day for a school such as Sonning Common Primary School, a hog roast is a crowd-pleaser.
What your quote should include
- Whether plates or china are included
- How many staff will carve and serve
- Any travel or access charges
- When payments are due and what happens if plans change
Sonning Common events: pitches and permissions
Sonning Common is about 3 miles north of Caversham, in Reading. Planning a hog roast for your event in Sonning Common? We cover the whole area. We cover all 34 towns and villages in Reading.
A summer fête at The Church of Christ the King is the classic setting for a hog roast. For visitors coming by rail, Henley-On-Thames station is about 3.7 miles away.
Anywhere in RG4 and RG9, we can bring the roaster to you, from busy streets to quiet lanes. Your event could be at a house on Wood Lane, Green Lane and Woodbury Close or the roads around them, wherever there’s an outdoor spot for the roaster. Close by, we cover events in Peppard Hill (1 mile north-west), Rotherfield Peppard (1 mile north), Kidmore End (1 mile south-west), Kingwood Common (1 mile north-west) and Shepherd's Green (2 miles north). Within a short drive, we also cover Caversham (3 miles south), Norcot (4 miles south-west), West Reading (4 miles south), Tilehurst Within (5 miles south-west), Shinfield (8 miles south) and Arborfield Garrison (10 miles south). Sonning Common is one of the larger places we cover in Reading, with lots of choice for events.
Other landmarks nearby include Frazer Nash Archives (3.8 miles east) and Battle Hospital (4.1 miles south). Green spaces nearby include Sonning Hill and Warburg Nature Reserve.
- Nearby schools include Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge (0.5 miles south-west) and The Warwick School (0.5 miles south-west)
- Pubs nearby include Hare & Hounds pub (less than half a mile north)
Also near Sonning Common
What else we do in Sonning Common
- Roasted slowly at your venue, outdoors and under cover
- Our chef carves the pork, with stuffing, apple sauce and crackling on the side
- Lamb, chicken and vegetarian options alongside the pork
- Served when you’re ready, and we tidy the serving area afterwards