Chiller Hire: The Complete Guide for Events and Catering
When you are catering for an event or function, you will always need somewhere to keep your food and drink cool before and during the day. Whether it is an indoor or outdoor occasion, hiring a refrigerated trailer or chiller can give you the flexibility of movement around the event site, as well as additional cool storage to cover you in case of breakdown or a particularly busy period where you need more space.
In this article we will be running through the different types of events that may need a chiller and how to know if you are picking the right one to fit your needs. If you have any questions by the end, feel free to reach out and a member of our team will be happy to support you and guide you in the right direction.
When Do You Need Chiller Hire?
The first big question when looking for a chiller is “what kind will I need to cater to my event?” There are different needs for different occasions so lets run through some of the most common event types.
Weddings
At a wedding, you will most likely be looking to keep chilled food, desserts, drinks and flowers cool. With the usable space between venues varying massively, having that extra chilled storage nearby the catering tent or venue is especially helpful to make sure that everyone has enough space to prepare food and keep the day running smoothly. As we all know, a wedding can be a very emotional day, so having something like a backup chiller can be an excellent idea to avoid any on-the-day stress.
Festivals
When working a festival, you will need to store and keep large volumes of food and drink cold, often over several days. This means that you are likely going to need a large mobile fridge or freezer to cater to the wider range of food that is usually on offer, as well as needing to hold enough stock for multiple days, rather than just one as it would for other event types.
Corporate Events
Corporate events can span a wide range of needs, but on the whole, you will need to think about your catering, hospitality and refreshment needs. If this is an event requiring the preparation of one meal or you are hosting a small number of board members, then a 2.5-3.6m trailer should cover your needs. However if it’s a gala or large scale, multi day event then you will potentially need multiple 4-5m trailers to make sure that all of your stock stays cool.
Sporting Events
For many sporting events, they take place in temporary venues that will need to be packed down and transformed into something else after the competitions have ended. This means that your hospitality catering, concessions and drinks will also need a temporary home during the event. A large or dual compartment trailer would be perfect to span the length of time of the event and cater for, potentially, the thousands of sports fans you will need to serve.
Outdoor Catering
For outdoor catering, a mobile chiller is essential to being able to serve your customers. In these types of events, chillers will mainly be used for fresh ingredients, pre-prepared meals, beverages and desserts. To give you that extra space, it helps to have your trailer located next to a mobile kitchen to make it easy for catering staff to access temperature-controlled storage when they need it, rather than cluttering your workspace with ingredients.
Christmas Catering
During the Christmas season, businesses tend to need extra chillers because of the increase in stock levels and festive produce. For the busy festive period, to combat this need for extra stock, many restaurants opt for overflow storage chillers to avoid overloading their regular refrigeration. Most businesses will need a small boost to space so a smaller 2.5m trailer should cover your Christmas needs.
Emergency Refrigeration
When a fridge or freezer fails, it can be a matter of keeping your kitchen open and having to close, depending on how quickly you can refrigerate your stock. If you can get a replacement refrigeration unit it will need to match the square footage of the freezer that has broken, to ensure all your stock is kept at the correct temperature.
Kitchen Refurbishments
If you run a restaurant or kitchen, one of the biggest issues can come when your kitchen is out of action for repair or refurbishment. This is where having a mobile chiller can be a lifeline. If you still have some space to cook or prepare food, then you can keep your kitchen open with the help of an external refrigeration unit, meaning that you can avoid the financial losses that shutting down for the length of your refurbishments would cause.
Choosing the Right Chiller Size
As mentioned above, the size of your fridge or freezer unit will vary depending on the type of event, the type of food you need to chill, how much product you need to hold and how big the products are.
To maximise your space, providing your products will still fit, there are options for additional shelving and butchery rails to help utilise all the vertical room in your trailer. When doing this you must consider the air flow around each product to ensure the cool air can reach every item in your trailer.
What Temperature Should Food Be Stored At?
We know that our clients work across multiple industries, with multiple needs for their events. This means that the temperature your chiller needs to be set at will depend on the type of food you are looking to keep cool.
Product - Recommended Temperature
Fresh meat - 0°C to 5°C
Dairy - 1°C to 5°C
Prepared food - Below 5°C
Fruit & vegetables - 1°C to 8°C
Drinks - 2°C to 5°C
Frozen food - -18°C or below
Cut flowers - 1°C to 3°C
Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Chiller
How much storage do I need?
What size is the area where the trailer will be parked?
Is there adequate access?
Is mains power available?
Will I need a generator?
Is delivery included?
How long can I hire for?
Can the trailer be locked?
Will I need shelving?
If you have any questions of your own that we didn't answer here, please get in touch using the link below and we will be happy to answer them and assist you in finding the right trailer for you.
https://www.coldtraila.co.uk/contact-us/
