The London Hog Roast Company

Real-fire roast catering in London, Surrey and Hampshire

The London Hog Roast Company is a catering firm based in Chessington (south-west London) with a second base in Bordon (east Hampshire). Since 2007 it has prepared roasts of free-range British breed pork and lamb, charcoal spits and South African braai, cooked entirely at the event venue and carved in front of the guests. The company insists that it never pre-cooks the meat: it arrives raw, is mounted on the spit at the venue itself and served freshly cooked. Its service range covers 30 to 1,000 guests, from a garden meal to a festival.

Roast and grill options

The company's catalogue is organised into several live-cooking formats, with prices that the website presents as starting points subject to guest numbers:

• Charcoal spit fire roast (from £545): free-range pork, lamb or both turning over real charcoal, with the option of adding BBQ skewers or roast potatoes. Covers 30 to 240 servings.
• Golden hog roast (from £750): the classic, a whole free-range hog roasted on site for hours, with crackling. For smaller groups it offers suckling pigs. Covers 15 to 150 servings.
• Lamb roast (from £795): British free-range lamb with salt and rosemary, roasted on gas or over charcoal and served with mint sauce. From 25 to 200 servings.
• South African braai and BBQ (from £395): boerewors, sosaties, ribs and chops, with a configurable menu and the grill managed by the team. From 20 to 130 guests.
• Street food (from £295): provided by the Makhulu Wagon food truck.
• DIY hog roast hire (from £225): hire of the machine, with or without the meat, with delivery and a free 20-minute training session. Available for gas or charcoal.

The roasts come with freshly baked rolls and sauces, and include a chef, gazebo and serving table. The menu also includes salads and vegetables from £1.80 per person.

The Makhulu Wagon, street food truck

The company operates a second concept, the Makhulu Wagon, a restored 1976 Peugeot J7 that was located in France after two years of searching. It serves 12-hour pulled pork, smash burgers, smoked brisket, lamb burgers and loaded fries at markets, festivals, pubs, breweries and weddings. Its hire starts from £295. The truck also travels to offices and business parks to serve lunches between 12:00 and 14:00.

Weddings and corporate events

Weddings are one of the declared focuses of the business, with three packages for groups of 50 to 200 guests and an indicated rate of £10.47 per guest for 200 people, which includes roast potatoes, salads and a chef with an assistant to carve and serve. The company also offers a tool to calculate the price according to the number of guests and the option of including porcelain dishes.

In the corporate sphere it covers everything from office lunches to Christmas dinners: staff parties, team days, weekday lunches and festive celebrations served on office campuses, in courtyards or gardens. For December dates, the website warns that they sell out first. Corporate roasts are offered from £275.

How a roast unfolds

The service is organised around a team that arrives five to eight hours before the event to set up the chef, gazebo, serving table and roasting machine on a 4×4 metre open surface, preferably grass. The meat is lit on the spit as soon as they arrive and cooked slowly for five to seven hours. At serving time, the team carves and serves for an hour with crackling, fresh rolls, apple sauce and its own South African marinade. When finished, it packs down quietly and leaves the leftovers with the client in their own containers. The company requires a nearby power point and parking close to the access, and states that it has £10 million public liability insurance.

South African roots and history

The firm claims South African roots and describes braai as its way of bringing people together, a custom it brought to its London kitchen: local produce, freshly made salads and real fire. It began roasting in 2007 from its Chessington base and later opened a second one in Bordon. According to its presentation, a good part of the bookings come from repeat customers and the friends they bring.

Coverage and booking conditions

The company works in London, Surrey, Hampshire and nearby areas, and travels further: it does not apply a mileage charge within a 20-mile radius of either of its two bases and, beyond that, charges £2 per mile. The areas it mentions include Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Sussex and Essex, as well as locations such as Kingston upon Thames, Wimbledon, Surbiton, New Malden, Worcester Park, Epsom, Leatherhead, Guildford and Southampton.

Bookings are confirmed with a £100 deposit and the company states that it responds to every enquiry within 24 hours. It also maintains a review discount programme: £50 refund for leaving reviews before and after the event on three of the platforms it lists, £60 if published on all five, and £30 for DIY hire bookings with two reviews. The refund is made by bank transfer and does not constitute a cash voucher.

Bases and premises

Chessington base: 10 Mount Road, Chessington, South West London KT9 1JG

Bordon base: 15 Falstaff Walk, Bordon, East Hampshire GU35 0TE