BRRRR!!!!!! ….What a difference a week makes!!
Last Saturday evening it was 24 degrees as we catered for an 18th Birthday party… It was the hottest Halloween day on record. Tonight it is about 4 or 5 degrees C, the wind is howling and almost blowing our marquee away and it is hammering down with rain. Winter is definitely round the corner and it’s time for the winter thermals while we cook a hog roast in Loudwater. This evening we are hog roast catering in Loudwater, a small village just of the M25. Although only a small village, a few years ago a quarter of the residents were millionaires making it the most concentrated area of millionaires in the country.
The venue for tonight’s hog roast is Loudwater Farm…. A delightful farm with the river Chess flowing gently through the fields. The farm dates back to the 4th or 5th century and archaeological finds of coins, pottery and tiles would suggest it was the former site of a villa and watermill occupied by Germanic settlers. Now a days the farm has two large halls which are ideal for meetings, training days and workshops, eight guest rooms which are let out on a bed and breakfast basis and the grade 2 listed barn which dates back about 400 years or so in which we are hog roast catering in Loudwater this evening. Claire and Ben tied the knot a month ago with just close family at their side….. They were planning to run away elope and not tell anyone they were getting married….. Sounds a great idea and very romantic, but it all got too complicated and they gave in to pressure from all sides!!
The plan for tonight is to invite all their friends to celebrate that they are now Mr and Mrs, with a hog roast in Loudwater. As the weather is so bad I will be cooking and carving the hog roast under our gazebo on the patio beside the barn and our chef Josie will be serving the feast of hog roast with crispy golden crackling along with a delicious array of homemade salads and hot new potatoes with fresh mint and herb butter. The guests kept popping out to see how the hog was coming along and warm themselves as they chatted next to the hog roast machine…. The heat from the hog roast machine was actually quite pleasant on such a cold night. Just before five o’clock we lifted the pig into the carving position and Claire and Ben had a couple of photos of them cutting the hog…. Makes a change from cutting the cake and I am sure the pictures will look great. This also gave the two of them the opportunity to be our crackling tasters and once we got the thumbs up from them and that long sigh of approval that we know means “oh my God, that crackling is just awesome”. We started to carve, ready for the usual rush of guests to be first to load their buns with the juiciest, tender and most flavoursome roasted pork with piping hot sage and onion stuffing and of course that all important one of your five a day apple sauce which must make you feel makes up for coming back and having that second helping of crispy golden crackling. As usual guests came back for seconds and even thirds until all was left was the ribs and even then some of the lads were enjoying gnawing the meat of the bones… Quite delicious!
Claire and Ben had decided to supply their own desserts and had laid out a nice selection of puddings and cakes to finish of the hog roast wedding in Loudwater. As I cleared and cleaned the hog roast outside it was all rather quiet which is unusual….. I thought everyone had gone home so ventured in to see what was going on….When I opened the door to the barn it was very clear they were all still there and the party was definitely in full swing. Claire and Ben had decided to have a silent disco, with all the guests wearing head sets and listening to different tracks depending on their taste in music. This is actually very entertaining and rather funny as everyone is dancing to a different beat, with some listening to disco and others were dancing along to the birdie song at the same time…. Quite amusing and the best thing is people do not realise they are singing along as well and well let’s just say none of Claire and Bens guests would make the X factor!!
So another successful evening, with Spitting Pig Hertfordshire providing yet another mouth-watering hog roast in Loudwater for a very lovely couple who we wish a long and happy marriage too.