Before the bell
Most of a good break is decided before it starts
Where the stand stands, what it carries, and whether everything is hot, cold and clean before the first order: that is the work of the hour before the bell. This page sets out the stand itself, how it is set on a pitch, what a firm's site needs for a booked visit, and the paperwork that has to be in place before the first service.
What the stand carries
One catering trailer, or a van fitted the same way, laid out so that one or two people can cook, serve and wash without stepping over each other.
- Hatch and serving ledge
- The opening the food comes through, and the shelf under it where it is handed over.
- Awning
- Cover over the hatch and the front of the queue, because breaks happen in the rain too.
- Flat-top griddle
- A heated steel plate, kept seasoned with a baked-on film of oil that protects it.
- Hot-hold
- A heated well or cabinet that keeps cooked food at 63 °C or above.
- Fridge
- Chilled food at 8 °C or below until it is needed.
- Water boiler
- Hot water for drinks, kept at the far end from the griddle.
- Hand-wash basin
- Hot water, soap and drying, used for hands and nothing else.
- Water tanks
- Clean water carried in; grey water collected and taken away.
- Gas and its fittings
- Bottled LPG through regulators to appliances with flame-failure devices, which cut the gas if a flame goes out.
- Probe and wipes
- A probe thermometer for core temperatures, wiped clean between readings.
- Fire extinguisher and blanket
- Within reach of the cooking, not behind it.
- Power
- A generator where a pitch has none, or the mains hook-up an event provides.
- Chocks and jacks
- To hold the trailer still and level once it is on its pitch.
Setting the stand, in order
The same steps every time, because a step skipped on a cold morning is the one that matters.
- Arrive earlyWith time to look at the pitch before anything is unloaded.
- Chock and levelWheels chocked, the trailer levelled on its jacks so the hot-hold and the griddle sit true.
- Gas on, appliances litChecked at the cylinder and at each appliance before the first flame.
- Hand-wash running hotBefore any food is touched.
- Hot-hold past 63 °C, fridge at 8 °C or belowNothing goes into the hot-hold until it is there.
- First readings written downThe probe wiped, the readings taken and noted with the time.
- Hatch up on the bellAnd the first order is asked for.
A visit to a firm's own site
For breaks, shift changeovers, open days and site visits, booked ahead. Each side brings its half.
The site provides
- Level hardstanding the trailer can stand on
- A way in wide enough for it, with nothing low overhead
- Room for a queue that keeps people out of vehicle routes
- A spot clear of doors, and of anything that should not sit beside a flue
- Power if there is any to spare, and a named person on the day
The stand brings
- The trailer, the crew and the food
- Allergen information for everything served
- Its own hand-wash basin and water
- Its own power where the site has none
- Bags and a grease container, so that nothing is left behind
The serving planner on the break time page works out how many people one hatch can serve in a given break, which is the first thing worth knowing before a visit is booked. Your pitch sets out what to measure and what rules a spot out; Book the stand takes the bells with it, with the site details above.
The paperwork that comes first
MZ Solutions was formed on 1 September 2026 and has not traded yet. Before the first service, three things have to be in place, and each will be listed on this site once it is, and not before.
- Food business registrationWith Wyre Forest District Council, the council for the place the trailer is normally kept, at least 28 days before trading begins. Registration is free.
- Gas sign-offThe installation checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer qualified for commercial mobile catering.
- Permission for each pitchStreet-trading consent from the council for any pitch on a street; the landowner's or organiser's agreement for anywhere else.
Registered details
The registered office is a private address for post and filings. No food is cooked, sold or collected there.
- Registered name
- MZ SOLUTIONS LTD
- Company number
- 17430729
- D-U-N-S
- 235118560
- Registered in
- England and Wales
- Incorporated
- 1 September 2026
- Registered office
- 107 Coventry Street KIDDERMINSTER, DY10 2BH United Kingdom
- Activities (SIC)
- 56103 Take-away food shops and mobile food stands · 82990 Other business support service activities not elsewhere classified