The van started as a Citroën H van we bought from a farm in Llancaiach for eight hundred pounds and a crate of beer. It took a winter to fit the oven, and it has done about a hundred and fifty weddings, parties and fêtes since. It sits on a lawn or a car park, needs no power for the oven, and draws a crowd as soon as the fire is lit.
We arrive an hour and a half before service, light the oven with the same Llanwonno oak, and cook for two hours: the whole board, made to order, as many as your guests can eat, about a pizza and a half a head on the night. Two of us cook and a third serves on a party of more than eighty. We bring the boxes, the boards, the napkins and the bins, and take everything away again, including the ashes.
Prices start at £14 a head for forty guests and go down to £12 a head over a hundred; children under twelve are half price. Travel is included within fifteen miles of Pontypridd, which takes in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Merthyr and the Rhondda; beyond that it is a pound a mile each way. A deposit of twenty-five percent holds the date, and the rest is due a week before. The van page has the packages, what we need from the venue, and the dates we already have.
What you get
- A wood-fired oven in a 1972 Citroën H van
- Two hours of pizza made to order
- The whole board, vegan and gluten-free included
- Boxes, boards, napkins and bins
- Travel within fifteen miles of Pontypridd
- Public liability cover and a food hygiene rating of five
What it costs
From £14 a head for forty guests or more, two hours of pizza; travel included within fifteen miles of Pontypridd. The menu has every price and allergen and the build-your-own, and the order page the collection slots still open.