Kent · England
Funeral and wake catering in Hawkenbury, Kent
Planning fish and chips for the wake in Hawkenbury? The van comes to your venue, home or workplace and fry everything fresh on the spot.
- A wake at the family home
- Memorial events and anniversaries
- Memorial gatherings
Fresh fish and chips in Hawkenbury
Hawkenbury: your questions answered
Do you come to venues in the High Weald National Landscape?
Yes. Some venues there have rules about vehicles and ground, so check with yours. We will work to whatever the site needs.
Is Hawkenbury too small for a chip van?
No, we come to small places too. Let us know about access and parking.
Is everything cooked fresh?
Yes. We cook inside the van, so it’s fried on the spot, not cooked earlier and kept warm.
How quickly can you come?
We understand the timescales, so send us the date and we’ll answer right away.
Can you go on a lawn or field?
That depends on the weather and the ground. Tell us about it when you enquire, and we’ll advise.
What do you bring?
The van comes fully equipped to cook. You just need a suitable spot and permission.
Do you clear up afterwards?
We clear the van’s area after service. Tell us where bins can go for people’s paper and trays.
Is there a non-fish option?
Sausage and chips and pie and chips are on the menu. Tell us about other diets and we will be honest about what’s possible.
Funeral and wake catering for your wake in Hawkenbury
We cook as people come up. We serve mushy peas, pie and chips and sausage and chips, and we’re frequently booked for memorial events and anniversaries and celebrations of life.
In a small place like Hawkenbury, a wake might be at home, in a barn or at the village hall. Let us know about access. The menu is short on purpose: a few classics done properly keeps the food fresh and the queue moving.
Looking after everyone
Allergies are taken seriously. Help us by following these steps:
- Plan for a few extra people
- Funeral directors can help with numbers
- Plan seating for older guests
- Name a contact for the day who is not close family
A friend or the funeral director can be our contact.
Have napkins and bins ready.
DIY versus a fish and chip van
DIY food keeps costs down, but the host spends the event serving. With a fish and chip van, you get hot food without the work.
Ordering from a local shop? Call ahead and collect at the last minute. For anything more than a handful of people, a van is usually the easier option.
The process
It’s a relaxed, well-organised set-up. Arrival and serving times are agreed beforehand, set up where we have agreed, and cook and serve without fuss. In winter, it’s dark in Hawkenbury by about 3:50pm, so for an afternoon wake, light near the van and the door helps. In summer, there’s daylight until about 9:15pm.
- First, the plan: what, where and what time.
- You hear back on the date and the price.
- We agree exactly where the van parks, and how it gets in.
- Batter, fish and chips all go into the fryer as people come up.
- The pitch is left tidy when we go.
How to prepare
- Check the way in for low branches, cables and narrow gates
- Plan a bit of cover near the hatch if rain is likely
- Pick a flat, firm place for the van to park
Get a quote
Not sure of numbers yet? No problem: give us a rough idea and the date, and we’ll quote on that. Start when you are ready: use our quote form.
Related guides
Space, access and the venue
The van has to be able to get in and park safely, and a little planning goes a long way. Here’s what we look for:
- Space for people to queue at the hatch
- A lit spot if service runs after dark
- A route in without tight gates or low branches
If in doubt, send us a picture of the spot and we’ll advise.
What we serve
- Gravy
- Mushy peas
- Sausage and chips
- Pie and chips
- Cod and chips
- Haddock and chips
Nearby places to Hawkenbury
Also in Hawkenbury
After a funeral in Hawkenbury
Hawkenbury is about 7 miles south of Maidstone, in Kent. Give us the address of your wake in Hawkenbury, and we will plan access and set-up before the day. We take the van to 922 places across Kent. We serve events right across the region, from Hawkenbury to Canterbury (23 miles away).
The High Weald National Landscape is within about 6 miles of Hawkenbury; tell us about access if the wake is somewhere rural.
We cover wakes in every part of TN12 and the streets around it. Nearby, we also serve wakes in Farthing Green (1 mile north-east), Devil's Den (1 mile north), Staplehurst (1 mile south-west), Cross-at-Hand (2 miles north-west) and Sinkhurst Green (2 miles south). We also serve nearby towns such as Maidstone (7 miles north), Ashford (13 miles east), Sittingbourne (13 miles north-east), Royal Tunbridge Wells (14 miles west), Tonbridge (13 miles west) and Kings Hill (10 miles north-west).
A little further out are Brattle Farm Museum (2.4 miles south-west) and Sutton Valence Castle (2.6 miles north).
Planners, venues and businesses
Booking for a company? Tell us what your finance team needs, and we’ll talk you through the process. We’re happy to liaise with facilities on parking and timings.
Many venues set rules for catering vans: parking spots, arrival times and documents. Send us your venue’s requirements and we will confirm what we can provide.
The menu, dish by dish
Gravy
Chips and gravy is a favourite in the north and the Midlands, and it goes perfectly with a pie.
Mushy peas
Mushy peas are a must for plenty of fish and chip fans.
Why choose funeral and wake catering in Hawkenbury?
It takes one job off a very long list at a difficult time.
Whatever brings people together, a chip van is a crowd-pleaser. We regularly serve:
- Wakes at venues
- Memorial events and anniversaries
- A tribute meal
- Village hall wakes
Relatives arriving by train should know that Staplehurst station is about 1.3 miles away.
Comparing caterers
- What the price includes, item by item
- How long service runs, and what happens if you overrun
- The deposit and payment dates
- Whether there’s a minimum
A fish and chip van or other catering?
For warm food after a funeral, a chip van is a gentle choice in Hawkenbury. A chip van often compares well with a plated meal, as there’s no kitchen to hire and nothing to wash up. We will send you a quote.
Why book our van in Hawkenbury
- Hot food handed straight over
- Nothing for you to cook or clear
- A quote that spells everything out
- Fish and chips fried fresh on site
- Fried fresh to order in the van at your event
- Cod, haddock and chips, sausages and pies
- The van comes to you: homes, venues, workplaces and fields
- Served at the time you choose, from the hatch