FAQ

Are your menus vegetarian friendly?

Yes, they are. For the hog roast/spit roast we offer a vegetarian alternative for guests who can’t eat the meat on offer. We can also cook halal and kosher on request. In a lot of our menus there is a number of canapes, salads, potato dishes and desserts that are vegetarian friendly too, so all your guests will be fed well. We’re very proud of having a hog roast catering service that feeds everyone of all backgrounds and dietary persuasions. Our vegetarian food is almost as good as our hog roasts!

How long do hog roasts take to cook?

This can depend, really. We like to say the average cooking time is 6 hours and throughout the website you’ll see we stated that we often need 6 hours to cook a pig, but it all comes down to the weight of the pig. The general rule is that every 10 kg of pig equates to 1 hour of cooking time, so a pig of 40 kg will take 4 hours, although it’s not an exact science as a 100kg pig usually takes just over 8 hours, rather than 10. Another factor can be the weather on the day, especially if the hog roast is an outdoor one. In summer on a hot, still day, the heat can shave as much as an hour from the cooking time. Where as on a cold and windy winters day you can expect the cooking to take an hour or two longer as the cold means the machines lose much more heat. The good news is that you don’t have to sit around and wait for 8 hours, we carefully plan cooking times and will be at the venue several hours prior to begin the cooking process so the pigs perfectly primed for a plate at the serving time you set.

Are we allowed to provide our own pig?

You sure can. If you think you know of a better farmer or butcher or have a preference to a certain breed you’re welcome to buy a pig yourself. And in the case of other animals, if you’re not having a pig at your event but instead are having spit roasted lamb, chicken, turkey or beef, you can also provide your own of those if you prefer for a hog roast in Derby

How much does a hog roast cost?

There isn’t a set price for a hog roast so it would be pointless and probably wildly inaccurate to give one price, or even several set prices. The price of a hog roast is different for all events because we determine the price on a number of different catering factors such as the menu you choose; the date of your event; the size of your event and location. Because every hog roast in Donington event is different and every event is different we can’t give you a price unless you request a quote and provide us the details of your event. Requesting a quote is relatively straight-forward though and once you make your interest known we’ll have one for you on the same day.

For an outdoor event, what if it rains?

There are a few ways you can offset any potential bad weather and thinking ahead is always a wise thing to do. The most popular option people undertake to be on the safe side is to hire a marquee for their event, marquees in this day and age are relatively cheap to hire and we can help you to find a provider as we know a few. The second option would be to move the event indoors, because if your outdoor event is disrupted by bad weather we’re able to move the machines indoors without much trouble and carry the show on, but to do this the indoor space must be well ventilated to ensure safety. If the indoor alternative isn’t well ventilated and we can’t cook indoors, what we can do instead is to cook outside and then serve the food indoors to your guests. Any of these 3 are great defences against that troublesome British rain!

We’re on the outskirts of Derby, can you cater for us?

Definitely, we’re a caterer that gets about a lot and we can easily cater for events all across Derby. So long as we can physically get to the location we’ll happily do catering anywhere in Derby.

Can we alter menus?

Yes. The menus we have can be changed at the request of a customer and it’s nothing for us to add a new dish to a menu that you want. Call or email us to discuss customising a menu and we’ll create you a bespoke menu if you’re happy with the price.

Can I hire a machine and not the staff/chefs?

Yes, this is the other service that Spitting Pig Derby has and it’s popularity keeps on increasing because it’s a very affordable way to have a hog roast. Hiring a machine can be a very cost effective option for an event and you can cook for over 100 people with the machine. When you hire a machine the delivery and return of the machine is free, and each machine comes along with a free bottle of gas to power it and a series of attachments for you to cook different meats with so you can really get the full spit roasting experience that people get from our catering.

How long can I expect to wait for a quote?

The time it takes to receive a quote doesn’t take long at all, in fact quite the opposite, because once we’ve received your query we guarantee to have a quote for you within 24 hours, or on the next day. So if you request a quote at 4:40pm on Friday we’ll have a quote for you for the following Monday. We can also provide several quotes at once if you ring us and speak to a Spitting Pig sales agent or Email the office with the details of your event and different menus you like, to get a scope of which would be the more affordable for you.

Is my event too small?

No event is too small for Spitting Pig, whether you’re having a party with 20 people, a party with 200 or a party with a thousand people. The size of your event doesn’t matter to us in the least, so long as you’re willing to pay for the catering we would love to be the caterers at your event. We aren’t very fussy in that regard so give us a call and get us booked.