The Spitting Pig Essex has had another busy week catering all kinds of parties and events around the country and one of my favourites was a family party celebrating an 80th birthday. For Margaret’s milestone birthday, there were four generations commemorating the day, including 12 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, all coming together from as far away as Canada and New Zealand!
Margaret’s son Ben got together with his siblings a while ago to figure out what to do for the special day and they unanimously agreed that a hog roast Hawkwell feast would be a great idea. They had to book far in advance in order to try and ensure family members abroad could make the event, and then nearer the time, Ben spoke to us about the food catering and the venue itself.
November is where the UK continues to get colder before it morphs into a freezing winter, so when we told Ben about our winter warmer menu, he thought it would be perfect for this outdoor party. With your choice of meat and seasonal vegetables, you can throw on a few layers of clothing, light some chimineas and warm yourself up with our delicious comfort hog roast Hawkwell. Ben requested our famous hog roast Hawkwell, which he had enjoyed many times before (and, more importantly, which Margaret had loved to eat!) as well as his family’s favourite winter vegetables of carrots, parsnips, and butternut squash, roasted together with sweet potatoes and herbs.
On the day of Margaret’s birthday, we packed up our gear and headed to the pub venue, where an outside area had been cordoned off for the party. There was no sign of rain and there were plenty of undercover areas in the pub gardens, so we erected the gazebo, set up the serving station and switched on our hog roasting machine. After smothering the hog with water and salt and scoring it, it slowly roasted for several hours before the guests arrived, and by the time they did, the whole area smelled gorgeous.
Margaret and generation after generation all loved our hog roast so much that they’ve booked us in for a family Christmas party to enjoy turkey and all the trimmings next!