Temporary Kitchens in Marquee at South of England Show

The South of England Agricultural Show, which celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2017, has been working with PKL successfully for more than five years.

The 50th show was a befittingly well-run event that acknowledged the history of the occasion while also welcoming the innovations that have allowed it to remain a vital and relevant showpiece in the agricultural calendar in the South of England.

The show is the flagship event for the South of England Agricultural Society’s Showground in Ardingly, and brings together the rural community over an inspiring weekend each year. With more than 4,000 society members to feed, along with 70,000 regular visitors over the weekend, the society sets up three temporary kitchens to fulfil their catering requirements.

Working with Graysons Restaurants, the society created three high class eateries for members each with its own character and menu.  PKL provided catering infrastructure for all three sites, including the Norfolk Place Brasserie and the Turners Hill Bistro and fully equipped the large central hub kitchen, including a specialist dishwashing unit, cold rooms, combi ovens, bratt pans, tables, serveries, coffee machines and shelving.

SEAS CEO Iain Nicol said that the PKL team were an important part of the show thanks to their knowledge and expertise.

“PKL is crucial to the operation of the show because we need to feed a lot of people and do it well, as it influences our visitors’ experiences of the day. If you get the catering right, people have a wonderful experience. Get it wrong and they remember it forever. We can’t afford to have an oven or bratt pans go down with no way to get it fixed. Using PKL ensures that never happens, and we are delighted at the service they provide.

“We depend on suppliers who bring a lot of knowledge and value to ensure we have a trouble-free show,” he said. “PKL are a real asset to us during this very busy week, with their understanding of the challenges of catering for events like this and the professional manner in which all their staff conduct themselves.”