I’m David Hinton. I started in mobile catering a long while ago, back when the trade was more secretive and good information was hard to come by. You would think that problem was gone. But even with all the information out there today, people still waste a lot of money buying the wrong equipment, getting scammed, picking the wrong generator, using the wrong engineers. It all costs time and money, and most of it is avoidable. Today, through the MobCater website and the app, I do my best to give people the right information and real experience, so they can get started and avoid the pitfalls, the scams and everything else that makes starting difficult. Nobody is in a better position to help themselves than someone armed with good advice. People contact me frequently about one aspect of mobile catering or another, often after something has gone wrong. This page is the advice I find myself giving, written down, with the real stories that go with it. Names left out, numbers left in.
The buying cycle nobody explains
When you buy catering equipment there are four hurdles, not one. Most people only see the first.
1. Choose right. The right size, the right fuel, the right model for a trailer or van, not a kitchen.
2. Buy right. Brand new, genuine, CE or UKCA marked, with a real warranty from a seller who will still answer next year.
3. Install right. Gas equipment needs a Gas Safe engineer qualified for commercial mobile catering, the CMC qualification. They fit it, test it and issue your CP44 certificate. Without that certificate you cannot trade.
4. Stay legal. Keep the gas cert, insurance, licence and electric checks where you can find them, and log your temperatures daily.
Get one hurdle wrong and the others do not matter. Here is what that looks like in real money.
What generator do I need for a catering trailer?
It depends on what you run, where you trade and how much noise your pitch will tolerate. Size it on your actual appliances, check the decibel rating before you pay, and remember gas does the cooking, the generator runs your fridge, card reader and lights.
A caterer got in touch through the site the other week. She had just paid £1,200 for a lovely looking generator. She fired it up and it was so noisy she could not use it on a pitch. And because she had already put oil in it and started it, she could not return it. £1,200, stuck in her garage.
With the app she would have had advice on which generator, the sound level, the right size, and a member discount on a suitable machine. The generator tool asks seven easy questions and shows you the correct generator with examples. One question first, or £1,200 after. That is the trade.
Do LPG fryers and griddles need a flame failure device to trade legally in the UK?
Yes. Gas appliances in a mobile catering unit need flame failure protection, so if the flame goes out the gas shuts off. An engineer cannot certify an appliance without it, and without the certificate you cannot legally trade.
A lad just starting out bought two table top LPG fryers, about £800 each. Decent looking units. Neither had a flame failure device. His engineer had no choice but to fail both. He paid the call out, then paid the return carriage on £1,600 worth of fryers, and he had not cooked a single thing yet. A few hundred pounds gone, not through carelessness, but because nobody told him what to check before he bought.
Before you pay for any gas appliance, ask one question: does it have flame failure protection and is it CE or UKCA marked? If the seller cannot answer, walk away. Every gas appliance in the member discounts is brand new, genuine and marked, so this question is already answered before you buy.
How do I choose a commercial coffee machine for a mobile business?
Match the group size to your trade. A 1 group machine suits a quiet pitch, a 2 group is the working standard, a 3 group is for serious volume. Then decide automatic or semi automatic, and if you are on a trailer you likely need dual fuel, LPG and electric.
A customer found us through an AI chatbot recently and bought a popular LPG machine, a dual fuel Fracino, a machine over £3,000. He chose well. But a member would have paid £50 less on the same machine through the app promotions, had the LPG engineers list ready for the installation, and had the coffee guide free on top.
At £3,000 the machine is not the risk. The risk is the wrong group size, the wrong fuel, no engineer booked, and a seller who vanishes when a part fails. Over a hundred machines have gone out through our partner shop since 2019, and the team behind it is still there when one has a problem.
Equipment safety, in plain English
Is catering equipment without a CE mark legal in the UK?
No. Equipment needs CE or UKCA marking to be legally sold and used. Unmarked imports look cheap until your engineer refuses to connect them and your insurer refuses to pay out. No mark, no sale, walk away.
Can I return catering equipment after I have used it?
Usually not, and this is the trap. The moment you fuel it, oil it or cook on it, most sellers will not take it back, and your return rights change once goods are used. Everything on this page about checking before you buy exists because of this one fact.
Who can install LPG equipment in a catering trailer?
A Gas Safe registered engineer with the commercial mobile catering qualification, CMC. They install and test the equipment and issue the CP44 certificate your council, insurer and event organisers will ask for. The app carries a directory of engineers across the UK, so you are not picking a name off a search page and hoping.
How do I avoid scams when buying catering equipment?
Cheap unbranded imports, no CE or UKCA mark, no flame failure device, no warranty, a seller you cannot reach. Any one of those is your cue to leave. Genuine branded equipment costs a little more on the day and thousands less over the life of the business.
One pass covers the whole cycle. £99 a year.
Member prices on equipment. Over 100 live discounts on brand new, genuine, CE and UKCA marked equipment with real warranties. LPG coffee machines, fryers, griddles, bain maries, generators and more. One decent purchase and the pass has paid for itself.
The advice before you buy. The generator tool, the equipment guides, the coffee machine sizing help, and real answers from real experience, so the £1,200 mistake never happens to you.
The engineers to install it. A UK directory of LPG engineers for commercial mobile catering, so the kit gets fitted, tested and certified first time.
The tools to stay legal. Document wallet for your gas cert, insurance, licence and electric checks. Daily temperature logs. Sales tracker, menu pricing, break even, energy cost and start up calculators. The 12 step guide with audio, free.
Who this is not for: if you already have your equipment, your engineer and your paperwork sorted, the pass will not do much for you. It is built for people setting up or growing, who are about to spend real money on kit and want to spend it once.
A 15-second look at the member discounts · tap the card to see the live deals
Buy it once, buy it right
£99 a year, one payment, yours for a full year. Pay securely with Stripe, then sign in to the free MobCater app on iPhone or Android and everything unlocks.
Get the £99 Annual PassAlready using the free app? Pay with the same email and everything unlocks automatically. New here? create your free account first, then pay with the same email.