Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

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PhilR
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Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by PhilR »

Just got back from a great weekend at the Centenary event.
However my family and I together with many other visitors were very disappointed with the lack catering facilities. The caterer that was there on Saturday shut up shop at 2pm as he had run out of food and drink. Then today (Sunday) a different caterer was there with queues as long as your arm virtually all day, despite the fact that he had clearly raised his prices as he effectively had a closed shop!
Why was there only one catering van each day for such a big event? My family were hoping to supplement the food which we had brought as we chose to use the camping facilities and therefore did not have refrigeration. It made life a little difficult with two young boys to feed.
Other than the lack of catering facilities, we enjoyed the weekend which was very well organised as usual and I would like to thank those that obviously put in a huge amount of effort to put the event on.
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a8pte
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by a8pte »

and the same old story every year the showers in the camping field how come they only got ice cold water in them two worked fine not bad out of ten.
irmscher
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by irmscher »

:lol: you were lucky they worked
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by LouiseM »

There was also a caterer supplying cheese rolls in the main marquee but I agree that it would have been good to have more options for food to reduce the very long queues. Plus a bit more variety would have been nice as if you don't eat meat it was a cheese roll or nothing on Saturday and chips on Sunday if you were lucky enough to get some before they ran out :( Something for the organising committee to take on board for next year.


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gtt1951
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by gtt1951 »

Hear Hear - very poor show on catering facilities. As most of the attendees would have been pre-booked, there is no excuse for having such poor facilities. Normally at such large events, there are a Plethora of catering vans. This International Rally site, for size, was on a par with some Game Fairs and those events always have, maybe, too many cateringing vans!

We arrived with a picnic (in period original Brexton picnic suitcase) which was very difficult to use due to the fact we were stuck in the car during the early afternoon downpour. Access to hot food would not not have gone amiss but, alas, the queue was about 75 people deep when we went past it.

On arrival, my partner exlaimed (and it is recorded on the audio track of my CrashCam unit) "my G-D, there are thousands of them (cars) ... its like an Epidemic!". Thousands of vehicles = double that for people.

Another bad bit - where were the Bins? I had to hunt high & low to get a bin to put rubbish into after our very snug car picnic.

Now the good bit - the Portaloos were very good, regularly cleaned and working well. The unit on the end of the run (furtherst from the Marquee) had the auto-sensing water taps - very appreciated when hands covered in soap!
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by stag36587 »

I have to agree with these comments. I was ony able to attend this afternoon and sadly it was pretty wet. Catering is so important to an event like this, especially if there are families in tow.
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Plin
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by Plin »

gtt1951 - you actually found some bins?! We searched high and low but they remained elusive!

Such a shame about the catering facilities, even though we also bought our own picnic (also enjoyed in the cozy dry of our vehicle!) it would have been nice to have had the opportunity to add to our provisions. Did feel for families and international visitors.

But it is not easy to organize such events so I do say thanks to all who gave up their time.
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by darren1camper »

I seem to remember more catering last year, the catering was poor
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by mike.perry »

Saturday, managed to get a hot dog and burger, no onions, and very wet in the queue.
Sunday obtained similar but smaller and more expensive purchase and not so wet. No chips left.
Saturday evening, enjoyed the band but getting rather peckish and cold, and by the time a few plates with sandwiches on started filtering back from the front of the buffet queue we had decided that something more substantial was required, so we headed out for a pub meal. Why do English pubs stop serving food at 9 pm? Ended up in a curry house in Chipping Norton.
Pity we missed the remainder of the entertaiment.
The standard was set in 2005 at Braimer Park with all day catering including breakfast; tables and chairs, and an awning to shelter from the scorching sun.
Last edited by mike.perry on Mon Jun 17, 2013 4:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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foofoournan
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by foofoournan »

I do believe they told us the reason why on the Saturday night party, from what I heard there were meant to be 4 catering vans on the Saturday, but only 1 turned up. And the owner of the one ended up very up set after everyone pointing out to him that there should be more, so he left and said he wasn't coming back.
So in fairness we were lucky someone was able to sort out another truck at all!


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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by LouiseM »

Thanks for clarifying that for those who didn't attend the party. Not easy to find replacement caterers at short notice if others let you down at the last minute :(


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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by Morris Mike »

I did not attend this event. I was wearing my other hat and attended the MG weekend at Silverstone on the Sunday.

Now we all know how in the past race circuits were a rip off when it came to purchasing refreshments. But things have moved on a wee tad since the day`s of the burger van,polystyrene cups,dirty sauce bottles,dirty spoons etc.

Inside some marques were WI type ladies stalls selling there wares,good home baked or cooked produce,small traders selling independent produced food products etc.
Even the larger outdoor vendors have got their act together and now have very good facilities,outside seating areas on proper tables and benches etc.

But moving on to a Morris Minor event which would not have the restraints of an event held at somewhere like Silverstone,why were the food vendors not drafted in locally like many steam,vintage or country shows in this day and age.

The local WI ladies could have had a tea tent,local farmers type stalls could have sold scrumptious food,a local small real ale brewer could have sold some beer or cider,a hog could have been roasted,a bread and cake stall could have sold its wares,the list goes on.
The Morris Minor is the iconic 1950`s /1960`s motor car owned by people like me who love those past day`s of quality products,home cooked food and petrol at 5 bob a gallon.

Why cannot the trading facilities reflect this also,do we really want "Dave the hot dog man" selling his horse or donkey meat products to our families.?

We want a proper cup of tea,fruit cake,homemade scones ,proper meat products (I love pork pie),local real ale (not Carlsberg) and service with a smile.

Give the local charities a helping hand with their fundraising,not Dave the caterer who drives around in a BMW during the week,after ripping people off with tea at £1.80.

If I attend an event in France the most important part of the weekend is the food. If they can get it right why cannot we do the same.?

MM
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Austin 6cwt Van 1972. Teal Blue
Morris Minor Traveller 1961 Original
Austin A30 Van 1956.
Austin A35 Van 1960
What else is lurking behind those open doors.?.
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by MarkyB »

a hog could have been roasted"
Drool :)
We stopped at a few Bricolage, French boot fairs while on the MOT all had at least one caterer cooking big tasty looking sausages to go into French bread and make something vastly better than a hot dog.

"Once you break something you will see how it was put together"
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by Jonah681 »

First of all, a very big thank you to all the organisers and volunteers.

It is a very difficult job to do. I was in paradise surrounded by so many Morris models. Exhibits were great, running commentary on the ring not an easy task but well done & traders were very helpful.

Yes, there are criticisms, but in my humble opinion, not the organisers fault.

Weather - more prayers needed for next year!

House - with so many people there, why wasn't the house open? Maybe it does not open to the public, but I had wife, etc with me and though they like looking at the cars, they are not as enthusiastic and would have loved to see the house. The Harewood House rally gave them something to do while I went off on my annual Minor pilgrimage.

Catering - If 3 caterers fail to show, we can hardly blame the organisers. It shows they at least realised the need and tried to accommodate for food and drink. The caterers missed out on a good days takings & I guess will not be invited again.

Again, my thanks to everyone involved.
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by irmscher »

Anyone know how much the caterers were charged for the concession ????.I wondered if that was where the high prices and non turn up of catering vans was caused
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by Hubert »

mike.perry wrote:Saturday, managed to get a hot dog and burger, no onions, and very wet in the queue.
Sunday obtained similar but smaller and more expensive purchase and not so wet. No chips left.
Saturday evening, enjoyed the band but getting rather peckish and cold, and by the time a few plates with sandwiches on started filtering back from the front of the buffet queue we had decided that something more substantial was required, so we headed out for a pub meal. Why do English pubs stop serving food at 9 pm? Ended up in a curry house in Chipping Norton.
Pity we missed the remainder of the entertaiment.
The standard was set in 2005 at Braimer Park with all day catering including breakfast; tables and chairs, and an awning to shelter from the scorching sun.
I fully support the postings in this threat, but really this is my only complaint about this great event.

On Saturday the queue for the burgers was so long and slow that we finally gave up waiting in the rain and changed to the trailer from which coffee, tea and muffins were sold. We got our tea - and the last two muffins (at 2.30 p.m.). In the end we were so hungry that we missed out the evening entertainment and went to Chipping Norton for a pub meal. But that proved a bit difficult, too. Two of the places we called at did not serve evening meals at all, and one was full. We ended up at the Blue Boar and had an excellent meal, but we had to wait for it for almost an hour. However there were some more Morris Minor owners in the pub, so we had a good chat.

If something was to be improved at the next rally, it definitely has to be the catering.

Cheers
Hubert
alexandermclaren
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by alexandermclaren »

irmscher wrote:Anyone know how much the caterers were charged for the concession ????.I wondered if that was where the high prices and non turn up of catering vans was caused
MMMMMMMMMMMMMM no answer as of today on that one
LOOKS like you have hit the nail on the head
Will we ever know the truth on the catering saga
am afraid not
OOOOOOOOOOOO we will get a reply but not the full picture
we never do :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

alexandermclaren
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by alexandermclaren »

nupo no reply
dead in the water
we are only being constructive in our thoughts but hey ho
its to be expected

alexandermclaren
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by alexandermclaren »

Hubert wrote:
mike.perry wrote:Saturday, managed to get a hot dog and burger, no onions, and very wet in the queue.
Sunday obtained similar but smaller and more expensive purchase and not so wet. No chips left.
Saturday evening, enjoyed the band but getting rather peckish and cold, and by the time a few plates with sandwiches on started filtering back from the front of the buffet queue we had decided that something more substantial was required, so we headed out for a pub meal. Why do English pubs stop serving food at 9 pm? Ended up in a curry house in Chipping Norton.
Pity we missed the remainder of the entertaiment.
The standard was set in 2005 at Braimer Park with all day catering including breakfast; tables and chairs, and an awning to shelter from the scorching sun.
I fully support the postings in this threat, but really this is my only complaint about this great event.

On Saturday the queue for the burgers was so long and slow that we finally gave up waiting in the rain and changed to the trailer from which coffee, tea and muffins were sold. We got our tea - and the last two muffins (at 2.30 p.m.). In the end we were so hungry that we missed out the evening entertainment and went to Chipping Norton for a pub meal. But that proved a bit difficult, too. Two of the places we called at did not serve evening meals at all, and one was full. We ended up at the Blue Boar and had an excellent meal, but we had to wait for it for almost an hour. However there were some more Morris Minor owners in the pub, so we had a good chat.
yes it was a great rally but after Braimer Park which showed the way to a great catering based show(my round trip was over 800 miles)you would have thought that they wouldent need any more trial runs on how to go about the catering for such a sucsesfull show

If something was to be improved at the next rally, it definitely has to be the catering.

Cheers
Hubert

Morris Mike
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Re: Cornbury Park - Catering Vans or the lack of!

Post by Morris Mike »

The answer is for next years event to be held in conjunction with a vintage food fair.

We attend events nearly every weekend and never have trouble on the food or beverage side.

Take yesterday`s event for example........

Lovely parkland next to a village (amenities).
Marques full of bread,cake,pizza,homemade ice cream,meat pies,cheeses,local brewed beer,etc . :D

W I ladies catering for teas,coffee`s,soft drinks and best of all large wadges of homemade cakes etc. :D

A vintage event with vintage style food outlets.....it cannot be that difficult to organise something along these lines for a once yearly gathering of Morris Minors.? :-?

Ban these modern burger vans. :evil:


M M
Morris Minor Traveller 1961 Modified.
Austin 6cwt Van 1972. Teal Blue
Morris Minor Traveller 1961 Original
Austin A30 Van 1956.
Austin A35 Van 1960
What else is lurking behind those open doors.?.
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