A trader is offered a pitch at a large event. The organiser asks for six documents. Two of them he has, one is out of date, one he has never heard of and two are with an accountant.
Three weeks later the pitch has gone to somebody who sent a single file the same afternoon.
What organisers should ask for
These are the checks a serious organiser makes. Traders who publish the pack win the bookings while everybody else is looking for paperwork.
1. Food business registration
Evidence that the business is registered with the relevant authority. The first check and the most basic.
2. The hygiene rating
Current, with the date. Many organisers set a minimum and a trader below it is declined regardless of anything else.
3. Public liability insurance
The certificate, the level of cover and the expiry date. Organisers frequently specify a minimum level.
4. Employer liability insurance
Where a trader has staff. Commonly overlooked by small traders and commonly required.
5. Product liability cover
Separately, because it is not always included and some organisers ask specifically.
6. Gas safety certification
Where gas appliances are used, current and for the specific equipment. It is the check that most often stops a trader on the morning.
7. Electrical testing records
For equipment used on site, which many organisers and venues require.
8. A risk assessment
Specific to the unit and the activity rather than a generic template. Organisers can tell the difference immediately.
9. Fire safety arrangements
Extinguishers, blankets, their servicing dates and what is carried. Frequently inspected on site.
10. Food safety management documentation
The system the business operates under and the records kept, which is the compliance ground in pitch and licensing questions food traders answer.
11. Allergen information
Documented per dish, which is increasingly a booking requirement, as in menu and dietary questions from organisers.
12. Staff training records
Food hygiene certification for whoever will be serving. Organisers ask and traders rarely have it to hand.
13. Any waste and water arrangements
Some organisers require evidence of how waste water and used oil are handled, and a few ask about water supply arrangements. It is a growing requirement at larger events and a trader who has it ready is confirmed while others are still asking what is meant by it.
14. A named contact on the day
Who will be at the unit, a mobile number and who makes decisions if something goes wrong. It is not a document and it is the thing an organiser most wants alongside the folder.
Keep the pack ready and current
One folder, updated, with expiry dates tracked. A trader who sends everything within an hour of being asked wins pitches on that alone.
Publish that you hold it
On your own site, listing what you can provide. Organisers shortlist traders who look organised before they have read a menu.
Track the renewal dates
Because an expired certificate discovered the week of an event is the most avoidable problem in the trade, and asking a supplier for the same rigour is the habit in AI chatbot security questions to ask a vendor and the cover questions in fees and insurance questions patients ask first.
Getting started
Publish what documentation you hold and keep a current pack ready to send, then respond to organiser requests at any hour. SpideyChat for food businesses answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.