Some clients you work with once and remember fondly. Others become the kind of regular booking that genuinely puts a spring in your step when the request comes through. Ducati Leeds is very much the latter. Hog Roast Shipley has worked with them more times than we can count, and every visit feels like catching up with old friends… just with a lot more horsepower involved.
So, when they hired us for their most recent event, we were ecstatic.
This time, they needed help catering for a Saturday gathering at their Salts Mill Road dealership with 180 people attending, and – wait for it – a 10:30am serving time. Yes, you read that right. Morning service. Which, in catering terms, basically means “set your alarm painfully early and get moving.”
But if there’s one thing Hog Roast Shipley thrives on, it’s a challenge.
So, while most people were still debating their first coffee of the day, our catering manager Jon was already well into it – hog on the spit, sleeves rolled up, and full focus mode engaged. Timing was everything. With a crowd that size and a tight serving window, there’s no room for guesswork. Just experience, preparation and a bit of that calm-under-pressure energy.
And it paid off.
By the time people started arriving, everything was exactly how we wanted it to be. The crackling had that signature crunch, the pulled pork was so tender it practically fell apart, the sage and onion stuffing had been cooked in the pig’s own juices for that extra depth of flavour, and our homemade applesauce recipe tied everything together. Served up in a mix of gluten-free and wholemeal rolls and wraps, it didn’t take long for the queue to form – and stay steady.
The non-meat-eaters weren’t an afterthought either – not that they ever are with us. Grilled vegetable and halloumi skewers with tzatziki and sweet chilli gave them something genuinely worth getting excited about, and the BBQ pulled jackfruit sliders dripping in hickory sauce were the kind of thing people talk about on the way home.
Then there was the weather, which clearly had the memo. Blue skies, sunshine, the smell of a hog roast drifting across a forecourt full of beautiful bikes – honestly, we couldn’t have scripted a better afternoon.
Thanks again to everyone at Ducati Leeds for having Hog Roast Shipley back. As always, it was an absolute pleasure. See you next time!