Is there any better way to celebrate another year around the sun than with a hog roast? That’s a rhetorical question by the way – of course there isn’t. Birthdays and hog roasts go together like strawberries and cream, peanut butter and jam, fish and chips… okay, we’ll stop listing food duos now. You get the idea. There’s something about a hog roast that just fits a birthday – the occasion, the crowd, the whole atmosphere of it. It makes everything feel a little more celebratory.
So when it came to Garry’s big 70th, Pat wasn’t about to do things by halves. Sixty guests, a proper party and – yes, you guessed it – a Hog Roast Harrogate hog roast firmly at the centre of it all.
Our catering manager Jon took the lead and hit the ground running, by serving a whole spit-roasted pig slow-cooked over hours, pulling people in by smell alone long before a plate was in sight. Crispy crackling, sage and onion stuffing and a dollop of applesauce finished it off – simple additions that make every mouthful sing.
The sides kept pace with the main event, with coleslaw, tomato and mozzarella salad, mixed salad and a combination of sweet potato and classic fries, all set out with salt, vinegar and a lineup of Sauce Shop sauces for people to go at however they liked. Honestly, half the fun was watching everyone customise their plates differently and somehow land on something brilliant every time.
Jon made sure the non-meat-eaters were equally sorted – Hog Roast Harrogate’s famous grilled veggie kebabs and BBQ-pulled jackfruit buns went down a treat, with extra buns on the side so guests could mix, match and build their own thing throughout the afternoon.
The party was a roaring success. But the highlight nobody saw coming? Jon and Garry getting chatting and realising they shared a connection nobody expected – Garry, a retired surgeon, had spent seven years living in Queensland. Jon’s a Queenslander himself. Cue an instant friendship that saw the two of them inseparable for the rest of the night, swapping stories like old buds.
Garry had a brilliant 70th. Pat nailed it. Jon made a mate.
All in a day’s work for Hog Roast Harrogate.