My name is Oliver Panghurst and I have a business with my best friend supplying Hog roast Hire. Barnet is my home town, though some know it as Chipping Barnet as it is a market town (our local market has been going since the 13th century and still thrives to this day!)- my mum still calls it Chipping Barnet and probably always will as she works on the market selling knitted items – from jumpers to bags to gloves – admittedly a bit of a slow business in the summer but a booming one in the winter! I think in some ways she wanted me to join her in the family business but instead I got into the business of hog roast hire.
Barnet is famous for its many pubs and inn’s, in fact in the classic novel by Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (yes, my mother did name me after the hero of the story, before you ask!) makes mention of the towns’ many drinking establishments in it’s text. Funnily or coincidentally enough, just in the way that Oliver met his friend The Artful Dodger in one of these establishments, it was on a night out with my girlfriend that I met my future partner in business, William Wright. William, like me was a graduate Chef but like me was not working in our chosen field. We hit it off straight away, in fact my girlfriend seemed a bit miffed as she hardly got a word in edgewise the whole night, let alone was the focus of my attentions as I think she had been hoping! Will and I chatted all night about food and preparation and all our passions for cooking and became firm friends over the next week or so, culminating in hatching a scheme to get us both working in the trade we had studied so keenly for, when we found we both were big fans of hog roast. Barnet did not have a hog roast available anywhere near locally so we decided to both pour our meager savings into the equipment necessary and started a new company together ‘ A Wright Royal Roast’ – my name did not lend itself as well to the business so I conceded.
For the most part we ran the business with one or both of us running the hog roasts depending on the size for the event, though eventually we did build up enough capital to buy a few more hog roast or spit roast machines, so ended up doubling our money by splitting up and even hiring out the machines on occasion too. Our first job was one to remember as it was catering for a historical re-enactment of the famous Battle of Barnet (the hill in the famous children’s nursery rhyme ‘The Grand Old Duke of York’ is said to refer to Barnet Hill, fact fans!) and we ended up serving one hundred battle enthusiasts (from both armies). This was a real trial by fire but gave us the confidence that if we could handle that many people, then we would be able to handle anything, plus the fee was a nice start to our brand new joint business bank account balance too! We quickly expanded to corporate events, weddings and private parties and after seeing a gap in the market, included chicken spits and turkey too for Christmas parties such as the now yearly Xmas do at St John the Baptist church and at the traditional Barnet Fair!
Soon we were quite literally the hottest thing in Barnet! Hog roast became all the rage and I even managed to find a popular sideline in knitted oven mittens with nifty designs and phrases like ‘Chef’s Prerogative’ and ‘Pig Out!’ to keep my mom in business over the summer! Now Will and I are both family men (my girlfriend managing to put aside her jealousy when her need for attention was met with a marriage proposal!) and successful business co-owners, getting to do something we love on a regular basis and providing a great service for our hometown and neighbouring areas.
Our dedication to our trade is only rivalled by our enjoyment and there is nothing more satisfying for us than to see a group of well fed punters stuffed to the brim with hog roast and our diverse selection of delicious sides! It’s a really good thing that there are so many pubs in Barnet or I may not have met Will and we may never have achieved our dreams! Oliver, Barnet