Hi guys, what fryers are you guys running in your vans and what would you recommend?
I was planning to get a BlueSeal GT46 but its too big to fit in my design and it also uses 25kw of gas, which is quite a lot for my 2x19kg gas cylinder idea.
Hi everyone,
I’m Florin, a chef in the UK, and apparently at some point I decided that working in kitchens wasn’t stressful enough, so my family and I bought an old VW Crafter to turn into our first catering van. 😂
We’re calling it FAMs — from the names Florin, Alexandra, Mirela and Sofia.
The idea is to build a proper mobile kitchen that we can use for private events, corporate catering, markets and hopefully eventually make into our family business.
There was just one small problem…
The van was absolutely battered.
It used to carry scrap metal and once we stripped everything out we discovered rust, welded floor patches, badly damaged roof ribs, ancient questionable repairs and various other surprises that have made me question my life choices several times already.
But we’re too far in now. 😂
So we’re bringing it back to life.
We’re doing as much of the conversion ourselves as we safely can — stripping everything, rust treatment, repairs, painting, insulation, framing, flooring and eventually fitting the kitchen.
Anything that needs to be professionally installed/certified, particularly LPG and specialist electrical work, will be done properly by qualified people.
The current plan is a 2011 VW Crafter LWB High Roof with:
• 900mm gas griddle
• Twin-tank fryer
• Bain-marie
• Upright commercial fridge
• Undercounter freezer/prep area
• Double sink
• Separate hand-wash sink
• Fresh/waste water system
• Commercial extraction
• Shore power + Victron battery/inverter setup
• 2 × 19kg propane bottles in a sealed/externally vented locker
• 1.8m serving hatch
I’m posting here partly because I’d love advice from people who have actually done this before.
If you see something in the pictures that makes you think “WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING?”, please tell me. 😂
Seriously.
I’d rather get roasted on Reddit now than discover six months from now that I’ve built something incorrectly and have to rip half the kitchen apart.
Tips about layout, equipment, LPG, extraction, electrics, EHO inspections, flooring, insulation, running events — absolutely anything — are welcome.
And now for the shameless begging part…
We’re documenting the ENTIRE build on social media.
Not just the nice bits either. The rust. The mistakes. The repairs. Things going wrong. Things unexpectedly going right. Me slowly losing the will to live. My daughter “helping”. 😂
We’re starting completely from scratch and trying to grow the pages while we build the van.
So if you’ve made it this far and fancy supporting a family trying to turn a battered old scrap van into an actual business, please give us a follow.
I’m not going to pretend we’re above begging.
We are shamelessly begging for followers. 😂
Even if you just want to follow so you can come back in six months and see whether we actually finished it or set fire to it.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/f.a.m.s2021
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@fams2021mobilecatering
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/FAMs2021mobilecatering
FAMs – Creating Memories
If you’ve built a food truck/catering van before, I’d especially love to hear the ONE thing you wish someone had told you before you started.
Thanks everyone.
Now please excuse me, I have a VW Crafter that’s currently consuming every spare hour and every spare £ I possess. 😂
Florin
Hi everyone,
I’m Florin, a chef in the UK, and apparently at some point I decided that working in kitchens wasn’t stressful enough, so my family and I bought an old VW Crafter to turn into our first catering van. 😂
We’re calling it FAMs — from the names Florin, Alexandra, Mirela and Sofia.
The idea is to build a proper mobile kitchen that we can use for private events, corporate catering, markets and hopefully eventually make into our family business.
There was just one small problem…
The van was absolutely battered.
It used to carry scrap metal and once we stripped everything out we discovered rust, welded floor patches, badly damaged roof ribs, ancient questionable repairs and various other surprises that have made me question my life choices several times already.
But we’re too far in now. 😂
So we’re bringing it back to life.
We’re doing as much of the conversion ourselves as we safely can — stripping everything, rust treatment, repairs, painting, insulation, framing, flooring and eventually fitting the kitchen.
Anything that needs to be professionally installed/certified, particularly LPG and specialist electrical work, will be done properly by qualified people.
The current plan is a 2011 VW Crafter LWB High Roof with:
• 900mm gas griddle
• Twin-tank fryer
• Bain-marie
• Upright commercial fridge
• Undercounter freezer/prep area
• Double sink
• Separate hand-wash sink
• Fresh/waste water system
• Commercial extraction
• Shore power + Victron battery/inverter setup
• 2 × 19kg propane bottles in a sealed/externally vented locker
• 1.8m serving hatch
I’m posting here partly because I’d love advice from people who have actually done this before.
If you see something in the pictures that makes you think “WHAT THE FUCK IS HE DOING?”, please tell me. 😂
Seriously.
I’d rather get roasted on Reddit now than discover six months from now that I’ve built something incorrectly and have to rip half the kitchen apart.
Tips about layout, equipment, LPG, extraction, electrics, EHO inspections, flooring, insulation, running events — absolutely anything — are welcome.
And now for the shameless begging part…
We’re documenting the ENTIRE build on social media.
Not just the nice bits either. The rust. The mistakes. The repairs. Things going wrong. Things unexpectedly going right. Me slowly losing the will to live. My daughter “helping”. 😂
We’re starting completely from scratch and trying to grow the pages while we build the van.
So if you’ve made it this far and fancy supporting a family trying to turn a battered old scrap van into an actual business, please give us a follow.
I’m not going to pretend we’re above begging.
We are shamelessly begging for followers. 😂
Even if you just want to follow so you can come back in six months and see whether we actually finished it or set fire to it.
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/f.a.m.s2021
TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@fams2021mobilecatering
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/FAMs2021mobilecatering
FAMs – Creating Memories
If you’ve built a food truck/catering van before, I’d especially love to hear the ONE thing you wish someone had told you before you started.
Thanks everyone.
Now please excuse me, I have a VW Crafter that’s currently consuming every spare hour and every spare £ I possess. 😂
Florin