Remember to Have a Lightbulb Moment

A handy tip you can use when hiring electrical equipment for your event

You’ve booked your marquee, planned the menu, and sorted your electrical equipment hire. Everything is prepared for your next successful event well in advance. What’s the one last thing you should remember to pack?

We’re going to tell you a little tip that we learnt from a groundsman at an event a few years ago – and we think it’s a blinder.

Updated: 7th February 2022

It’s all in the planning

Let us explain. There’s nothing worse than getting to an important event and having an electrical failure. All your outgoing expenditure on ingredients, staff, a temperature controlled hot cupboard, tabletop bain marie – even your water boiler – is wasted if you can’t power your catering equipment.

There are a few things you can do to reduce the risk of a disaster happening. The first one is a big one. Always use a reputable electrical equipment hire supplier.

Cheap catering equipment can end up costing you more. At Plato we value quality and service over cutting corners. We PAT test every piece of equipment before we hire it out, as well as testing it thoroughly. We know it’s highly unlikely that our top-quality equipment will fail. Even if that ever did happen, we’re on standby at all times to provide emergency backup.

So, if we’ve ruled out electrical problems with our hire equipment, what else could it be?

Preparing for electrical issues

The thing about catering events is that they can often be in awkward places – such as outdoors in a marquee or in an old building. Your electricity might be supplied by a generator brought in for the occasion – or it might be coming via long reels of extension cable. Plugging things in to an extension cable reduces the power.

So, when managing your electrical equipment hire – prepare in advance.

– As part of your pre-contract checks, let the client know the KW you need to run your kitchen.

– Mark this clearly on your confirmation letter and ensure that they confirm in return they can meet your requirements.

– If the venue and client are separate businesses, contact the venue directly to check they can support your catering kitchen.

– Attend the venue the day before your event, if you can, and check the plug sockets are all working.

And this is where our blinding tip comes in. As part of your standard event kitbag, always include a small table lamp. You can plug it in to your power supply – be it wall socket or extension cable – and you’ll be able to see right away if your lightbulb is switched on! It’s an easy way to check your supply works.

When there’s an issue with your electrical supply, it’s rarely something to do with the equipment and usually something to do with the venue. To make sure your event is a success, include your lightbulb test as part of your pre-event check.

If you’re not sure what the KW requirement is for our equipment, we always write it on the hire form. And if you need more help in assessing what your power requirements will be, we’re on hand to give you advice and support. Just give us a call.