We’ve been cooking our wood fired pizzas for weddings and events for more than 11 years now. It’s safe to say we were well ahead of the curve of popularity of wood fired pizzas and seem them, rightly, become very popular for evening food at weddings, birthday parties and corporate events.

During the past 11 years, we have worked alongside some of the very best wedding and event caterers, not only in the North West, but from across the UK.

More recently, we have seen a large increase in the number of new companies entering this industry, some of which simply aren’t geared up for catering for large groups of people, all wanting food at the same time.

When we established The Woodland Rover, aside from a focus on creating the tastiest pizzas and using highest quality ingredients, it was imperative that we were able to cater for large numbers of people in a timely fashion.

We wouldn’t be surprised if you have been a guest at a wedding or a corporate event where the queue and the wait for a wood fired pizza seemed to take ages.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

That’s why when we set up, we specified the largest mobile oven on the market at the time, designed to keep up with demand at even the largest of festivals, never mind weddings and garden parties!

Having heard numerous people tell us over the years how our service is quicker and more efficient that other companies they have seen, made us think about giving you the top questions to ask if you are planning on booking a mobile wood fired pizza company for a wedding or event.

1. How big is your oven?

Our commercial oven can comfortably cook six 12″ pizzas at the same time in just 90 seconds, it’s enormous! Yes, that’s right, six! Keeping an oven that size topped up with pizzas means we are equipped for even the largest of gatherings, without people waiting to be served. A lot of newer companies we have seen enter the industry over recent years are actually using small domestic ovens – the type you would see in the supermarket middle aisle –  normally on small stands, that can only cook one pizza at a time. These simply aren’t up to the job of commercially catering for large numbers and lead to long queues for food when your guests should be drinking, dancing and having a good time. Ask to see pictures of their oven, ask how many 12″ pizzas it can fit in at one time. This is a crucially important part of giving your guests a fun experience.

2. How is your oven heated?

Another thing we have noticed increasingly, is the number of companies who purport to offer “wood-fired” pizzas, yet their ovens are powered by gas. Cooking with wood is not only a highly sustainable technique, it also adds to the flavour of the pizza and creates a magical experience for your friends and family. Why would you compromise on this important aspect? Nothing compares to genuine wood fire cooking, so ask how their ovens are heated. Our oven is 100% wood fired and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

3.  How long have you been established?

Whilst this won’t neccessarily be an indication of quality – we all have to start somewhere – it will give you peace of mind if a company has successfully traded for a decade or longer, They will be the ones who have experienced everything at weddings and events and are even likely to have catered at the venue you have chosen, which reduces your worry and stress. We set out back in 2014 and because of our never-ending commitment to quality, we’re still going strong today and trusted by some of the very best wedding venues in the country. Event catering is a difficult industry and only the very best tend to make it into double figures.

We hope these questions help you make an informed decision for your wedding or event and we love passing on our experience and advice, so if you have any questions about wedding or event wood fired pizza catereing, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we’d be happy to help.