If you are looking to treat your staff this Christmas, check out the array of fun food options we can provide from 50 to 5000 guests.
December gets booked up pretty quickly, so don’t leave it too long.
Fun Foods For Christmas
30 October 2023
Tag: candyfloss
Quirky Food Trucks, From A Container To A Rocket Launcher
16 June 2023
At one time mobile catering consisted of almost entirely box shaped ‘burger vans’. Occasionally someone with a touch of flair, or perhaps just a bit mad, would put together something quirky. With the dawn of the instagram generation, boxy burger vans suddenly dropped out of vogue. To get ahead you really needed people to be sharing your set up. Sure, good food was important, but it was no longer the sole arbiter of success. Your food truck needed to look better.
We are going to be taking a look at some of the quirky, weird, wonderful and downright strange catering outlets around the world.
Happy Larrys
Shipping containers are ubiquitous throughout the world. A standardised method of transporting goods via road, rail and sea. Many of them however do find a second life as something totally different. From bars, to offices to mobile toilets. They have also found favour with catering vendors. The basic container is a strong watertight structure, that is built to accurate dimensions, and lends itself to conversions.
Happy as Larry is an Australian company that specialises in selling Napoli-style wood fired pizza. A nice touch in this container conversion is that they have replaced much of one side with huge glass pains to give a real contemporary feel to it.
Space Shuttle Cafe
If you are looking for something to convert into a food truck, the most obvious thing you could think of is an aeroplane. Probably not! This one was converted to a mobile eatery by GMC in 1976. But it started life as an actual flying machine in 1944.
Cotton Candy Jeep
One of our favourites this, take an iconic WWII off road vehicle, and shove a cotton candy (candy floss if you live this side of the pond) machine in the back. Oh and for good measure paint it all pink.
Walls Mini Ice Cream Truck
Walls ran a campaign called ‘Goodbye Serious’, where they built a miniaturised ice cream truck designed to drive into offices and dispense their best selling goodies. This is one seriously quirky little food truck. Though some of our taller staff might struggle to operate in this one.
K99 Ice Cream Cart
This one is notable, not for being a different type of food truck. But because of its target market. This sells ice creams for your canine companions. That’s right, doggy ice creams. Seems that scientists have discovered that gammon and chicken-flavored ice creams really hits the spot for our doggy friends.
Vintage Caravan
These are gaining in popularity, and are being used for everything from a gin bar to a burger joint. The ironic thing is, was during the late 90’s, the fairground industry used these for staff quarters, then tended to scrap them at the end of the season. If they were scrapped, it wasn’t unknow to just remove all identifying marks and leave them in a layby for the council to dispose of. You try buying one now, I have seen them advertised for upwards of £30k.
Step Frame Food Truck
More of a Stateside set up, they have a plethora of large step fram delivery vehicles from the likes of Dodge, Ford, GMC etc. These are pretty near the size of a 7.5 tonne lorry in the UK and make an ideal blank canvas to fit out as a mobile eatery
Airstream Style Food Truck
Another option hailing from the good ole US of A. Airstreams were originally touring caravans. Till some adventurous soul decided to cut the side out and add a kitchen. They are now a fairly regular sight on the UK scene. With both the original Airstream brand and a number of both EU based and Chinese manufacturers building similar looking trucks.
Converted Vintage Horsebox
A regular sight nowadays, horseboxes are easy to obtain, pretty easy to convert and very flexible, though a bit on the small side for some catering options. Prices are steadily rising, to the benefit of anyone needing to dispose of a horsebox that’s past it’s sell by date. What you once would have scrapped, you can now get a tidy few grand for.
Snow Mobile Food Truck
This one is as far as we know, pretty unique. A burrito joint on a tracked snow mobile platform. Great for last minute corporate jobs in the arctic. Bloody noisy if you need to take it down the M1 motorway to London.
London Red Bus Yoghurt Truck
An iconic British vehicle this time, an ex London Routemaster bus, turned into a yoghurt dispensary by Snog. A cool vehicle for a cool brand serving a cool product (literally)!
The Peanut Van
Occasionally there are totally custom built trucks out there. I’ve seen vehicles that look like hot dogs, doughnuts, oranges. This one is a peanut. Leaves you in no doubt what the product is.
Land Rover Ice Cream Truck
Another off road vehicle pressed into service. We have already had a Willy’s Jeep with a candyfloss machine. This one is the UK equivalent. In vehicles that is, not food. This is one cool ice cream truck.
Monster Truck
Another ice cream van. This time shoehorned into a monster truck. Unless you are 6ft 6 you need step ladders to be served here.
Rocket Launcher Coffee Truck
A big boys toy this one. A coffee truck on a rocket launcher. Though it didn’t work out too well for two of the staff when they were arrested for causing panic on the streets of Malaysia. What’s next, doughnuts served from a Challenger tank?
Tactical Tapas
Another paramilitary offering. Tapas from a tactical armoured car. It’s all starting to get a bit Mad Max.
Fire Engine
The last couple of options were built on trucks designed to blow things up and start fires. These were designed to put them out. Popular both sides of the pond, though the US fire trucks just seem to be a lot more jazzy.
National Popcorn Lovers Day
10 March 2023
10 March is national popcorn lovers day in the UK. The legendary snack which is a mainstay of cinema’s the world over.
The earliest evidence of fossils in Peru suggests that humans have been popping corn since 4700B.C. Which must make it one of the oldest continuous snack foods in existence.
In the modern era they were popped on stoves, until the creation of Charles Cretors steam powered popcorn cart in 1880, which commercialised the process.
Cinema Popcorn
During the great depression, popcorn was so cheap that it became a massive seller. Indeed many farmers switched production to corn to take advantage of this. When WW2 rationing cut down on candy production, popcorn sales tripled. It’s initial introduction into movie theatres wasn’t welcomed by the owners, who felt it distracted from the films.
This changed however when they realised the profitability of it. The 1938 installation in to Dickinson’s theaters by the owner Glen W. Dickinson Sr. of popcorn machines led to the realisation that he could earn more from selling corn than tickets for the film. He eventually began buying up popcorn farms, and reduced the price of his tickets to get more people in to eat his corn.
Whether you like it sweet or salty, we can provide a fabulous popcorn service for any event. Happy popcorn lovers day.
How Is Candy Floss Made
3 February 2023
Have you ever wondered just how candy floss is made. That fluffy sweet treat, also known as cotton candy, papa’s beard, fairy floss, suikerspin depending on where in the world you grew up.
One of the world’s favourite treats, there is even a national candy floss day.
The Scientific Explanation
Candy floss is almost, but not quite, 100% sugar. There is a minute amount of colouring and flavourings, and if you go for our alcoholic range there is actual vodka, tequila and such like, but its mainly sugar.
Now a typical candy floss machine, has a cylindrical drum, with space in the centre to pour this sugar mixture into. This drum performs two important functions. It rotates at high speed, forcing the sugar outwards against a wire mesh. Secondly, this wire mesh heats up to 186 degrees centigrade. This just happens to be the melting point of sugar.
At this temperature, the heat breaks the bonds of the sugar molecules Causing the hydrogen and oxygen atoms to rearrange and form water molecules. The water evaporates leaving carbon behind, which begins to burn and caramelises the sugar.
As the drum is still rotating at high speed, this liquid is flung outwards at high speed. It solidifies as it streams out, but it happens so quickly and the strands are only 50 microns thick that you only really see it as it hits the inside of the bowl.
This is collected by the operator using a stick, or as they often do in the states a paper cones. The result is the classic fluffy candy floss we all know and love.
The Real Way Fairy Floss Is Made
Of course you try telling this explanation to an average excited kid and just watch their eyes glaze over. So just for them we have a real explanation.
Inside the bottom of our candy floss machines, live a band of Irish Faerie Folk, the Sidhe. These happy little folk sit there merrily knitting away to turn the mixture from sugar into fairy floss. Once they have knitted it they push it out through the little holes in the centre drum. Whereupon it is collected by the operator.
I know which explanation we prefer.
Check Out Our FAQ’s for more info on candy floss.
CANDY FLOSS Infographic
23 January 2023
Enjoy our candy floss infographic, with some fun facts and figures about everyone, young and old’s favourite treat.
If you are looking to hire a candy floss cart let us know.
Candy Floss Questions, FAQ’s
11 July 2021
Over the years we have come across a multitude of questions about candy floss. Some are quite sensible, others belong in a joke book. We are going to look at, and try to answer some of our favourites.
Can Dogs Eat Candy Floss
Candy floss in itself isn’t harmful to a dog. It is basically pure sugar. However it will lead to a blood sugar spike, then subsequent drop, which isn’t the best thing for your pet. Because most breeds tend to be smaller than humans this will be more pronounced, and because dogs aren’t used to a sugar intake that high it amplifies the effect. So we wouldn’t recommend giving them more than a pinch of floss.
Who Invented Candy Floss
A dentist. No really, it was a dentist. To be fair, he wasn’t just a dentist. He was a political activist, invented a method to purify Nashville’s water supply, wrote children’s books and invented a lard substitute. William J Morrison really was a dentist. He didn’t invent candy floss per se. Cooks had been making spun sugar for hundreds of years. What he did invent was the electric candy floss machine. Or as he called it then fairy floss. This enables large quantities of floss to be made very quickly. Previously making spun sugar was a tedious affair, suitable for topping small cakes and the like.
He debuted his machine in 1904 at the St Louis World Fair. It was an instant success, he sold 68,655 boxes of the stuff at $0.25 a pop. That’s the equivalent of selling $500,000 worth allowing for inflation.
Why Do Some People Call It Cotton Candy
If you call it cotton candy you are most probably from North America. Which is a little strange, because they originally called it Fairy Floss. Sometime after thew switched to Cotton Candy. The Australians and New Zealanders still refer to it as Fairy Floss. Us Brits Candy Floss, The South Africans Tooth Floss, though the Afrikaners call it Spookasem (Ghosts Breath). The French barbe a papa (Daddy’s Beard), Dutch Suikerspin (Sugar Spider), and the Persians Pashmak (Wool Like).
So the name all depends on where you come from.
Is Candy Floss Bad For You
We once read that there are no poisonous substances, just poisonous doses. For instance, water is widely regarded as one of the healthiest things you can partake of. However drink too much and you die. Candy Floss is the same, sugar, pretty much all it is made of, other than a minute trace of colouring. Is one of the basic requirements for life. No sugar in your body and you end up dead. So a little candy floss won’t do you any harm. If you eat nothing but floss, then you will become really fat, lose most of your teeth, and can trigger sugar diabetes. So our tip is everything in moderation.
Can I make Candy Floss At Home
You certainly can, chefs have been making it for hundreds of years. A simple recipe is available here. You can also buy cheap little electric machines that make it in the same way as the commercial machines do. Truth be told they are not very good, but they do work well enough for a kids party or similar.
Does Candy Floss Go Off
Not really. Bacteria, which is usually responsible for food spoiling, doesn’t like sugar rich environments. This is why throughout history sugar has been used to preserve food. You can’t get much more sugar rich than candy floss. Additionally the heat generated to make the floss, around 186 Celsius. Makes sure that the floss is pretty much sterile as it is being made.
However, what does happen, is that the floss gradually absorbs moisture. This leads to it shrinking back into its sugar form, so after a while you end up with a coloured sugar lump instead of a bag of floss. Happily popping it in the freezer means it will last months. The best bit is, you can eat it straight from the freezer as it doesn’t actually freeze. The cold air doesn’t contain moisture so it extends the life.
Is Candy Floss Halal
It can be. The ingredients are sugar, and basic colouring flavourings. Now sugar is just pure sugar so no problems there. The flavourings and colouring depends on what exactly is used. Red colour tends to contain the powdered shell of a species of beetle. Called cochineal it is a species native to North America. Alternatives are available, but if you want to be 100% sure then just eat white candy floss. That is made with nothing but sugar, and Silver Spoon brand is both halal and kosher.
Where Do I Buy Candy Floss Near Me
Any local funfair will sell floss. Many supermarkets have small tubs available. Or there are mail order sellers.
How Is Candy Floss Made
A band of happy pixies live in the bottom of the machine, merrily knitting the sugar in to candy floss and pushing it through the little holes in the centre of the machine for the operator to collect with a stick.
Of course some people claim there is a scientific explanation, personally we like the one above, but if you are one of those boring grown ups who think magic isn’t real, here is an alternative explanation.
The sugar mixture is poured into a rotating drum. The high speed of the drum forces the mixture against a wire mess around the perimeter. This mesh is heated to 186 degree celsius. This heat breaks the bonds of the constituent molecules (carbon, oxygen and hydrogen C12H22O11).
The hydrogen and oxygen atoms form molecules of water, which instantly evaporate due to the intense heat. This leaves only carbon behind, which burns and begins to caramelise the sugar.
As it caramelises the liquid sugar is forced through the tiny holes in the mesh and solidify as they meet cooler air. As this is happening thousands of times a second. You get a mass of candy floss composed of these filaments which are just 50 microns in diameter.
Why Is Candy Floss Pink
Actually it isn’t. Pure candy floss is white. The only ingredient is sugar. For other colours of candy floss you add a tiny amount of colouring. So it can be pink, blue, green, orange, yellow, purple and so on. It tends to come out as pastel colours, so you dont really get a deep red, it comes out pink.
Does Candy Floss Have Gelatin In
As a general rule no it does not. But, you would need to know the food colouring ingredients list used to change it’s colour. There are literally hundreds of different food colourings out there, so some may contain gelatin. To be absolutely safe, eat white candy floss, as this is entirely pure sugar.
What Goes Well With Candy Floss
Far and away the most popular is popcorn. The two can be combined on a single cart and are ideal for weddings, parties or events.
National Cotton Candy Day
7 December 2020
Another of our classic lines, cotton candy. Or as we call it in the UK, candy floss, our Aussie cousins fairy floss, and in various parts of the world papas beard, spider sugar and even Ghosts breath. Well today is national cotton candy day.
Invented in 1897 by Dr. William Morrison an American dentist. Who perhaps was taking the long term view of drumming up more customers for his main profession.
Its made by spinning a drum at high speed full of sugar. Around the perimeter of the drum is a mesh heating element. The sugar is heated to 186C where it melts and begin to ooze through the holes in the mesh. It instantly solidifies into long thin strands thinner than a human hair.
The only real ingredient is sugar, with a tiny amount of powdered food colouring to change its colour and flavour.
New Adult Flavoured Candy Floss
Traditionally candy floss has had flavours such as strawberry, apple and so on. New for 2020 we are launching a range of adult orientated flavours. The initial batches will be Gin and Tonic, Sherry and Prosecco. We hope to add brandy and rum in the near future.
World Record
In June 2009 a candy floss 1400 metres long was made, entering the Guinness Book of Records. This culinary delight took over 6 hours to make.
There are even vending machines available now that make a candy floss for you.
In China, the street vendors make stunning flowers and other shapes using just candy floss.
Candy Floss Carts were the very first offering we had when we launched the company. It is still one of our most popular lines, and is quite often hired with popcorn as an extra. You can choose from a range of carts and bars to serve candy floss from, with our original Victorian style carts the most popular.
6 Things You Didn’t Know About Candy Floss
28 October 2020
It’s Not Candy Floss Everywhere
Not everyone calls it candy floss. That is its UK name. The Americans call it cotton candy, the Aussies fairy floss. In France its ‘barbe a papa’ or Papa’s beard. The Afrikaans call it spook asem, and the Dutch suikerspin.
It’s Not As Bad For You As You Think
Although it is made basically from sugar alone, it consists mainly of air. So a typical serving is about 70 calories and contains less sugar than a can of coke. It is also fat free, so its almost healthy lol.
Brandedable
It is possible to add branding to the actual floss itself. This is fully edible and available in various colours. Ideal for parties, weddings and corporate promotions.
It Can Be Frozen
Cotton candy itself doesn’t actually go off, but it slowly deflates and shrinks down into a lump of sugar. However, it can be frozen and its usable lifespan extended for months. The best bit is when you take it from the freezer, it isn’t actually frozen and can be eaten straight away.
It Was Invented By A Dentist
Yup, that’s right, a guy called William Morrison introduced the first machine spun floss to a wide audience at the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis. He sold 68,655 portions at the price of 25 cents. Equivalent to a price of $7.11 in today’s money.
If you need to hire a candy floss cart for your event, we can do that.
Charlie and the chocolate factory comes to life
9 June 2019
Everyone’s seen Willy Wonkas inventions haven’t they… the Everlasting Gob stoppers that taste like a Sunday roast, the Wonka Chocolate Bars well willy wonka has now hit California in the role of Plant Breeders and Charlie and the chocolate factory comes to life
Plant Breeders in California have created a natural grape that tastes like everyone’s favorite fairground treat CandyFloss This natural grape has not been cloned or genetically engineered with artificial flavors. There has been two combined grape species that has been grown and ripened together that now tastes like the pink fluffy cotton candy treat.
Where to buy some
When you first chew the grape and it pops open in your mouth with juice squirting out it gives you a rush taste of the much loved treat at the fair, cotton candy. The grapes are available in the UK in Asda, Sainsbury’s and M&S.
A horticulturalist Mr D. Cain wants to bring back the true natural flavour of grapes, he feels that over the time and the growing and shipping process they have begun to lose their taste, however with new innovative grapes could people begin to prefer flavoured grapes to natural ones??
There is an array of different fruits available in store especially when it comes to apples with over 10 different types offered to consumer’s including pink lady, braeburn and fuji apples. The farms that grow grapes now want to offer people a higher selection of grapes in a hope that more people start to buy and eat them as part of a healthier diet. Most people complain that healthy food doesn’t taste as good as the sugary food even though it’s good for you whereas these grapes are full of the goodness and the flavour that everyone likes. The grapes do have around 10% more sugar than regular grapes but still a lot less than other fruit such ass raisins.
Where Charlie and the chocolate factory comes to life
The candyfloss flavoured grape farm in the US has increased from 2 acres to 100 acres with plans to increase to 200 acres in the next year this is due to the popularity and high demand.
The creator of the candyfloss flavoured grape said that it took him hundreds of tests and attempt’s before he finally found that flavour. Mr Cain said that the whole process takes anything from 6 to 15 years to create and find. He has no intention at stopping at this flavour and wants to create a number of different flavours of grapes in the future.
This Years Most Popular Wedding Trend?
23 February 2019
Weddings are full of tradition, just like the rhyme ‘something old, something new, something borrowed something blue’, the ceremony, the father walking the bride to be down the isle, and of course the wedding bouquet.
In the initial celebrations after the wedding ceremony has been conducted the bride will throw her bouquet of flowers and the guests at the wedding, usually the women rush in a mass brawl to catch this bouquet. This tradition was introduced from America and it was claimed that whoever catches the bouquet will be next to be married.
However 21st century new trends are set to change this tradition. this years most popular wedding trend is said to be candyfloss bouquets.
Social Media creating the most popular wedding trend
In the modern day with technology and social media being the most popular outlet, brides are looking for the most social media friendly wedding with lots of Instagram worthy extras. Amongst the most popular trends last year were instagrammable place cards and flower arranged aisles, but no one was ready for the traditional fairground treat ‘a stick of candyfloss’ replacing the longstanding traditional bouquet.
Who started the trend?
The Unicorn Crafts owner Faheema Chaudhury started the trend with a social media post from her wedding. She decided to create the one-of-a-kind-bouquet for her wedding day as she has a love for candyfloss and just knew that it had to be part of her wedding. It now seems that brides across the globe are hung up on this crazy sugar high trend as the number of requests for ‘candyfloss bouquets’ has increased.
We have to admit that this most popular wedding trend, the candy bouquets do create a unique and fun wedding picture. Definitely Instagram worthy however there is so many impracticality to this, for example most wedding parties have small children involved? Taking candy from a baby is one thing but taking a full stick of candyfloss is a completely different story, and what about rain?
Candyfloss takes seconds to disintegrate. Even at the mere word rain or humidity never mind the walk to and from the church. Another health and safety aspect is the stick. If the bride throws the bouquet then how many potential eyes are going to be poked out with a flying wooden stick. Never mind how many outfits, or hair styles that could be destroyed when the sticky sugary mess sticks!!! Although I suppose if they were mainly used for the ‘do it for the gram’ purpose then so many possibilities can be created especially a jazzy boomerang video.
Reports are stating that its not only candyfloss taking center stage as newlyweds have also been spotted carrying pizza, donuts, feather, books and paper alternatives! Definitely a fun idea that I’ll be watching out the next wedding I go to.
If you hire a candy floss cart, we can provide you with a floss bouquet as well.