What a German TV Crew Eats on a Cornish Shoot

Feeding an international cast and crew on location in Cornwall is less glamorous than it sounds and more precise than you'd think. Salt Wind Catering is currently on set with FFP New Media's long-running Rosamunde Pilcher production for ZDF German television, travelling between shoot locations all over the county. Here is what a full day on set actually looks like from the catering truck — and the small details that keep an international TV production running on time.

The Day Starts Before the Call Sheet Does

If the call sheet says 7am, we are already there. Breakfast has to be hot, properly cooked and on the table by the time the first unit starts rolling in — which usually means our team is firing up gas, plating pastries and brewing the first filter pot of the day well before sunrise. A Cornish shoot rarely gives you mains power, so the whole kitchen runs self-contained: gas, generators, water, the lot. It has to be reliable because film schedules do not forgive a kettle that will not boil.

Breakfast Is the Most Important Meal of the Shoot

We run a proper hot breakfast service — breakfast baps (Cornish sausage, bacon, vegan sausage with grilled tomato), scrambled free-range eggs, hash browns, baked beans, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes. Then the continental side for the cast and anyone who does not fancy a full English at 6am: croissants, Cornish-made pastries, yoghurt pots with berry compote and granola, and a fresh fruit platter. Coffee is filter, not push-button. Crews notice the difference.

Mid-Morning: The Quiet Save

Around 11am the craft table gets refreshed. Homemade muffins, warm cookies, mini sausage rolls (and vegan 'sausage' rolls for the VG team), whole fruit, energy bars. This is the unsung shift of the day — it bridges breakfast and lunch, keeps energy up between setups, and quietly prevents the mid-morning crash that nobody wants on a timed shoot.

Hot Lunch — Not Sandwiches in a Bag

Lunch is the anchor of the crew day. A sample: lemon and thyme roast chicken supreme in a white wine cream sauce (gluten-free), and a sweet potato, spinach and chickpea curry with coconut milk for the vegan and gluten-free crew. Carbs are basmati rice and Cornish new potatoes roasted with rosemary and garlic. A steamed seasonal vegetable medley, and a proper salad bar — not a token bowl of leaves, an actual spread with seeds and dressings. Dessert is usually a rich chocolate brownie (with a gluten-free option) and a fruit platter. Everything is plated to proper portions — a 12-hour shoot day is not the place for dainty servings.

Afternoon Break — A Cream Tea Will Win the Crew Over

The 4pm break is where we bring out Cornwall at its best: a classic Cornish cream tea — freshly baked scones, strawberry jam, Cornish clotted cream. There is a certain joy in watching an international crew work out the order of jam-versus-cream for the first time. Alongside it: a savoury board of local Cornish cheeses with crackers and chutney, crudités with homemade hummus, and homemade traybakes — flapjacks, tiffin, the full lot.

All-Day Grazing and the Standby Table

Behind all of that, the standby table runs from call to wrap: premium filter coffee, an extensive selection of teas, hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows, dairy/oat/soya/almond milks, chilled still and sparkling water with fresh lemon, soft drinks and local Cornish juices, and a constantly replenished basket of fruit, biscuits, crisps and sweets. It gets refilled, quietly, all day.

A Note on Dietary Needs

An international cast and crew means every dietary requirement is on the sheet — vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, allergy-specific. We treat it as standard, not as an exception. Everything is clearly labelled, plated separately where needed, and coordinated with the production from the call sheet rather than the minute someone asks.

A Few Words You'll Hear on a German Set

* 'Drehtag' — shoot day. The basic unit of production logistics. Everything is planned around it. * 'Aufnahmeleitung' — production management / unit management. Our main point of contact on most days. * 'Mahlzeit!' — literally 'mealtime'. The traditional German greeting shouted around lunch. If you're on a German shoot in Cornwall, you will hear it.

If you are planning a production filming in Cornwall, Devon or the wider South West — take a look at our /film-tv-catering service, the /productions/rosamunde-pilcher-zdf case study, the full list of /productions we have worked with, or the /de/filmcatering-cornwall page for German-speaking production teams. Then send us your shoot dates, crew size and locations, and we will come back to you with a quote.