Unit Base Catering in Cornwall — Hot Food for Film & TV Crews

Unit base is where the production lives. It is the staging point — the parked trucks, the costume tents, the production office on wheels — and it is where the crew comes to eat. Get unit base catering right and the day runs to schedule. Get it wrong and you have 80 hungry people standing in a layby in Bodmin Moor wondering where lunch is.

Salt Wind Catering has run unit base catering for productions across Cornwall — from coastal sets near Charlestown to remote moorland locations on Bodmin Moor and beach shoots at Holywell Bay. Here is what unit base catering actually involves, and how we approach it.

What Unit Base Catering Means in Practice

Unit base is the production's centre of gravity. It is usually located within a short drive of the actual filming location — sometimes a National Trust car park, sometimes a farmer's field, sometimes a disused industrial yard. Crew, cast, and supporting departments cycle in and out throughout the day for costume changes, breaks, and meals.

Unit base catering means feeding everyone — typically 50 to 200+ people — to a tight schedule, in conditions that can change overnight. The brief is simple: hot food, on time, every time, regardless of weather or location.

Turnaround Times That Actually Matter

Film schedules do not flex around the caterer. We work to the call sheet, not the other way round. Breakfast service typically opens 30 minutes before crew call. Lunch is served in a 60 to 90 minute rolling window so departments can break in waves without holding up the shoot. Hot drinks and standby food run continuously between meals.

We arrive on unit base 90 minutes before service to set up the kitchen, fire up the grills, and get the first hot food ready. Pack-down is fast — we are usually clear of base within 60 minutes of the final service so we do not block the location wrap.

Keeping Hot Food Hot at Distance from Base

One of the harder parts of Cornish unit base work is the gap between unit base and the actual set. The unit base might be in a car park half a mile from a clifftop or beach. Crew can be 10 to 20 minutes' walk from the food.

We solve this with insulated transport boxes and on-set standby provisions — but the main hot service stays at unit base where the kitchen is. The kitchen does not move. The food does. For productions filming on Bodmin Moor or in remote coastal locations, we run a hot drinks and snack station at the actual shooting position, separate from main meal service at base.

Quantities for Large Crews

Crew sizes vary wildly. A small documentary unit might be 12 people. A drama production with cast, supporting artists, and full crew can hit 200+. We scale the kitchen and team accordingly.

• For 50 to 80: two-person kitchen team, single hot service line, full breakfast and lunch with standby

• For 80 to 150: three to four-person team, twin service lines, expanded standby and craft service

• For 150 to 200+: full kitchen team, separate vegan and dietary lines, dedicated hot drinks station

Quantities are calculated against expected attendance plus a 15 percent buffer for late additions, supporting artists, and the inevitable extras the production office forgets to mention.

Where We Work — Typical Cornish Unit Base Locations

Charlestown is a regular filming spot — the harbour and tall ships have featured in Poldark and countless other productions. Unit base is usually set up in the car parks above the harbour. Access is decent and we can get a full kitchen on-site.

Bodmin Moor is harder. Locations like Brown Willy, Roughtor, and the Hurlers stone circles look spectacular on camera but mean unit base is often a remote farm gateway or moorland car park with no facilities, no power, and limited access. Our self-contained kitchen handles this without issue — no mains anything required.

Holywell Bay and the north coast beaches are popular for surf, wave, and dramatic coastal sequences. Unit base is usually the National Trust car park, with crew walking down to the beach. We set up at base and run hot food up the dunes when the schedule needs it.

Other regular Cornish unit base locations include Kynance Cove, Botallack mine, Trebah Garden, the Lizard, and various private estates near Truro and Falmouth.

The Salt Wind Approach

We are based in Redruth, central to Cornwall, which means we can reach most unit bases in under an hour. We run a self-contained mobile kitchen — no need for venue power, water, or facilities. We bring our own gas, our own water, our own everything.

Menus are built around what crews actually want to eat after a 12-hour day in the rain — hot, substantial, properly seasoned. Not finger food. Not anything precious. We can feed 200 people a hot two-course lunch in a 90-minute window without breaking a sweat.

We carry full public liability and product liability insurance, hold a 5-star food hygiene rating, and are NCASS registered. Production accountants get the paperwork they need without chasing.

Frequently Asked Questions — Unit Base Catering in Cornwall

What is the maximum crew size you can cater for at unit base?

We regularly cater 150 to 200 at unit base. For larger productions we scale the team and equipment accordingly — there is no hard ceiling, just a question of advance notice and access.

How much notice do you need for a unit base booking?

Ideally one to two weeks for full pre-production planning, but we can mobilise within 24 to 48 hours for last-minute or replacement bookings. We have stepped in same-day when primary caterers have failed.

Do you need power and water at unit base?

No. Our kitchen is fully self-contained — gas powered, with our own water supply. We can set up at any unit base regardless of facilities, including remote moorland and beach car parks.

Can you handle multiple service windows for split-call days?

Yes. Split calls, staggered breakfast for early-call departments, and rolling lunch windows are standard practice. We build the service schedule directly from the call sheet.

Get a Quote for Unit Base Catering in Cornwall

Send us your call sheet, location postcode, and crew numbers and we will price the job up. Call 01209 206255 or email [email protected]. We are based in Redruth and cover all TR and PL postcodes as standard.