Terms and conditions for a food truck and street food business

A food truck's private hire is a catering contract delivered from a vehicle: a fixed date, a guest count that increases, a menu with allergens, and a pitch that may have no power, no water and no access. The terms have to fix what the customer is buying, what the venue must provide and what happens when the numbers, the weather or the customer's plans change. I draft those terms for a fixed fee of £995, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Food truck, trailer and street food businesses in England and Wales offering private hire for weddings, parties and corporate events, taking pre-orders online, and trading at events under pitch agreements with organisers. This page covers your customer terms; your contract with an event organiser is a separate business document.

What matters in a food truck's terms

What the customer is buying

The terms should define the hire: the menu, the number of servings, the service period and what happens after it, whether the price is per head or a fixed fee with a minimum spend, and the cut-off for confirming final numbers. Extra guests beyond the confirmed number are served at your discretion and charged at the per-head rate, and guests who do not turn up are still paid for.

Allergens, dietary needs and food safety

You must be registered as a food business under the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 and give customers the allergen information the Food Information Regulations 2014 require, and the terms should say how dietary requirements are collected before the event, that requirements not notified by the cut-off cannot be guaranteed, and that the customer is responsible for passing your allergen information to their guests. Food is served with reasonable care and skill; the terms should also deal with food taken away after service, which is at the customer's risk.

The pitch, facilities and access

The terms should make the customer responsible for the venue's permission, a level pitch of the stated size, access for the vehicle, and the power and water you need or a stated charge for bringing a generator and water. Where the venue cannot accommodate the truck or a permission is refused, the fee stays payable. Noise and smoke from a generator or grill should be disclosed to the venue by the customer, and any LPG installation on the vehicle must be installed and maintained by an engineer registered under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.

Weather, breakdown and things you cannot control

A truck can break down and a field can flood. The terms should say what you will do if the vehicle fails (a substitute, a static set-up or a refund), that severe weather which makes service unsafe is not your breach, and that the event going ahead in bad weather is the customer's decision. Your liability for consequential losses, such as a ruined wedding breakfast, should be limited to the price paid, which the Consumer Rights Act 2015 permits for a service.

Deposits, cancellation and pre-orders

Catering for a specific date is excluded from the fourteen-day cancellation right by regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, so your own cancellation scale applies and must be fair. Online pre-orders for collection are goods that deteriorate rapidly and are outside the cancellation right too. Corporate customers should be invoiced with interest on late payment under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted for your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want them checked and brought up to date. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of bespoke terms drafted for your business, reflecting the legal requirements that apply to your business and sector
• A note in plain English explaining the terms I have drafted for you
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions that protect your position and are drafted to withstand scrutiny from the other side
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly
• Your questions and comments answered by email or phone
• One round of amendments to finalise the terms ready for use

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers (I am happy to quote for this as an additional service if required)
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country
• Tax advice

Questions I am often asked

The customer confirmed eighty guests and a hundred and twenty turned up. What can I charge?

If the terms fix the confirmed number and say that extra guests are served at your discretion and charged at the per-head rate, you can charge for everyone you served. Without that term you are negotiating on the day.

A guest had an allergic reaction. Am I liable?

If you gave accurate allergen information, the customer was responsible for passing it on, and the dish was prepared with reasonable care, you are in a strong position. Liability for your own negligence cannot be excluded, so the process matters more than the clause.

Do these terms cover trading at festivals?

They cover your customers. Trading at a festival is governed by the organiser's pitch agreement, which is a business-to-business contract you should have reviewed rather than terms of your own.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Terms and conditions for an event caterer
• Terms and conditions for a mobile bar

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.