Any caterers about? Urn advice needed!

[Whoamireally]

I am running a mulled wine stall at a big outdoor evening charity event this winter and just doing a bit of advance planning. We are doing this on behalf of a charity so it is a fundraiser for ourselves and none of us have done it before (as you will shortly be able to tell! )

There are around 15,000 people due to attend (including kids), so am guessing that maybe we will need to have enough mulled wine for 500-750 cups? We were planning to charge £2 per cup since we are obviously not professionals, does that sound fair.

I am assuming that we will need at least 2 big urns (8 gallons?) to put the mulled wine in. Is it fairly easy to hire an urn or does it work out pretty much the same to buy them?

Can you put mulled wine in an urn designed for tea/ hot water - and if we did, would we have problems as we obv don't want it to boil, aren't they designed to keep water at boiling point? I have only ever made mulled wine in a saucepan on the hob

TIA for letting me pick your brains!!

No you can keep it at a warm/simmer also. They usually go from 1-10
£2 sounds great
Are you hiring then ask them if they mind alchol being put in them but we used flasks [The kind that you depress a lever on usually as it is far if there are large crowds of drunk people or children
Cheaper to hire I would think but could you borrow one [restaurant or bar if you know any one]
You should be able to contact a local cater hire company who will be able to give you costs etc.

Thanks Buzzy the flasks might actually be a good idea as we can then presumably make in advance and not have to have simmering away/ scalding risks etc.

What did you put your mulled wine in - cheapo plastic cups or the polystyrene versions?

cheapo plastic cups with cheapo napkins. We served it warm as opposed to piping hot so kind of drinkable temp [think tea with milk] and leave plenty of slosh room so it does not spill so just over half full, also think of alcohol unit so it should be 125 mls per cup[bar measure is usually between 125mls to 175mls].
If you has a safe area for the urn you would need 3/4 flasks and a runner. So 2 to use two being filled.

you could get a big gas burner or camping stove and boil it up as you go

Kalo I never even thought of that, venue may prefer electrical for safety reasons, pre make and then reheat in batches and serve from large glass bowl I am to used to thinking safety and large numbers and ease of service

I take it you or the organisers will be applying for a license to sell alcohol . . .

That's really helpful buzzybb thanks, they are things I would never have thought of - kalo the camping stove is a great idea - although we are going to be based in a tent so would need to check the organisers are happy from a fire perspective. The organisers are sorting the licencing stuff out for us, although if they pass the cost on we might end up doing the alcohol free kind instead....

Just thought one thing, do you all think people will be expecting to have bits of fruit in it, because obviously if we did do it in flasks then there would be no bits of fruit (which I am guessing help to pad it out a bit as they push up the volume in the cup). People are going to be standing in a field, in the semi dark - so maybe it's not a good idea anyway? Arrrgh so many things to think about!

Could you buy slice and dry oranges and lemon, pop a slice into the cups?
I would go eco friendly and no fruit so glass can be put straight in to recycle bin

Buzzybb - great advice. Repeat, do not serve too hot or too full. Considering that, £2 sounds a bit steep. If the licencing does not come through, sell the "recipe" and give the mulled wine away for free...

On nice card with winter background/red ribbon would be lovely, real value for money

Oooh you two - you're brilliant! Thank you for such fab advice