'Blood, sweat and tears' went into the launch of MJ Fine Foods which operates from a horse box

It was months of blood, sweat and tears for two best friends who have turned a dream into a reality by starting their new food box.

Jordan Watts and Mike Prowting, both from Havant, have recently launched their business, MJ Fine Foods, which is operating from a fully functioning converted horse box.

Business owners Jordan Watts and Mike Prowting, right. MJ Fine Foods has a new pitch at Emsworth Sports and Social club

Picture: Chris Moorhouse (150225-31)placeholder image
Business owners Jordan Watts and Mike Prowting, right. MJ Fine Foods has a new pitch at Emsworth Sports and Social club Picture: Chris Moorhouse (150225-31) | Chris Moorhouse

Jordan said: “We discussed doing this 14 years ago and we never followed through with any of the plans until last year and it was a last minute thing really. We had four months and we just did it.

“It is going really well - we are just trying to get more events, that is where we are at at the moment.”

Business owners Jordan Watts and Mike Prowting, right. MJ Fine Foods has a new pitch at Emsworth Sports and Social club
Picture: Chris Moorhouse (150225-28)placeholder image
Business owners Jordan Watts and Mike Prowting, right. MJ Fine Foods has a new pitch at Emsworth Sports and Social club Picture: Chris Moorhouse (150225-28) | Chris Moorhouse

Serving up dishes including fresh pizza, smash burgers, dirty fries and more, the pair started their journey pitched up outside a pub - but after a couple of months, they needed to find a new trading spot.

Within a week of searching, they successfully secured a spot at Emsworth Sports and Social Club - and they have been thriving ever since.

Jordan added: “I want to say thank you to Claire at Emsworth Sports club - she got us the new pitch, she reached out to us and save our balls really.

“Because we moved pitch, it is almost like starting all over again but we have had a lot of people from Leigh Park come to see us - so for a small horse box and with the competition, it is brilliant.”

After a busy few months of trading, the pair have now teamed up with The Deck, in Emsworth Yacht Harbour, where they will be hosting their pop-up kitchen on Saturday, February 22.

Jordan and Mike worked tirelessly to get the horse box operational and launch their business, while holding down full time jobs - and it wasn’t without challenges.

Jordan said: “It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. It was already converted but when we bought it we knew nothing about what we were looking for and when we got it back to my mother in law’s we had to rip the floor up because it was rotten and then we found more issues and we had to spend more and take extra time sorting it out.

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