Giant Skillet Draws Crowds

Giant Skillet Draws Crowds 27-6-9 Don Philips is a farmer who has used his ingenuity to literally build a sideline business from scratch. The Washington, Pennsylvania man and his wife, Edwynna, started a food vendor service last year that centers around a unique home-built 5 ft. propane-heated skillet he made. They call their operation, "Ma's Country Fixin's." "We've been doing food vending at weekend events and are trying to build it up to a fulltime deal for our retirement," Philips says. "We've been doing really well with it, travelling around Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Last year, we worked out of a tent, but we recently built a trailer that houses the skillet, two freezers, a refrigerator, counters and a sink." Philips is constantly told that the skillet is like nothing anyone has ever seen before in their life. It is a big crowd-pleaser, and it practically sells the food itself, as people can walk right up to see and smell the food cooking. They like the fact they can watch their food while it cooks, he says. "The visual part of it is what sells. It's a totally unique way of food vending," he says. "We sell home-fried potatoes, sirloin steak subs, hamburgers, hotdogs and smoked sausages. Whether people are hungry, or whether they're not, they stop and ask about the skillet." The big pan's base is made with square tubing and angle iron. Philips then installed six individual large turkey cooker burners. (They put out enough heat to heat your garage, he jokes.) The stainless steel skillet is 5 ft. in diameter and has four handles welded on. Weighing 160 lbs., the unit is reinforced with ribs underneath. Philips has a bracket in the trailer to keep it stationary during transport, but rolls it into position when he's open for business. The skillet is fueled by a 200-lb. propane tank located on the backside of the trailer, with hoses running underneath. "The uniqueness of our equipment makes us more of an attraction than just an ordinary vendor, and that has helped a lot when trying to get into various shows and events," says Philips. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Don Philips, 1053 Brush Run Road, Washington, Penn. 15301 (ph 724 267-4162).

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