EP Insights & Action

INSIGHTS& 

The thoughts and views of leading consultants 

October 2017 • Issue 06 • £5.00 • epmagazine.co.uk 

ACTION 

KNOWLEDGE 

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THE MODERN FACTOR? 

DOES THE FOODSERVICE 

MODEL NEED TO CHANGE? 

TIME TO UNLEASH 

WORKERS’ POTENTIAL 

CATERERS WITH 

A CONSCIENCE

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INSIGHTS& 


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When EP created Insights & Action, the vision was to create a platform for 

thought leadership and knowledge share. We believe this is now being achieved 

due to the fascinating contributions from a wide range of consultants and 

respected operators. There is much to discuss on the market and the industry, 

this magazine should be the platform for it. 

It has therefore been natural in many ways to decide to hold a day of discussion which 

enables original thinking and breaks down some of the traditional barriers which currently 

exist between operators, consultants and clients. We are therefore delighted to announce 

that on 14th November 2017 we will bring the industry together for an open and informal 

all-day conference which really aims to explain the dynamics at play. The ultimate purpose 

is to enable business growth and industry improvements. Join us for a day of meaningful 

debate and networking opportunities. 

EP has always stood for creating positive change and many articles within this issue 

question and explain the current standing of the industry. The workplace revolution is causing 

change for catering and Chris Stern, MD at Stern Consultancy argues that the industry must 

be prepared. Nutritionist Kate Taylor argues a similar point that it is now essential to fuel for 

optimum performance both at work and at home. 

Elsewhere in this issue Kevin Watson, MD of Amadeus explains why they aim to halve 

the amount of sugar in their operations and we introduce Stephen Waterman, MD of Food 

& Hospitality at ISS who brings vast experience from the world of fitness, sport, health 

and wellbeing. New dimensions to the traditional offer are needed. Architect/Director 

Aleksandrina Rizova explores how pushing the boundaries of design and engagement can 

attract the customer and Simon Carey, Director at Blink Cafes asks if collaboration can 

lead to the best delivery. 

It is a captivating time in the industry and there is much need to come together and discuss. 

There are questions and concerns on leadership development, a lack of talent and skills. 

However there is a huge opportunity for success and for the bigger picture – growth, added 

value and future proofing. Solutions are there for those who seek it. 

online 

Why not get involved online? 

Check out a wealth of articles from 

EP magazine on our website: 

www.epmagazine.co.uk/archive/magazine 

Ben Butler 

Editor 

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22 

Contents 

October 2017 • Issue 06 • epmagazine.co.uk 

16 

40 

COMMENT 

8 Tax policies: A new approach is needed 

New tax policies could be introduced post-Brexit which 

would benefit hospitality. 

25 Noise nuisance 

How to keep the neighbours happy. 

34 The changing face of procurement 

The e-procurement arena today offers exciting new 

opportunities, but are we taking advantage? 

42 How much is your data worth? 

Will Burton explains why hospitality needs to be prepared. 

SPECIAL FEATURE 

14 The man behind the story 

Surinder Arora is a name well known but arguably few 

know much about the man. 

SUSTAINABILITY 

19 Fighting together 

How do a research charity, a contract caterer and a food tech 

company lead by example in the fight against food waste? 

OPERATING CONCEPTS 

16 Making Movement 

Bringing a new dimension to the catering traditional offer. 

22 Game Changer 

The Concerto Group have partnered with Apex Hotels. 

26 The diversity and inclusion agenda 

Why there is a need to live and breathe an embracing and 

inclusive culture. 

32 Caterers with a conscience 

Amadeus on halving the amount of sugar in its operation. 

INSIGHTS 

6 Facilities managers will always need 

alternatives 

Will smaller players continue to enter the market? 

12 The leadership debate shouldn’t be 

about leadership but about mentorship 

Two-way generational mentorship can solve the leadership 

problems of today. 

13 Is sustainability going mainstream? 

We may be asking the wrong question on sustainability. 

4 | Insights & Action | October 2017

CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE 

INSIGHTS& 


ACTION 

28 

20 The 21st century manager 

Martin-Christian Kent at People 1st explores how the changing 

role of managers can help to create quality jobs. 

21 Should we listen to Vanilla Ice for 

management advice? 

Companies who try to provide all services should instead 

collaborate for best delivery. 

24 Unleash the potential of the front-line 

Time investment can bring positive outcomes. 

28 Catering and the workplace revolution 

Chris Stern argues agile workspace is well and truly here. 

30 Is zero waste really possible? 

Is it feasible to achieve “zero waste” in a staff restaurant. 

35 Procurement: Is it time to break 

the mould? 

Both public and private sector are going through changes, 

but are they for the better? 

36 Going global 

Is there a catering operations benefit from a common 

catering policy? 

38 Has outsourcing had its shelf life? 

We may have reached that point. 

40 What makes pop-up ventures truly exciting? 

Pushing the boundaries of traditional design and engagement. 

43 An impossible dream? 

Peter Pitham asks how young people can enter this world today. 

44 Are you starving your workplace diners of 

information? 

The changing world of work is impacting catering. 

46 Does the model need to change? 

What will be the future differentiator between foodservice 

operators? 

48 Personalising the intangible and tangible 

Brand persona and its reflection on your business. 

50 Fit for purpose 

Today’s changing environment requires a specialist approach. 

NUTRITION 

10 Fuelling for optimum performance 

Insight into the importance of fuelling. 


Facilities managers will 

always need alternatives 

Tracey Fairclough at Turpin Smale Catering Consultants explains the 

debate over whether smaller players will continue to enter the market. 

How they will get noticed and utilized? 

When I first joined the wonderful 

world of contract catering 

around ten years ago, there 

were just a few large players 

and many smaller ones; almost a completely 

different scenario to today. 

I even remember buying the only book I 

could find mentioned ‘Contract Catering’ on 

Amazon for valuable insight into the brave 

new world I was stepping into; from the heady 

heights of marketing and advertising. My 

reading collateral referred to the “BIG 4” 

caterers who dominated the contract catering 

sector – Elior, Compass, Aramark and Sodexo. 

Within a year of joining one of the “BIG 4”, 

a fifth player emerged; cue the meteoric rise of 

Baxter Storey, the new kid on the block, and 

soon referred to as one of the “BIG 5”. 

Today I’m a catering consultant at Turpin 

Smale and it’s my job to know who’s who out 

there, what they’re doing, how well they’re 

doing it and what they cost. Knowing the 

benefits of both large and small caterer 

is important. 

I can categorically say the food service 

sector is almost unrecognisable to the one I 

joined ten years ago. The market has changed 

and is constantly evolving; that’s life. Why? 

Well the smaller guys are there to offer what 

the bigger guys seemingly can’t; a classic case 

of David Meets Goliath. Here are my pros 

and cons of both. 

Smaller Caterers 

Pros: 

Quick to change – They can change 

tactics quicker than larger caterers, even 

take a product to market quicker. A larger 

caterer has procedures involving many 

people, departments and processes, giving 

the smaller caterer the time advantage. 

You can also adapt your product around 

customer feedback and whilst they’re gaining 

approvals, can sell the street food concept 

they saw today… tomorrow. 

A family feel – Feeling part of a family is an 

advantage; employees perceive themselves to 

be treated more like family, and in many cases 

The smaller guys are there to offer 

what the bigger guys seemingly can’t; 

a classic case of David Meets Goliath. 

they’re truly both a family member and part 

of the family business. This feeling creates 

tremendous energy during projects and 

through tough times. The “We Are Family” 

with a charismatic leader can lead a small 

catering business to great success. 

Close to the customer – Being close to 

customers is key to success. A large caterer has 

many layers, departments and procedures that 

can prevent close customer contact. A small 

caterer is much closer to the customer, better 

able to meet customers more frequently, 

develop more personal relationships, make 

more bespoke products and address customer 

complaints quicker and more personally, 

which makes long-term customer relations 

easier and more profitable. 

Cons: 

Lack of progression – Some small caterers 

manage to stay afloat and be successful 

without any further growth; for these players, 

it’s a case of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” The 

clients who stay with these, whilst content 

with ‘a family feel’ might get left behind and 

find it hard to move forward. 

Capital investment – Again, this depends 

on the company. Some may have significantly 

less in the pot, so are unable to afford to 

invest as much as the larger caterers. That 

being said, some smaller businesses have 

fewer costs and overheads, so they can splash 

out on bigger salaries which delivers a better 

quality of service provider, although they 

might not necessarily be able to refurbish to 

deliver a more upbeat, contemporary facility 

designed to drive sales. 


INSIGHTS TURPIN SMALE 

Nowhere to hide – With the larger caterers, 

if you mess up or if you aren’t pulling your 

weight, it’s usually pretty easy to get away 

with it. In a smaller company, all eyes are on 

you – whether you’re the catering manager, 

account manager or managing director. 

Everyone’s attitude and contributions can have 

a knock-on effect on the whole team. While 

some people may find this daunting, others are 

spurred on by this. It makes them work harder 

and harder and can mean better results. This 

can be great because you’re in a small business, 

so you’ll get the recognition you deserve. 

Large Caterers 

Pros: 

A name that speaks for itself –Usually 

industry-renowned brands which alone can 

benefit a particular industry-renowned client 

company; they have a proven track record, 

their goods and services often sell themselves 

and having a big player in your supply chain 

can be impressive. 

More bundled packages – Generally 

speaking, the bigger the business, the more 

money they have to spend and invest and this 

is where they can offer clients more “bang for 

the buck”, such as add-on services including 

vending, event catering, cleaning and or 

reception services as well as catering and 

hospitality. 

Multiple locations and sectors – Some 

of the bigger caterers operate across several 

sectors (i.e. visitor attractions, high street 

retail brands, education, healthcare, stadia, 

events) and this is where you, as a client 

company, benefit from the breadth of 

foodservice experience and knowledge. 

Cons: 

Red tape and bureaucracy – The layered 

multi-sector structures can be a drawback, 

decisions made slower, getting passed from 

pillar to post. The bigger caterers tend to 

be bound by more restrictions and rules, 

causing frustration for you – as a client – 

who just want things done a certain way 

(i.e. promoting that artisan producer in the 

nearby farm). Things are more rigid. 

Just a number – Client companies served 

by the larger caterers sometimes see such a 

transformation in their supplier relationship 

that what was once a valued, devoted, family 

feel caterer has morphed into a sea of faces 

and a caterer that doesn’t seem to deliver 

quality engagement. Unfortunately, this is 

the by-product of the caterer’s success, as it’s 

transitioned from small to big and it’s become 

all about the numbers and you – as the client 

company – have become just a number. 

More formal relationships – Smaller 

caterers do not tend to rely on e-mail as a 

way of communicating with members of 

the project team and tend to be perhaps 

more generally informal and rely on verbal 

communication – with clients, customers 

and stakeholders – as well. 

Summary table of pros and cons of small caterer versus large caterer 

Pros 

Cons 

Small caterer Quick to change Lack of progression 

A family feel 

Capital Investment 

Close to the customer 

Nowhere to hide 

Large caterer A name that speaks for itself Red tape and bureaucracy 

More bundled packages 

Just a number 

Multiple locations and sectors More formal relationships 

In conclusion it’s pretty clear that there are plenty of good reasons for smaller players 

to continue to enter the market and stay there. In fact, suffice to say, the market relies 

on them doing so. It will be these smaller players who’ll get noticed – as they are doing 

right now – and utilised because they do it differently to the larger caterers and, above 

all, clients will need them to provide alternatives. 


Tax policies: 

A new approach is needed 

New tax policies could be introduced post-Brexit which 

would benefit UK tourism and hospitality. The industry should be 

considering them now, say Bob Cotton and Miles Quest. 

Whether the industry recognizes it or not, UK tourism and hospitality is currently on a roll. 

T 

ake one main indicator. The 

declining value of the pound is 

having a highly beneficial impact 

on UK tourism which is currently 

second only to Spain in Europe for tourism 

growth. Revenue from inbound tourism 

jumped by five per cent in May and by 14 per 

cent in the year to date. 

True, more UK residents people are 

travelling overseas but at a much lower rate – 

only two per cent more than the same period 

last year – and up only one per cent on last 

year. UK staycations are holding their own. 

In the hotel sector, investment throughout 

the country, not just London, is extraordinarily 

strong. In spite of this increase in capacity, 

occupancy in the capital remains high while 

occupancy in the provinces, though much 

lower, is healthy for well-run establishments. 

At the same time, the restaurant industry 

remains vibrant. Notable failures there 

are, but these are invariably due to poor 

management. Good quality outlets continue 

to prosper and new concepts are being 

successfully developed throughout the UK. 

So the industry shouldn’t worry about 

Brexit? Well, yes, it should – on a number 

of fronts. And it should take advantage of 

some opportunities. 

The supply of migrant workers, critical 

to the future success of the industry, is now 

thankfully recognized by government but 

it’s certain that hospitality will not be able to 

recruit as many overseas workers as it thinks 

it needs. So how will it recruit and train more 

UK-based youngsters and – just as important 

– how can it raise productivity levels so that 

fewer workers are needed in the first place? 

That’s the industry’s most pressing challenge. 

There seems very little government 

appetite for a reduced level of VAT on 

accommodation services, still less on other 

items like restaurant meals. What incentive 

is there to reduce a tax in boom conditions, 

particularly in London? And will any 

reduction in VAT lead to lower prices? As 

the Chancellor needs all the revenue he can 

What incentive is there 

to reduce a tax in boom 

conditions, particularly 

in London? And will any 

reduction in VAT lead to 

lower prices? 


COMMENT BOB COTTON AND MILES QUEST 

escape them. We need a business rates 

system that encompasses the Gig economy. 

Thought also needs to be given to the 

National Living Wage (NLW). Governments 

have traditionally set their face against regional 

levels of NLW (though that did not deter the 

old Wages Councils) but, at present, the rate 

for London is probably too low but possibly 

too high for parts of the outer regions. The onesize-fits-all 

NLW is skewing the labour market 

– though employers must recognise that wags 

rates will rise once there is a reduction in the 

availability of migrant workers following Brexit. 

So the industry 

shouldn’t worry about 

Brexit? Well, yes, it 

should – on a number 

of fronts. And it should 

take advantage of some 

opportunities. 

grasp, the campaign to unilaterally reduce 

VAT on accommodation services to EU 

levels seems doomed to failure. 

But, in the longer term, freedom from 

the EU may enable the government to look 

more closely at taxing a wider range of goods 

and services at different rates and, more 

pertinently, in different nations or regions 

of the UK, rather than retaining the current 

national system of VAT. Pressure from 

Northern Ireland and Scotland (and possibly 

Wales) could realistically lead to variations 

in their overall tax regimes – and what 

happens there might well prove appropriate 

for different regions of England. 

Another bugbear for hospitality businesses 

is the current calculation of business rates, 

especially for those located, like hotels, 

cafes and restaurants, in busy urban areas 

where the rates are typically highest. They 

represent yet another tax but raised on the 

basis of rateable value, rather than turnover. 

Business rates are particularly unfair when 

huge international companies can largely 

© ILLUSTRATOR | 123RF.COM 

And is there not an argument to use 

National Insurance contributions to promote 

skills and good employment practices, rather 

than being just a flat rate tax? It could be 

argued that employers who recruit, retain 

and train UK-based staff should be credited 

under NI while employers who do not should 

be made to pay. 

Post-Brexit, the UK will have more flexibility 

in its approach to its tax affairs, with the 

possibility of variations in national taxes and 

the introduction of more appropriate regional 

taxes. Developments in Northern Ireland will 

be key. Any tax system needs to raise revenue 

but it should also be flexible and fair according 

to the needs of all nations and regions of the 

UK, as well as the country’s very different 

industry sectors. The present national system, 

dominated by the London economy, is not 

necessarily right for other parts of the UK. 

The hospitality industry could, to 

advantage, begin to consider now how it 

could make the most of any new-found, 

post-Brexit tax freedoms. 


Fuelling for 

optimum 

performance 

Nutritionist Kate Taylor provides insight into the 

importance of fuelling for optimum performance 

both at work and at home. 

With productivity being a buzz word in almost every 

corporate environment, is our lack of focus on fuel letting 

us down when it comes to being at our best. 

© ANTONIO BALAGUER SOLER | 123RF.COM 

It’s common theme now that many of us 

work more than we should. Forget how 

many hours we are contractually obliged 

to do, that went out the window a long 

time ago, yet in this age of working longer 

and actually being less productive what 

are we doing about fuelling for optimum 

performance? Add to that the ever increasing 

number of us suffering with stress and the 

picture is bleak. 

We have the ability to fuel ourselves in 

two ways, one through physical energy, 

calories, food and drink. The other through 

mental ability, strength and determination. 

Couple the two and you have the makings of 

a winning team, sport is perhaps the perfect 

example. However when we look at the 

workplace, where many have the mental 

capabilities, they are let down by failing to 

fuel themselves in line with the day ahead. 

How many of us think about what’s ahead 

of us and how our food for that day, week or 

month, needs to sit within it? How many of 

us feel we have the time do so? And yet with 

the constant demands for more output this 

should be our number one priority. 

Education must underpin the above, there 

is a responsibility of every employer to ensure 

their teams are being provided with the right 

information and the right sustenance, but 

there is an onus on the individual themselves 

to take the action. After all, we can be provided 

with all the information available, but it’s up to 

us what we do with it. 

How many of us think 

about what’s ahead of 

us and how our food for 

that day, week or month, 

needs to sit within it? 

How many of us feel we 

have the time do so? 

All of what I’ve mentioned above was 

brought to the forefront of my mind whilst 

running a recent weekend escape with the 

premise of getting people to make positive 

changes and build healthier habits which 

will support them in achieving their goals. 

The consistent theme from all was around 

stress and how to fit the simplest of things 

into their already busy schedule. These are 

things like, walking, thinking about food, 

controlling boredom and funnily enough 

putting themselves first. The standout for me 


NUTRITION & WELL-BEING KATE TAYLOR 

You feel amazing after a 

weekend away drinking 

green juice, attending 

endless yoga classes 

and “detoxing” only to 

realise when you get 

back to reality that’s not 

really possible. 

Here’s a few questions worth thinking about: 

n How much movement have I done today, or am likely to do? 

n Am I hungry? 

n Is this what I really want to eat? 

n How will I feel after I eat this? 

If we know how we are going to feel from eating something, and its not good, then why 

are we doing it? 

You see it all matters, the less we’ve moved the less energy we need to consume. That 

doesn’t mean cutting a meal or maybe just having soup for lunch and nothing else for 

the day. That means spreading out your food intake throughout the day. 

Hunger isn’t really used anymore to dictate the need for food, however it should be 

now more than ever. 

was the lack of focus on food intake when it 

really should be number one on the to do list 

and this is common for many people. 

Collaborating with founder of The Well 

Plus Group, Ria Ingleby, we knew there was 

a need to create something that provided 

people with the platform to learn new skills 

that were achievable to use in their daily 

life. Conquer was born with the principle of 

building healthier habits in all aspects of life. 

Too often “retreats” are promoted and run 

by wellness bloggers and health fashionistas 

with a very structured plan and unrealistic 

goals which for most people simply won’t 

work at home. You feel amazing after a 

weekend away drinking green juice, attending 

endless yoga classes and “detoxing” only to 

realise when you get back to reality that’s not 

really possible. Those who attended Conquer, 

situated right in the heart of nature, found 

themselves setting achievable goals which 

included everything from walking 10,000 

steps a day consistently for the next month to 

prepping one back up dinner every Sunday 

for those evenings when you walk in the front 

door to two kids screaming and three days 

worth of washing to do. 

So as employers we need to give our 

people the tools to do this. We need to coach 

them, guide them because they will be so 

focussed on giving their all to get the job done, 

the likelihood is they aren’t looking after 

themselves. Through education workshops, 

real life hacks and realistic changes that work 

this can happen. These sessions are now being 

built into senior leadership programs and I’m 

pretty confident it won’t be too long until we 

see full time nutritionists and coaches built 

into every successful business. 


INSIGHTS KAJOLA 

Not leadership 

but mentorship 

Olubunmi Okolosi, founder of Kajola explains 

why two-way generational mentorship can 

solve the leadership problems of today. 

“Leaders share the harvest of their success to help build 

momentum for those around them.” – Glenn Llopis 

In the first episode of season two of one of 

my favourite shows, Game of Thrones, 

Jeor Mormont the 997th Lord commander 

of the Nights Watch says to Jon Snow “You 

want to lead one day? Then learn how to 

follow”. As blunt as it may seem that quote 

is as black and white as you can get when it 

comes to leadership and a typical example 

of old school thinking. I use this as a starting 

point in my argument because Jon Snow 

gives a brisk two finger salute to Joer and 

does his own thing. What I’m about to argue 

is that the future leaders of our industry 

aren’t ready to lead in the way people in 

business once were taught how to lead. This 

is because the current leaders are stuck 

within a way of thinking that is behind our 

times and they themselves need mentoring to 

aid the development of the future leaders. 

There is a way to ‘learn’ how to be a leader 

and I believe mentorship is the answer. 

When it comes down to it leadership should 

always start and be built around the notion 

of ‘mentorship’. 

Within Hospitality everyone is saying 

that there is a lack of future leaders! Why? 

People pin point the old workforce vs current 

vs future or the baby boomers vs GenX vs 

Millennial vs GenZ and the incompatibility 

within the workforce and how we learn. Simon 

Sinek is a person the corporate world often 

refers to when it comes to ‘modern’ thinking 

and he truly is brilliant and when I watched 

his video on millennials in the workforce last 

year I thought – I know this already, my point 

isn’t to highlight what he said, my point is to 

highlight it took the corporate world nine 

months to start talking about it. This to me 

highlights why we may have an issue in the 

future, our current leaders are slow to adapt. 

The baby boomers and GenX say there is a 

leadership problem and for me it starts with 

them and the best way to bridge that gap is for 

them to go and be mentored by a Millennial 

or GenZ to understand them. This will aid the 

development of today’s current leaders and 

nurture those for the future. By mentoring I’m 

not just talking about someone from the same 

industry but outside the world of hospitality. 

Why can’t a Millennial 

mentor a baby boomer on 

why they think like they do ? 

Mentoring is defined as a personal 

developmental relationship in which a 

more experienced or more knowledgeable 

person helps to guide a less experienced 

or less knowledgeable person. Now who 

better to teach the less experienced or less 

knowledgeable baby boomer or GenXer 

what we think now and in the future than 

the millennial and the GenZer? Why can’t 

a Millennial mentor a baby boomer on why 

© TRUECAPTURE | DREAMSTIME.COM 

they think like they do and how that impacts 

on how they can nurture leadership ability? 

Why is it so often the other way around? 

Mentoring can often aide a person’s 

development at a quicker pace than learning 

on-the-job. It can provide enlightenment both 

in business and in one’s personal life. At the 

same time, I find that mentoring someone 

isn’t way most people think it is. If you truly 

open yourself up to your mentee you can also 

use their experience or be inspired by their 

input into your mentorship of them. 

If the leaders of today spent more time 

focusing on understanding and learning from 

the leaders of tomorrow instead of focusing 

on company profits and maintaining the 

current model we wouldn’t be having this 

type of argument – instead we would be 

talking and walking together to combat other 

challenges that are more difficult to fathom 

than better human interaction. 


INSIGHTS MARK LINEHAN 

Is sustainability going 

mainstream? 

Mark Linehan argues we may be asking the wrong question on sustainability. 

Sustainability has been discussed for years, awareness has been 

raised and there’s no excuse for not having it on the agenda now. 

For a while now, people have been asking 

when sustainability will go mainstream, 

when it will become a core component 

in the food service sector, when it will 

no longer be an “add on”. But I think they’re 

asking the wrong question. Sustainability isn’t 

something that can be neatly packaged up into 

a discrete bundle, a convenient “nice to have” 

that operators can adopt or ignore depending 

on how they feel – it cuts across everything 

we do and is part and parcel of how you run a 

business, at every conceivable level. 

We’ve been talking about sustainability for 

years, awareness has been raised and there’s 

no excuse for not having it on the agenda. But 

sustainability isn’t a “thing”, it’s the way in 

which you do things. Every business employs 

staff, sources ingredients, uses energy and 

creates waste – the way in which they do all 

of those things is the mark of how much they 

care for the environment, their employees and 

the wider community. If businesses are still 

saying “we’d love to do it but we can’t afford it/ 

it’s quite complicated/we’ve got other things 

to focus on” (delete as appropriate), then they 

really need to think again. And dealing with 

it through an annual CSR report that will sit 

on the shelf and gather dust doesn’t cut it any 

more either. 

Not taking steps towards greater 

sustainability no longer represents the 

status quo. Ten or more years ago perhaps. 

Back then, few businesses knew about their 

environmental and social impacts, and the 

starting point was to focus on doing business 

and then have a look at this new agenda at 

some point. But things have moved on quickly 

and the pressure, should you need it, to be as 

responsible as you possibly can, is coming from 

a number of sources. 

People actually care – just look at the furore 

around companies avoiding their tax liabilities, 

exploiting zero hour contracts, falsifying car 

emissions data and so on. You’re only ever a 

couple of steps away from a PR disaster. And 

it’s not just public pressure – despite popular 

reports of government’s reluctance to legislate 

or regulate, there’s plenty of evidence to 

indicate that it actually will. 

Take food waste, or the wasting of 

food surplus, probably the highest profile 

sustainability issue in the food service sector 

over recent years. When we first started 

talking about it, there wasn’t a chef, restaurant 

or caterer who admitted they threw food 

away – “we don’t have a food waste problem, 

it must be everyone else”, we heard over and 

over again. Thanks to the work of WRAP and 

others, we’ve known for several years that we 

do have a food waste problem, all of us, and it’s 

a big one. So a lack of awareness is no longer 

an excuse and, given the range of solutions 

to reduce and then ensure responsible 

redistribution or recycling of surplus and 

waste, there’s no longer an excuse for inaction. 

And, if businesses, don’t start taking the 

issue seriously, there will be legislation. Well, 

in fact, there already is. Food waste to landfill 

was banned some time ago in Scotland and the 

water companies will start to act to prevent 

the disposal of food waste into the ground 

water system (which is already prohibited in 

Scotland and Northern Ireland) or start to 

enforce the permits that countless businesses 

are ignoring as they continue to use “waste to 

water” systems. 

In their report published in April this year – 

“Food Waste in England” – the Environment, 

Food and Rural Affairs Committee of 

the House of Commons pointed out that 

legislation already exists to require businesses 

to follow the established food waste hierarchy: 

“the waste hierarchy has been incorporated 

into UK law through the Waste (England 

and Wales) Regulations 2011, the Waste 

Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011, and the 

Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012”. 

Speaking at a recent meeting at the House 

of Lords the committee Chair, Neil Parish MP, 

reiterated one of the recommendations of the 

report in urging the Environment Agency to 

enforce the food waste hierarchy and ensure 

there is compliance. 

Continuing to treat sustainability as an 

“optional extra” might seem like a good idea, 

for some, but there might be some surprises 

ahead. Except they shouldn’t really come as 

a surprise… 


The man 

behind 

the story 

Surinder Arora is a name well known across the hospitality industry but arguably 

few know much about the man. Beyond the industry, few will know much about 

his business empire and yet his story is one that could well have come straight 

out of a film script. He has built a successful billion pound business almost from 

scratch which is impressive enough but what makes Surinder stand apart is that, 

in a cynical age, he believes and stands for something beyond. 

Surinder Arora’s story has almost 

became folklore in recent years – 

how he arrived in London when he 

was just thirteen years old, unable 

to speak a word of English. He was met at the 

airport by a couple he thought were his aunt 

and uncle. However, the truth was that they 

were his parents. The couple that he believed 

had been his mother and father had actually 

been his aunt and uncle. His parents had 

lost everything in the creation of the modern 

Pakistan and in the turmoil, they had fled 

for Britain. His parents were now settled in 

London and wanted to bring him to Britain to 

give him a better life. 

“Life is a journey of waves, ups and downs. 

Most believe that success is when one is at the 

top of the curve but success is when you are 

the bottom and striving to go back up. One 

has to accept the good and bad of life as we all 

experience it and it is how we handle what is 

thrown at us,” reflected Surinder. “I recall the 

tough days of 2009 and 2010 and we learnt so 

much from that time. As my Mother used to 

say “Don’t worry about the mistakes you make. 

Just learn from them and make new ones” 

Maybe Surinder’s ability to manage the 

good and bad was a trait that he inherited from 

his parents as their family had been respected 

and well positioned in his homeland but 

they had had to leave it all behind during the 

repatriation between India and Pakistan and 

start again. One can only imagine how difficult 


SPECIAL FEATURE SURINDER ARORA 

it must have been to leave everything and start 

again in a new country. It must be hard enough 

to leave one’s homeland and a good life but 

imagine starting again and having to work 

three jobs just to rebuild as Surinder’s mother 

had the courage to do. To do so requires a 

mental resolve that few possess. 

In some ways it is a throwback to the 

past as there many great stories of human 

endeavour and adapting as the world evolved 

from the 1940’s through to the 1980s but it 

is becoming rarer to hear of today. It is one 

of the reasons that makes Surinder’s story 

so important to tell – he has overcome any 

obstacle and barrier and shown that one can 

achieve success if one works hard enough and 

is prepared to learn. 

There are many great entrepreneurs that 

can show such traits but what also makes 

Surinder’s story stand apart is that he is a 

man of many passions beyond work too. He 

has a love for Cricket and is an Honorary Life 

President of Surrey CCC. He has a passion 

for golf and was a part owner of Surrey’s 

Wentworth Club. He also loves football and 

was for many years a referee. 

“I wasn’t a natural at any of the sports but 

I loved them,” noted Surinder. “It is one of 

the reasons that I became a referee and this 

was a great learning for me. So many referees 

give up because of the abuse they are given. I 

was almost one of them until an experienced 

referee showed me that technically I was 

doing a good job but that success lay in how 

one managed the players. One had to show 

them respect and care and then they would 

often behave far better. It was about trust 

between referee and player. This would then 

allow for a far better, free flowing game”. 

“It is the same in business. I have learnt 

to listen to my team. I can think of a number 

of occasions when we have disagreed on an 

employee or a decision and they have been 

right and I have changed my thoughts after 

reflecting. Often our passions outside work 

can be invaluable in how they teach us to be 

better in work” 

Every fact tells you that there must be an 

inner strength and belief as no one is estimated 

to be worth over £800m from scratch without 

it, but there is so much more to the story. 

“I never look for a fight but I will not shirk 

it if I need to. I believe in trust between people 

and organisations but if it broken, then we 

need to act accordingly. Over the years, I have 

seen some behave in a way that we believe is 

not correct and we have to act as otherwise we 

let ourselves down. We have a responsibility 

to our customer and our people. We all make 

mistakes but it is how we respond to mistakes 

that matters.” 

So how did Surinder come to start Arora 

Hotels from his humble beginning in London? 

After leaving school, Surinder joined 

British Airways and spent 11 years working as 

a customer service officer. During this time 

he took private flying lessons, which he paid 

for by working as a waiter in a hotel he was 

later to own. In 1982 Arora became a financial 

advisor for the Abbey Life insurance company, 

becoming the youngest branch manager and 

achieving a rating as the company’s secondbest 

financial advisor in 1988. In 1993 Arora 

As my Mother used 

to say “Don’t worry about 

the mistakes you make. 

Just learn from them and 

make new ones” 

left Abbey Life to develop a bed and breakfast 

to serve airline staff at Heathrow Airport. The 

hotel that replaced the B&B won a contract 

from British Airways in 1999 and gave him the 

foundation stone for Arora Hotels. 

In 2004 Arora won the franchise for 

the Accor Sofitel brand and bought the 

500-bedroom Le Meridien London Gatwick 

hotel to rebrand as the Sofitel London 

Gatwick. Sofitel London Heathrow, a £180m 

600-bedroom sister hotel was announced 

the same year. Today Arora owns hotels 

that provide a total of over 5500 bedrooms 

including franchises from InterContinental 

and Novotel. 

The Group has moved beyond. The 

Arora Tower in Greenwich is a 24 storey 

building with 140 apartments, while a similar 

residential development in Crawley aims to 

deliver 308 across three buildings. In a new 

milestone development, and leveraging their 

already strong presence at the airport, the 

Arora Group is developing a fourth World 

Business Centre at London Heathrow, 

which will be offering 85,000sq ft. of 

environmentally friendly office space 

when completed. 

In a world where business has become 

far less personal and more transactional, 

Surinder has built a reputation for valuing 

long-term business relationships. He stresses 

that he has consistently used the same lawyers 

and the same lenders throughout his career. 

When Surinder hosts guests at an event, 

he is the generous host. He will take the time 

to talk to everyone, making sure they feel 

accepted, at home and relaxed. He has long 

worked out that trust and strong relationships 

allow business to be better. There is no doubt 

that he really cares about people and sees his 

employees and his close business confidante’s 

as being part of his family. 

The vast majority of self-made 

entrepreneurs are often the polar opposite 

to Surinder. This is not a critique of anyone; 

more an observation that those that are selfmade 

are often passionately family orientated 

as the family has been their building block 

but are often extremely self-orientated. This 

is where Surinder’s story is different as is 

generous to others, and believes in others. 

So what is the hidden story? Arguably it is 

the character traits that he has displayed over 

the years. He has accepted life’s challenges 

without anger and overcome the barriers set 

up. He has not been caught up in his success 

but has continued to build his family. He has 

shown a level of strength and inner discipline 

that very few could manage but maybe most of 

all, he has built a legacy for others. 

Surinder may not wish for many to know 

him but his is a story that is a role model 

for others to follow – most especially in the 

modern era where even the most simple of 

setbacks becomes a drama. Leadership is 

based off managing in adversity and this he 

has shown but what makes the man stand 

apart is how he rises above the petty and 

believes in something more – whether family, 

legacy or the importance of people. 


Making movement 

The client and the customer have changing desires and so more is 

being asked of the caterer. It can be challenging to find the balance with 

the offer but ISS is throwing down the gauntlet with the appointment 

of Stephen Waterman as Managing Director of Food & Hospitality. 

With vast experience in the world of fitness, sport, health and wellbeing, 

Stephen is bringing a new dimension to the traditional offer. 

New to the sector, Stephen brings a fresh perspective and crafted experience in a strong move by ISS. 

When one meets Stephen he is 

an engaging man just three 

months into his new position. 

He has clearly embraced ISS 

and the industry despite not having worked 

in the traditional hospitality and catering 

world. 

Stephen’s background includes working 

in both the leisure management contract 

business and the private fitness and 

wellbeing sector – including a number of 

years with the Virgin group; where he won 

awards and plaudits for transforming their 

food and nutrition proposition. Latterly, he 

was responsible for strategy, leadership and 

performance for brand, products, food and 

beverage, membership, sales and retention in 

contract management with local authorities, 

national bodies and corporate clients, 

whereby it is clear one of his strengths lies 

in delivering shared outcomes for clients 

and customers through cementing true 

partnerships. 

Whilst new to the sector, Stephen has 

already witnessed much and can see where 

the opportunities lie. “Gone are the days of 

a straightforward contract. A caterer must 

work with the client to support them with 

their overall needs – much more outcome 

and partnership focused than traditional 

input based contract management. Health 

and wellbeing are clearly also essential to the 

overall offer from a caterer and ISS wants to 

play more than a keen role here and be at the 

forefront.” Stephen also adds “Hospitality 

has a massive part to play – it is essential we 

support our clients by looking after their 

people in general, supporting beyond just 

their normal working hours.” 

ISS is showing their true colours with the 

appointment of Stephen. Shortly before 

his move, he was conducting research and 

implementing strategies in the fitness, health 

and wellbeing and leisure world which 

itself has been going through a huge change 

recently. He explains, “Fitness has changed 

dramatically again in the last few years in 

very different ways. We witnessed a change 

from the number of treadmills you could fit 

into a space, to ‘how much functional space 

can we make and where can we add fun and 

innovation’. Alongside this has been the entry 

of new competition, bringing different ways, 

operating models and propositions to the 

market and there has been the explosion of 

technology in the form of fitness, health and 

wellbeing apps, wearable monitors, watches 

and trackers. In the contract management 

this also saw a seismic shift to being a 

true partner with clients in helping them 

achieve their wider outcomes. I believe the 

hospitality and foodservice sector is seeing 

a similar set of movements with changing 

demands, market disrupters, customer 

expectations, technology, innovation and the 

need to support and work with our clients as 

a true partner across a wider remit than just 

being a contract caterer 

Why has the market changed? 

“Millennials are playing a role in the 

changing scene. Our skill at ISS is 

understanding the changes and providing a 

service which suits various demographics. 

We will always provide an excellent food 

offer and now go beyond that too. One of 

the biggest changes is the expectation from 

the workforce of today in being looked after 

by their company in different ways to the 

traditional breakfast and lunchtime feeding. 

This is demonstrated by the recent growth 

of the grazing food trend, sharing boards, 

increased snacking options and street food 

stalls, which are all signs of an increasing 

There is a need to support and work with 

our clients as a true partner across a wider remit 

than just being a contract caterer. 


OPERATING CONCEPTS ISS 

need for going beyond the traditional set 

meals of the day. We need to continue to 

adapt by matching and exceeding trends 

and be ahead of the game. Talk has already 

turned to the expectation of ‘centennials’ 

who are now entering the workplace” 

“ISS want to be leaders in truly engaging 

with companies and their workforces. We 

are a global company with amazing research 

taking place across the world in workplace 

trends. We are using these insights and 

learnings so we can be different and truly 

anticipate the future. We are also including 

our colleagues from all aspects of the 

business – from restaurant designers through 

to corporate responsibility – we must all 

work together.” 

ISS want to be 

leaders in truly 

engaging with companies 

and their workforces. 

We are a global 

company with amazing 

research taking place 

across the world in 

workplace trends. 

Stephen will explore many aspects of 

the overall offer and is constantly asking 

questions on how they can get people 

collaborating, engaging, mixing and generally 

being more agile in their workplaces. He 

will also be working closely with other parts 

of the business, including with Stephanie 

Hamilton who has recently moved to the role 

of Director of People and Culture UK. 

Internally Stephen is keen to look after the 

wellbeing of his teams working at ISS. “It’s 

important we practice what we preach and so 

look after own people’s health and wellbeing 

to support their lifestyles too. I’ve been 

impressed by the number of our team I’ve 

met who are actively engaged and aware of 

this for themselves and their teams. Meeting > 


OPERATING CONCEPTS ISS 

chefs and teams who take part in – and even 

teach – yoga and exercise classes has been 

fantastic to find.” 

Caterers must provide healthy choices 

but Stephen is also aware they cannot 

solely focus on this; it still must be about 

choice for the consumer and the client’s 

needs. He states it doesn’t have to be a 

difficult balance to achieve. “We look at the 

high street example because that has both 

options. Employees in the workplace – are 

the very same people who use these and have 

these same desires – we can learn from this 

and bespoke our offer by using research, 

relationships and technology. Going forward 

and as we embrace technology and close 

integrated management tools, we can 

know the exact numbers of people on a 

site during a day and can tailor our offer 

to suit – amongst many benefits this also 

sees us saving on waste and able to support 

businesses in their corporate responsibility 

around this. Social media and other forms of 

feedback technology provide us with instant 

feedback now and we use this to plan, as 

well as react and respond. There is more 

information available than ever before in 

The wellbeing of 

people is essential for a 

successful company and 

this applies for both the 

clients who are looked 

after and the teams 

providing the offer. 

regards to trends, consumer choice, opinions 

and what’s working; we are using with all of 

this – along with traditional data – to deliver 

the proposition, offerings and service that is 

now wanted.” 

Stephen comes across as someone who has 

been in the job for longer than a few months. 

Assured and calm, he has already visited 

a vast majority of the clients and sites ISS 

work with. It’s clearly important for him to 

meet the team and see the locations where 

the company operates – something he places 

strong personal value on. He may have the 

large brand behind him but Stephen knows 

the importance of the personal approach and 

strong relationships. 

When asked about the sector he has come 

into Stephen stresses he has been made to 

feel very welcome and has met with many 

competitors, consultants and suppliers 

already. “In regards to other businesses, yes 

we are competing but we all face the same 

challenges and my personal belief is that the 

industry needs to continue to work together 

as a strong unified voice in areas such as 

Brexit, government support and lobbying, 

rising costs, the evolving workforce and the 

importance of the sector.” 

As customers ask more than from their 

companies, this in-turn puts pressure on 

the caterer to think differently and be able 

to support their clients. Stephen and ISS 

understand this and are clearly prepared to go 

to the lengths needed to exceed expectations. 

The wellbeing of people is essential for a 

successful company and this applies for both 

the clients who are looked after and the teams 

providing the offer. With a background of 

people support and a very clear sense of the 

future, ISS will feel confident with Stephen 

guiding the next few years. 


SUSTAINABILITY WINNOW SOLUTIONS 

Fighting together 

How do a research charity, a contract caterer and a food tech 

company lead by example in the fight against food waste? 

Together there is the potential to change the culture in the kitchen. 

The Wellcome Trust is the second 

largest charitable foundation in 

the world dedicated to supporting 

medical research and new drug 

discoveries. Besides improving health by 

helping great projects to thrive, they are 

also contributing to enhance the wellbeing 

of our planet. The organisation gives high 

importance to addressing sustainability 

issues, and is committed to taking action 

against one of the world’s most urgent 

problems: food waste. 

The Wellcome Trust has worked together 

with its catering partner Restaurant 

Associates (part of Compass Group UK & 

Ireland), at their central London head office 

to dramatically reduce food waste. The 

technology of innovative technology startup 

Winnow is now being used to measure, 

monitor and cut food waste. 

Winnow tracks waste with a digital scale 

placed under a bin. Chefs identify items using 

a touchscreen tablet which is connected to 

the cloud, allowing the teams to record what 

is being thrown away. A detailed report is 

then sent to the teams including the weight, 

value, time and reason why the waste was 

generated. This gives chefs the information 

necessary to drive improvements in their 

production processes to cut food waste. 

Restaurant Associates installed Winnow’s 

digital scale and smart meter in October 

2014 at Wellcome Trust. The team were 

able to quickly identify where waste was 

happening within their operations and 

make adjustments to production to reduce 

waste. Today food waste has been reduced 

by more than 70% from the starting point. 

It is the equivalent of preventing 4.4 tonnes 

of food from being wasted, avoiding 11.000 

meals ending up in the bin. They have been 

very pleased with the results and the kitchen 

has now become a blueprint for others to 

learn from. 

“Winnow has made my job easier as a 

chef because it gives me more control over 

my kitchen and helps the team understand 

and identify food waste. Together we have 

significantly cut food waste which helps us 

act more sustainably while still delivering 

a high level of service for our client.” – says 

Chris Arkadieff, Executive Chef at the 

Wellcome Trust. 

The relationship between these three 

players – The Wellcome Trust, Restaurant 

Associates and Winnow – is a great example 

of big organisations partnering with smaller, 

innovative technology companies to disrupt 

traditional processes to have a positive 

impact on the environment. 

Marc Zornes, co-founder of Winnow 

commented: “Our partnership with Compass 

Group UK & Ireland has helped shape the 

technology and therefore its impact on food 

waste. In the case of Wellcome Trust, the 

outstanding results provide tangible evidence 

for what can be achieved within restaurant 

kitchens.” 

Together, they have the potential to change 

the culture in kitchens and transform the way 

we make food. 


INSIGHTS PEOPLE 1ST 

The 21st century manager 

Martin-Christian Kent, Executive Director at People 1st explores 

how the changing role of managers can help to create quality jobs. 

How a fresh approach can help businesses attract and retain talent. 

The recent publication of the Taylor 

Review, examining the future 

world of work, highlighted some of 

the critical challenges facing UK 

businesses. Whilst its authors praised the 

UK economy’s job creation, it was clear that 

there is also a need to create ‘quality jobs’ if 

standards of living and productivity are to rise. 

The hospitality industry doesn’t fair well 

historically against the six measures used to 

assess quality jobs, but our new research – 

The Performance and Talent Management 

Revolution – shows that this is changing. 

In the face of rising costs, recruitment 

difficulties and changing employee attitudes, 

businesses are rethinking their people 

strategies and there is a renewed (and 

overdue) emphasis on staff retention and 

engagement. Managers are a critical part of 

the solution, but having strong management 

base isn’t without its challenges. 

16% (7,535) of hospitality businesses report 

that their managers lack the required skills to 

meet their needs. They are faced with two key 

management challenges: how to develop and 

support current managers to get the most out 

of the existing workforce and how to identify, 

develop and nurture tomorrow’s managers. 

Supporting today’s managers 

The role of a manager has changed 

tremendously in the past decade, but this 

isn’t apparent in some hospitality businesses. 

The industry has traditionally had a strict 

hierarchy where ‘what the manager says 

goes’, and, as our forthcoming report on the 

chef shortage shows, this is still seen in many 

kitchens. It’s an important factor undermining 

chef retention, and it needs to change. 

Managers need to be able to engage, 

motivate and inspire their teams in ways we 

haven’t seen before. They need high-level 

people management skills, as well as a broad 

skills base from finance to marketing. 

Most businesses have an annual 

engagement survey, but we are increasingly 

working with clients to support a deep-seated 

change in the way managers engage with their 

staff, giving their team a real voice and stake in 

how their business or unit performs. It means 

that the external brand values of a business 

are consistent with the internal ones, and that 

managers are embodying them. 

Businesses are increasingly developing 

these essential management skills, whilst 

others are bringing new managers with 

this skillset in from other sectors. They are 

also looking at how managers are measured 

and incentivised, so key people metrics, 

such as staff retention and engagement, stand 

side-by-side with financial ones. 

One of the key tools in any manager’s 

armoury is performance reviews – taking time 

out with each team member to give them an 

opportunity to feedback and to understand 

their thoughts and ambitions. The trend 

for regular, informal chats works well in 

hospitality, but managers need to have the 

right skills to get the most of these encounters 

and, critically, follow up and respond. 

Tomorrow’s managers 

Individuals who show ability as waiting or 

bar staff, chefs or room attendants are often 

promoted to management roles without the 

required development or support. Identifying 

future management talent early on is key and, 

again, regular performance reviews are a 

vital tool. 

More businesses are talent-spotting 

through performance reviews and developing 

staff before they become managers. Many 

are turning towards the new apprenticeships 

as a means to develop and promote staff. 

Our recent survey with levy-paying employers 

showed that nearly a third were using 

apprenticeships for management progression, 

opening up new opportunities to work with 

universities and third-party providers to 

enhance their management training. 

Falling unemployment and Brexit means 

that if businesses want to attract and retain 

talent they need a fresh approach to their people 

strategies. Many businesses are on that journey 

and managers are key to its success. This has 

the potential to revolutionise the hospitality 

workplace – and demonstrate that our sector 

not only creates jobs, but quality jobs. 


INSIGHTS BLINK CAFES 

Should we listen to 

Vanilla Ice for 

management advice? 

Simon Carey, Director at Blink Cafes explores whether companies who try 

to provide all services should instead collaborate for the best delivery. 

“Stop, collaborate and listen.” 

Did musician Vanilla Ice have it right 

as a management philosophy? 

Well perhaps if we put the words 

in a slightly different order, then he 

did. Maybe stop, listen and collaborate might 

be a better order of events. Are companies at 

risk of trying to be the “Jack of all trades” to 

secure a contract? Is collaboration a better 

approach to deliver the best customer and 

client experience? 

So let’s stop for a minute and take stock 

of what it is we are trying to achieve in a 

typical catering contract. A typical contract 

normally covers a wide range of different 

offers and services. This would usually 

include a mix of coffee bars, fine dining, 

hospitality, retail, grab and go, micro markets 

and lots of different food counters. Is it 

possible to be the best provider in all of these 

different offers? Does this not just lead to 

mediocrity in some of them? 

We then need to listen to what clients and 

customers are looking for. I often hear them 

asking for “best in class”, specialists or an 

offer that is as “good as the high street”. The 

question is; can one company deliver the best 

solution for all of the offers required? 

This leads us to collaboration. Would 

it not be better for caterers to collaborate 

with specialists for some of the services? I 

appreciate there would be a loss of turnover 

and income for the caterer, but the client 

and customers would be delighted with the 

offer. This should then lead to a longer-term 

contract. It should be completely fine to 

argue that there is someone who is better at 

operating coffee bars and that a partnership 

can be formed for that particular service. 

I am strong believer that the best results 

are achieved when several parties work 

together and specialists deliver what they 

are best at. If you look to the wider world for 

inspiration, we could look at the food halls 

that have sprung up around the globe, pulling 

together the best food providers under one 

roof. Great examples include Time Out in 

Lisbon, Hudson Eats in NYC and even Street 

Feast in London. 

It is also important to note that some of 

the leading brands in the world are looking 

If you look to the wider world for inspiration, 

we could look at the food halls that have sprung up 

around the globe, pulling together the best food 

providers under one roof. 

to collaborate with SMEs in order to bring 

in new ideas and specialists into their 

companies. John Lewis, IAG and BUPA 

have all started incubators to collaborate 

with new partners. They have admitted they 

need support in certain areas. They fully 

understand that by improving one area it will 

develop their overall service. All they have 

said is “Come and show us what you can do 

and if it’s successful, come and work with us.” 

I think we should encourage collaboration 

and appreciate the benefits it can bring, 

rather than be fearful of it. Back to Vanilla 

Ice for the reason behind this: “anything less 

than the best is a felony”. 


Game changer 

Apex Hotels have recently announced the appointment of Create 

(a division of The Concerto Group) as the Food & Beverage partner for 

their London Hotels. If successful, Create will become Apex’s partner 

across their entire Hotel Portfolio. Angela Vickers, CEO of Apex, and 

Adam Elliott, CEO of Concerto, spoke of their shared ambitions. 

What does this new partnership bring? 

The outsourcing of F&B operations 

to contract and restaurant groups 

has led to mixed results over the 

years. It has often struggled with 

the difference in culture although there are a 

number of key success stories over the years. 

Apex Hotels has been one of the great 

success stories for British Hotels in the last 

decade. They have often been admired as 

being a well-run and forward thinking hotel 

group. The group has averaged impressive 

98% occupancy levels and they would be 

the first to admit that they have focused 

on rooms over their F&B provision. The 

partnership with Create and The Concerto 

Group is a bold move. They are partnering 

with an expert that adds a distinctive and 

engaging F&B offer within the hotels and the 

view of really progressing the overall offer. 

The CEO of The Concerto Group, Adam 

Elliott, was previously the COO of The ONE 

Group in the UK. The flagship operation 

was the STK restaurant and Radio Bar at 

the ME Hotel in Aldwych which has been a 

success for both parties. Adam has been an 

expert in outsource management, previously 

having been the CEO with Lindley Group/ 

Centerplate UK and a Managing Director 

within Elior. 

“I am very excited by the partnership 

that we are entering into with Apex Hotels,” 

commented Adam Elliott. “They have 

been very supportive and open to ideas and 

innovation. We have really strived to 

change the approach that existed previously 

and develop offers that will engage the 

local customer audiences and build revenues. 

I do think what is most impressive about 

the partnership is that Apex have been 

open and have worked with us to create 

tailored exciting concepts to work for their 

customer base.” 

One is working with 

someone else’s property 

and has to take due care 

for the privilege that we 

are being extended. 

Angela Vickers agreed, “It was an 

interesting process as we met a number of 

possible partners and options but I think 

the difference with Adam is that he really 

understood our challenges and has worked 

hard to build an offer that works for both of 

us. We were not experts in F&B and we did 

need someone that really felt a passion for 

Apex Hotels to make sure that we could take 

the jump and agree the partnership. It is hard 

for two cultures to come together and work 

as one but the foundation has been we have 

had a shared vision. That is how it should be 

– two experts with a shared dream for what 

we are both striving to achieve.” 

“We are very conscious that we have 

developed a very strongly performing 

hotel offer but we wanted to go to the extra 

level and build restaurant operations that 

would engage our guests and also the local 

community. Apex has always been founded 

in strong values and as community hotels. 

Our belief is that the restaurants will enable 

us to play more active roles within the local 

business communities.” 

It is clear as one talks to both that they 

clearly get along well and share common 

values as well as vision. 

“I am passionate about great restaurants 

that engage and excite customers,” 

noted Adam. “I believe that there is real 

opportunity for great F&B operators to 

work with hotel operators successfully. Of 

course it is not easy. One is working with 

someone else’s property and has to take 

due care for the privilege that we are being 

extended. It is for this reason that a good 

partnership can really only be developed 

if there is a meeting of minds, culture and 

vision as both sides have to work so closely 

together. There will be many hoteliers who 

will not wish to outsource their restaurant 

and bar operations but the counter argument 

is that it is very hard to be an expert in 

every discipline – rooms, restaurants, bars, 

reception, conferencing and spas. It is quite 


OPERATING CONCEPTS THE CONCERTO GROUP 

natural to bring in an expert but only if the 

operator shares a passion for the hotel and 

it’s potential. 

“The customer today is very demanding 

and has high expectations. There are some 

exceptional operations across the London 

restaurant scene and we need to compete 

against them. 

“The first operation that we are going 

to be opening is at Seething Lane and we 

will be going into bat against both the new 

Four Seasons Hotel, Hilton Doubletree, 

The Grange and Citizen M. This will be a 

challenge but we have a great team ready and 

mobilised to develop an exciting new offer.” 

Create has traditionally been one of 

London’s events companies but Adam’s 

vision together with Create’s new Managing 

Director, Barry Vera, is to make Create far 

broader, more adaptable and challenging. 

They worked together at The ONE Group 

and are experienced in challenging clients 

with innovation and new food ideas. 

Barry is one of the exciting emerging 

talents within the Industry. During his career, 

Barry has worked for Conran Restaurants 

as well as Marco Pierre White. He also has 

invaluable experience from working across 

the world including Australia, Asia, France, 

Canada and South Africa. Barry is a modern 

culinary thinker who loves to be innovative 

and is customer-focused. He has also worked 

on talkRADIO with Penny Smith and on TV 

too. Barry has every opportunity to be lead 

change and development in this area over the 

next ten years. 

“Barry is another of the reasons that we felt 

so comfortable and confident with Create,” 

commented Angela. “Firstly it is clear that 

Barry and Adam are a dynamic force and lead a 

strong team. They get along well and work well 

in tandem. Barry also is naturally innovative 

and wants to take on the responsibility and lead 

role which gave us the confidence to let go. I 

do think this team will make a big difference 

for us as a group and that is exciting.” 

“Modern restaurants need to be more 

than just more of the same – they need to 

enable customers to relax, feel comfortable 

with the design and have trust in the food. 

I think this is where many may have failed 

in the past – hotel restaurants try to find a 

balance between their guests, the hotel team 

and external customers but have struggled 

to achieve this. The difference is that our 

ideology is based in food and our passion is to 

see customers excited by what we are striving 

to achieve. If we can excite and interest 

customers then we stand a fair chance to be 

successful. The same with our service level – 

the team love pleasing guests so if we excite 

and engage, then they too will be happy in 

their work.” 

It is not hard to see that this partnership 

is full of promise and could be very exciting. 

It will be fascinating to watch how it 

develops and grows but with the passion 

and commitment shown by all three, one 

suspects that they will be very successful. 


INSIGHTS ENGAGEMOORE 

Unleash the potential 

of the front line 

Michèle Moore, Director at engagemoore explains how 

time investment in the front line can bring positive outcomes 

in other parts of the business. 

Middle managers are stuck and this is causing businesses to become less effective. 

The competition is like never 

before, costs are going up due 

to government actions and the 

exchange rate effect. But does 

all this mean companies can’t afford to 

invest more in people? In times of tightened 

resources can they really afford not to? Does 

investment mean increasing the training 

line on the profit and loss statement? Not 

necessarily. One of the most powerful 

investments we can make in people is giving 

them time. 

As we stand at the moment: 

n In the drive for competitiveness, companies 

have removed layers of management. 

n The middle managers that remain don’t 

have enough time in the day to do everything 

that needs doing. 

n There’s a cost to business performance 

and relationship-building as a result. 

If we were to involve the front line 

workers in discussing how a job should be 

done and how it could be improved, we 

would potentially: 

n Motivate and empower our front line teams. 

n Give the middle managers more time to 

focus on relationship-building and the future. 

n Improve the outcome for our customers 

and clients. 

So we could simultaneously achieve 

‘investment’ in the front line, in our middle 

managers, and in the outcome for our 

customers and clients. 

But how can you do this in a low-cost way? 

Here are some thoughts: 

© XIMAGINATION | 123RF.COM 

n Create a structured time for your different 

front line teams to regularly meet and discuss. 

Maybe over tea and cake to make it informal, 

more conversational, more fun. Do it at 

their place of work so it’s easy to arrange but 

also not seen as “training” and something 

theoretical. It doesn’t have to be long – twenty 

minutes can be long enough for a focused, 

productive discussion on a specific topic. 

Create a structured 

time for your different 

front line teams to 

regularly meet and discuss. 

Maybe over tea and cake 

to make it informal. 

n Don’t use professional trainers or 

facilitators – that starts to add cost and but 

more importantly, sends the message that 

it’s something separate and different from 

everyday life, when we’re trying to create 

the habit of owning and resolving issues as 

they arise. To keep things lean and efficient, 

find front-line people who are interested 

and train them to take the lead and facilitate 

discussions in those structured times. It’s 

developmental for the new facilitator and it 

emphasises that it’s a peer discussion and not 

a “top down tell”. 

n Help those front-line people get started by 

giving them some topics and a structure for 

discussion. There are many different ways 

you could do this, but the cost doesn’t need 

to be big. 

So outside of the cost of creating some 

support material and training the facilitators, 

the biggest investment is the time you 

are giving people to think and learn from 

each other. 

And now the important thing: make it part 

of the ‘as normal’ way you run your business. 

Make it a reflex for your front line teams to 

discuss improvement and deal with issues 

between themselves. Help your middle 

managers rejoice in the fact that the front 

line teams are engaged and empowered and 

not feel threatened by a loss of control or 

authority. To make it ‘as normal’ needs a 

commitment from the organisation, and it’s 

that, as much as the money spent, that is the 

vital thing. 


COMMENT JOELSON 

Noise nuisance 

An Indian summer with mild temperatures can be a mixed blessing 

for restaurateurs but Niall McCann, Partner at Joelson explains why 

additional noise and disturbed neighbours can make life difficult. 

Whilst the ability to use outside areas into the autumn can significantly increase the 

number of covers, the additional noise that patrons dining outside, coupled with noise 

escape from open windows and doors can lead to problems. 

There are two key ways in which 

disturbed neighbours can make 

life difficult for restaurateurs. 

Firstly, if public nuisance is being 

caused they can apply to review the premises 

licence. To be on the receiving end of a 

review application can be very bad news 

for an operator. The process is relatively 

simple. A local resident needs to complete 

and send a review application form to the 

local council. Provided that the review 

application is deemed relevant and not 

vexatious, frivolous or repetitious it is then 

advertised by way of a notice on the premises 

for 28 days. During this consultation period 

other residents or statutory authorities such 

as the Environmental Health or police may 

make representations. Then a licensing 

sub-committee hearing is convened. At 

this hearing, the committee can decide to 

warn the operator, remove the Designated 

Premises Supervisor, add conditions, remove 

licensable activities, cut back the hours, 

suspend the licence or even revoke 

it altogether. 

Given the severity of the possible actions 

it is imperative that a review application 

– even one that looks innocuous is treated 

seriously. Evidence should be served well in 

advance of the hearing and it is enormously 

helpful if contemporaneous notes are kept 

of any relevant meetings or conversations. 

Furthermore, unless relations have totally 

broken down, it usually pays to meet with the 

relevant local residents to explore whether 

their concerns can be dealt with outside of a 

committee room. Fortunately, unfavourable 

review decisions can be appealed to the 

Magistrates’ Court although this can be 

expensive – especially as cost awards can be 

made. This means if you are unsuccessful 

you would have to pay not only your own 

legal costs but also potentially those of the 

council as well! 

Secondly, there is the risk of a Noise 

Abatement Notice. The local council serves 

these if they consider that a statutory 

nuisance is happening, has happened or will 

happen in the future. Whilst the wording 

of the Noise Abatement Notice is key they 

present three choices: to ignore and risk 

a prosecution being brought, compliance 

and appeal. Clearly the latter two options 

are preferable and, even if compliance is a 

possibility, it is usually wise to appeal the 

notice (which must be done within 21 days). 

Given the severity 

of the possible actions 

it is imperative that a 

review application – even 

one that looks innocuous 

is treated seriously. 

Grounds for an appeal include that the legal 

tests have not been met to show that the issue 

is a statutory notice, that it was served on the 

wrong person, that the notice is defective 

or that you have used the best practicable 

means to stop or reduce the nuisance. If the 

notice is not successfully appealed and the 

nuisance continues the council can prosecute 

without giving any further notice and the 

fines can be steep. 

Finally, as with most contentious legal 

issues it pays to take advice early as it could 

save a great deal of money and stress! 


The diversity 

and inclusion agenda 

Marlies Hoogeboom, Client Relationship Director at Sodexo explains 

why there is a need to live and breathe an embracing and inclusive culture. 

In a very diverse work environment, an embracing culture isn’t just a branding tool. 

With the new Gender Pay Gap 

Reporting looming on the 

horizon for organisations 

with 250 or more employees, 

many companies are already gearing up for 

next April when they are expected to have 

completed a gender pay audit and will be 

asked to publish their results. 

Naturally this new legislation has 

increased the desire for UK businesses to 

ensure that their diversity and inclusion 

strategy is robust, as there will be increased 

scrutiny on their gender strategies. 

Having grown up in the Netherlands 

where I tend to find attitudes to be more 

open-minded, I have been a supporter of 

promoting diversity and inclusion from a 

young age. I first moved to the UK to study 

at university and my passion for promoting 

inclusion and equality has continued in 

my working life. Over the last few years the 

appetite for UK businesses to embrace it has 

increased too. 

The new legislation is a daunting task 

for many and, as a large employer, we take 

this very seriously. At Sodexo we started the 

process of auditing the gender pay gap some 

time ago, and reported our initial results 

last November. By doing this we have put 

ourselves at the forefront, not to attract 

attention but it is part of Sodexo’s global, longterm 

commitment to driving gender balance. 

The importance it plays to the 

organisation is reflected in our own gender 

balance business case research, which 

demonstrated a positive correlation between 

gender balance management teams and 

positive business outcomes. 

The subject of diverse boards is something 

that has gained momentum over recent 

years. There have been reports published 

on Women on Boards (Lord Davies Review 

2011) and ethnic diversity of Boards (Parker 

Review 2016) as well as research into the 

business benefits balanced boards can bring 

to an organisation. McKinsey, Catalyst and 

Credit Suisse have all published research, 

which clearly demonstrates the positive 

impact of gender balance. 

Our internal gender balance research 

gathered data from 52,000 managers (from 

on-the-ground site managers to senior 

managers) working in 90 entities across our 

global footprint, comparing the performance 

of those that were gender-balanced (i.e. with 

40% to 60% women in management) versus 

those that weren’t. 

The results clearly showed the business 

benefits. Over three years, the genderbalanced 

entities were 13% more likely 

to record consistent organic growth and 

23% more likely to show an increase in 

gross profit. They also performed better 

for employee engagement, brand image, 

consumer satisfaction and client retention. 

This does not mean that ‘unbalanced’ teams 

do not perform, but the study found they did 

not perform as well. 

The research has provided valuable insight 

and has helped drive the gender strategy 

across the world. Since joining in 2012, I 

have experienced first-hand the efforts the 

organisation has made to gender balance 

within the company. My first involvement 

was when I was asked to represent the 

education business on the UK & Ireland 

Over three years, the gender-balanced entities were 

13% more likely to record consistent organic growth and 

23% more likely to show an increase in gross profit. 

D&I Council. Having whetted my appetite 

12 months ago, I was given the opportunity to 

become the gender work stream lead for the 

UK & Ireland region. 

In this role I have been able to take an 

active part in driving the company’s efforts 

to promote not only our own gender strategy, 

but the business benefits it can bring. I have 

participated in internal and external events, 

so have been able to demonstrate to clients 

and other organisations the benefits we as 

an organisation have experienced, sharing 

our views and help businesses to look at their 

own approaches to gender. 


OPERATING CONCEPTS SODEXO 

When I started as the gender workstream 

lead, I was given the opportunity to 

participate in a new pilot scheme for female 

talent at Sodexo. This was developed by our 

global gender network known as SWIFt 

(Sodexo Women’s International forum for 

talent) which is made up of 28 of the most 

senior women and men in Sodexo globally 

and aims to increase the number of women 

within the Sodexo managerial population by 

encouraging gender balance. 

Having learned a great deal, upon 

completion I put myself forward as a 

mentor for the UK programme, which 

currently supports ten women. The aim is 

to support women in building their network 

and encouraging collaboration within the 

group. I am now also studying for a coaching 

qualification, and have begun coaching three 

women in the business. 

This has been extremely rewarding to me, 

both on a personal and professional level. 

Recognising the importance of supporting 

and developing individuals and teams is 

crucial to the success of any organisation. 

Through this scheme I can see the business 

benefits for our clients when our people are 

truly engaged and motivated. 

Employee engagement 

For Sodexo the engagement of our people is 

vital to our success. It is our teams on client 

sites’ that make the difference; as an engaged 

workforce will deliver excellence in the 

services they provide. This is critical in an 

increasingly competitive marketplace. 

The knock-on effect for our clients of 

an engaged facilities team is an attractive 

workplace, where our shared goals provide 

an environment which enables users to be 

more productive. In discussions with clients 

I’m discovering they are looking at Sodexo’s 

approach to diversity and inclusion as one 

they want to learn more about for their own 

organisations, to ensure they too attract and 

retain talent. 

Agile working practices 

are becoming increasingly 

popular, so our clients 

need to create workspaces 

which encourage more 

collaboration and social 

interaction opportunities, 

for the UK’s diverse 

workforce. 

We see this as a great endorsement. 

It demonstrates we are seen to be more 

than a FM or food services partner, but the 

approach to our people is something clients 

can tap into and use our experience to help 

formulate their own strategies. We know 

a workplace strategy needs to encompass 

more than just the environment employers 

provide, but has to consider the user 

experience too. 

Sharing experience 

In conversations with clients the common 

theme is that we are all focused on driving 

business performance. Through my 

involvement in the UK’s gender work stream, 

I have been able to play a part and see 

first-hand our efforts to leverage genderbalanced 

management as a driving force in 

recruiting, developing, and retaining talent 

and, using that knowledge to help our client 

organisations develop their workplace 

strategies. 

It is important that organisations do not 

look inwardly, and recognise that shared 

experience and knowledge can benefit the 

drive for gender balance in businesses today. 

All organisations today face the challenge 

of an increasingly diverse workforce which 

affects individual’s expectations of the 

workplace, both now and in the future. 

By sharing our experience it allows a 

different conversation and usually opens up 

the opportunity to collaborate and work in 

partnership with clients to deliver bespoke 

workplaces services and become more 

connected, inclusive communities for the 

benefit of all. 

Sodexo recognises that D&I should 

be embedded at the heart of the business 

strategy and driven throughout the 

organisation, from the boardroom to our 

employees, who are delivering services to 

our customers every day. Having a strong 

commitment in this area allows us to have 

a voice. 

Our corporate clients, irrespective of 

size look for a partner organisation that can 

offer bespoke solutions which mirror their 

own vision, values and beliefs. Beyond the 

delivery of food and FM services, integral to 

many contracts is the partner organisation’s 

approach to both Corporate Responsibility, 

as well as a proven commitment to diversity 

and inclusion. 

There is no doubt that the corporate 

market is evolving. Agile working practices 

are becoming increasingly popular, so our 

clients need to create workspaces which 

encourage more collaboration and social 

interaction opportunities, for the UK’s 

diverse workforce. 

Organisations today need to demonstrate 

they have a truly inclusive approach to 

ensure they continue to attract, retain and 

develop the best talent. I believe the gender 

pay gap legislation should be seen in a good 

light, as it puts gender at the forefront, which, 

for me, is a positive step forward. 


Catering and the 

workplace revolution 

Chris Stern, Managing Director at Stern Consultancy argues that it’s been 

creeping up on us for a while and “agile” workspace is well and truly here. 

With an increasing number of people working outside of their formal offices, 

is the casual way of working now here to stay? 

So, when people are in the workplace, 

it’s all about informal and formal meeting 

spaces and quiet spots to sit down and focus 

on catching up with the outcomes of all those 

meetings. And what do these people also 

expect? Food and drink. 

We’ve all seen how the high street has 

become dominated by catering outlets of 

every type, often with identical brands within 

metres of each other. It’s indicative of our 

expectation of being able to get what we want 

without moving more than a few metres from 

where we may be working. 

The easy wins are the inclusion of a free 

hot beverage point close to key collaboration 

areas. We’re seeing these increasingly 

including free fruit or even free canned 

drinks (though spare a thought for the 

challenges associated with excessive sugar 

intake with these), to encourage their use and 

to burnish the wellbeing and environmental 

credentials of the employer. 

These can cause some tension with a staff 

dining facility, where a more commercial 

approach is now commonplace, meaning 

that setting up free coffee points can 

To some extent more people working 

away from the office is an antidote 

to those open plans rows of desks 

which look pretty depressing 

places to work. It also allows organisations 

to limit their physical footprint and therefore 

operate more profitably. There’s also a 

whole wellbeing piece being recognised by 

organisations, influencing the look, feel and 

facilities in the workplace. 

All this is facilitated by the Cloud, 

meaning we need less access to physical, 

static document. There’s also the prevalence 

of working on laptops, allowing us to be 

completely mobile. 

Even when there’s high quality free 

issue coffee available, we often see a 

professionally-run barista served coffee offer, 

charging near-commercial prices still working. 

As organisations refurbish their workspaces 

or move into new ones, they are often designing 

them with this more casual way of working in 

mind, with multiple environments conveniently 

located across the space, always obviously 

embracing the old concept of hot desking. 

What has not always been thought through 

is how important catering can be to support 

these new spaces. To make them truly viable 

and as appealing as the external environment, 

it’s essential that catering is incorporated in 

the design. The spaces must be somewhere 

people want go rather than have to go. 

cannibalise what can be the most profitable 

element of the paid-for dining service. Oddly 

however, even when there’s high quality 

free issue coffee available, we often see a 

professionally-run barista served coffee 

offer, charging near-commercial prices still 

working, albeit not with the volumes you 

might see without that free competition. 

It’s all actually starting even before 

people get to the workplace, with catering 

becoming a critical part of the higher/further 

education offer. Here, it’s all about the 

student experience, which is increasingly an 


INSIGHTS STERN CONSULTANCY 

© FAITHIE | 123RF.COM 

important differentiator between universities 

– and I thought it was all about the learning! 

As universities and colleges develop their 

campuses, we are seeing catering being 

built in. Here, it’s essential that it’s flexible 

to reflect the huge population swings 

throughout the year. Pop ups are a necessity, 

and handily reflect what we see in the evergrowing 

street food markets. Boutique, local 

brands with interesting and very international 

food concepts are the way forward. The 

days of it all being about nutrition and 

balanced menus are disappearing fast, with 

the commercial imperative and customer 

satisfaction dominating. Luckily, it’s a 

virtuous circle with the increased sales these 

appealing food offers deliver, driving sales 

and profitability and therefore creating 

commercially viable facilities. Wellbeing is 

now also being factored in not only in terms 

of the food on offer, but also in relation to the 

layout of dining environments. 

Staff restaurants are 

like the Titanic, whilst 

what we really need are 

multiple speedboats. 

This trend is now morphing into the 

workplace, probably in a more sophisticated 

and sometimes slightly less commercial way, 

as employers may have additional targets 

to achieve through their catering offer, such 

as increased collaboration or even good 

old high levels of service to support their 

hard working people. Indeed, there’s also 

an argument that there may be some value 

in sacrificing a little of the commercial 

performance of catering outlets in return 

for subsidised healthy foods, the value of 

which can be reflected in a healthier, more 

productive workforce. 

The trend away from a tray with meat and 

two veg, a hot pudding and a cold drink is 

well and truly established. Hand-held food, 

freshly prepared in front of the customer 

(often a clever illusion) for them to grab 

and go. Traditional meals are stretching and 

opening times are reflecting this. Companies 

are finding they can make use of what 

may have been dead space outside of meal 

times for informal meetings and even those 

infamous “casual collisions”, as coined 

by Google. 

I loved a recent analogy which suggested 

staff restaurants are like the Titanic, whilst 

what we really need are multiple speedboats. 

This may be a little extreme, as there is 

probably always going to be room for the 

traditional in some environments. What is 

clear however is that catering should now 

be considered as a core part of any working 

environment and should ideally be designed 

in from the outset. 


Is zero waste really possible? 

Paul Wright, Project Director at Tricon explores if it’s feasible to achieve “zero waste” 

in a staff restaurant and to what extent this objective is influenced by client policy. 

Around 50% of all food produced on the planet never gets eaten. 

The waste hierarchy provides 

an international recognised 

framework for waste management. 

Top priority is given to preventing 

waste in the first place followed by re-use, 

recycling, recovery and disposal. Thus “zero 

waste”, which encompasses elimination or 

re-use, is considered preferable to recycling 

or recovery. A number of chefs are opening 

restaurants pioneering the concept of “zero 

waste” operations, utilising full nose to 

tail menu planning. Notable examples are 

Massimo Bottura, of Osteria Franscescana 

in Modena, Italy and Dan Barber of Blue 

Hill in New York City. This got us thinking; 

is it feasible to achieve “zero waste” in a staff 

restaurant and to what extent this objective is 

influenced by client policy? 

The three principle waste generating areas 

are food, packaging and disposables. Firstly, 

food waste. This can be split into “production 

waste” resulting from food preparation and 

cooking activities including left-over food, 

and “plate waste”, essentially food served but 

not fully consumed by the customer. Chefs, 

such as Massimo Bottura, will butcher a 

whole animal carcass on-site and use every 

constituent part in a dish. This is clearly not 

a realistic option for a staff restaurant as 

not many employees would buy-in to eating 

brains or eyeballs in the interests of achieving 

zero waste. Therefore, the use of prepared 

fresh ingredients, such as pre-portioned 

meat and peeled vegetables is a better (and 

commonly used) approach. However, zero 

waste should not be restricted to the on-site 

activities only but should extend down 

through the supply chain. Consequently, 

there is a requirement to ensure suppliers 

are also delivering a zero waste commitment. 

There’s a poultry processing plant where the 

last thing you see are pairs of feet dangling 

from an overhead tracking on their way to 

China. Every part of the bird is used (but 

maybe avoid the chicken nuggets!). 

Production waste is also influenced 

by menu range and choice. The broader 

the menu range and the greater the daily 

variety, the higher the potential for food 

waste (and additional cost!). We often see 

menus that offer different dishes every 

day for an extended period. We’ve seen a 

hospitality menu that included over 100 

different ingredients (including 10 varieties 

of bread) just for the working breakfast and 

lunch menus. Compare this to a successful 

commercial restaurant where a limited range 

of dishes are produced using the optimum 


INSIGHTS TRICON 

Disposables. Why do 

we need them? If all 

employees dined in the 

restaurant then only 

serviettes are required. 

© JACKASSYN | 123RF.COM 

number of ingredients to a set and tested 

standard that enable wastage (and therefore 

cost) to be tightly controlled. A very 

successful catering operation in a well known 

company with 3,000+ employees only serves 

two high quality, plated main dishes daily, but 

this is still well received by its employees. To 

further reduce wastage, any left-over food is 

carefully chilled and offered at a discounted 

tariff the following day. 

Though how to reduce plate waste? 

Providing good quality and tasty food is the 

obvious answer. However, not everyone 

has the same appetite and yet invariably 

standard portion sizes are served. So why 

not offer different portion sizes or encourage 

customers to take less and return for more 

(free of charge or for a nominal tariff ) if they 

wish? This could also allow for lower tariffs 

for smaller appetites. 

Secondly, packaging waste, where again 

due consideration needs to be given to levels 

of waste in the supply chain. Most fresh 

ingredients can potentially be delivered 

in re-useable containers; an initiative best 

supported through the use of local suppliers 

and producers and the use of seasonal 

produce. Unpacking apples from New 

Zealand into a plastic box for delivery to a 

site in London does not qualify. Elimination 

of all packaging for dry goods may be more 

difficult to achieve, but wherever possible 

Why not offer different portion sizes or encourage 

customers to take less and return for more (free of 

charge or for a nominal tariff ) if they wish? This could 

also allow for lower tariffs for smaller appetites. 

ingredients should be delivered in bulk, 

in reusable containers and decanted into 

smaller dispensers on site, e.g. jams, sauces, 

salt and pepper, sugar etc. 

How about cold beverages? One answer 

is to provide water only. Alternatively, soft 

drinks can be made on-site and presented 

in bell jars with dispense taps. Post-mix, 

using re-usable canisters is an option but is it 

necessary to limit this to unhealthy drinks? 

Surely a similar system could be introduced 

for naturally flavoured waters and juices? 

Thirdly, disposables. Why do we need 

them? If all employees dined in the 

restaurant then only serviettes are required. 

Such a policy would also promote social 

interaction and encourage employees to 

take a break from their workstations. The 

use of disposables for “take-away” food 

and drinks can be extremely costly as well 

as significantly slowing down the speed 

of service. Hot beverages can be served 

in re-usable serviceware and if the same 

serviceware is utilised in the restaurant 

and in the tea points this simplifies washing 

and re-stocking. 

Whilst it may be difficult to achieve zero 

waste, there are many feasible opportunities 

to significantly reduce waste, some of 

which can deliver additional benefits to 

the organisation. Such opportunities are 

influenced by client policies that underpin 

the reasons for providing staff catering 

but often these are policies are not totally 

clear and can be unduly influenced by the 

caterer’s own objectives. In our view, if a 

client’s fundamental objectives are employee 

welfare, encouraging social interaction and 

promoting health and nutrition, while at the 

same time reducing costs, then adopting a 

zero waste approach to catering would be a 

positive step forward. 


Caterers with a conscience 

Kevin Watson, Managing Director of Amadeus, 

explains how the caterer aims to halve the amount 

of sugar in its foodservice operation by 2020. 

“Industry must go further and faster when it comes to sugar 

reduction – foodservice caterers like ourselves must share the 

responsibility of tackling the rising obesity crisis.” 

Public Health England have recently 

challenged businesses to cut sugar by 

20% by 2020. This announcement 

was made following a report from 

the government body that found children are 

consuming three times more sugar every day 

than they should, leading to weight gain and 

obesity. Currently, one in five children are 

overweight or obese when they start primary 

school and by the time they start secondary 

school that rises to one in three. 

It’s clear that not only manufacturers, high 

street retailers and school meal providers, 

but also commercial foodservice caterers 

like ourselves, need to play a part in tackling 

the growing health crisis – not only when it 

comes to children, but consumers at large. 

That’s why Amadeus has pledged to reduce 

the amount of sugar in our foodservice 

operation not by 20%, but by 50%, by 2020. 

This will equate to removing seven tonnes of 

sugar, or 30 million calories, from our food 

chain in the next three years. 

How will we do this? In a range of different 

ways – from revising our procurement policies 

to looking at our product offering across our 

diverse catering portfolio which includes 

catering for four million visitors a year as part 

of the NEC Group, over 30 external venues 

and at hundreds of events every year. 

As of June this year, we began a process of 

revising all of our menus across the different 

venues we cater for, looking at ways in which 

sugar could be reduced or substituted in 

meals without compromising on flavour. So 

for example, we will be using natural sugars 

like honey and dried fruit instead of artificial 

sugars, but also reducing natural sugars 

where we can. 

Moving forward, all new menus and 

recipes will be devised by our chef teams 

to strict sugar reduction guidelines. Some 

of the recent catering concepts we’ve 

launched such as our Pure brand, can not 

only be considered low sugar, but focus 

on ‘super foods’ that support the body’s 

ability to function at its optimum capacity. 

The menu features foods with slow release 

energy, which are high in omega 3 and low in 

cholesterol such as noodle soups, salad snack 

pots and vegetable smoothies. Earlier this 

year, the International Convention Centre 

(ICC) became the first conference venue 

to gain ‘Food for the Brain’ accreditation 

due to a menu we developed specifically to 

support mental wellbeing, concentration 

and performance. Accreditation from 

the educational charity is only given to 

organisations that also support employee 

training and communications to sustain a 

culture of nutritional awareness. 

Along with reducing sugar in products, 

Public Health England also recommended 

that businesses should focus on reducing the 

portion size, and/or the number of calories in 

single-serve products as part of their report. 

So with this in mind, we’ve tasked our chef 

teams to look at where this might be possible 

across our portfolio. 

Of course, creating great tasting meals that 

achieve our sugar reduction targets starts with 

Removing the visibility 

of the higher sugar 

products led more 

people to purchase lower 

sugar, and therefore 

healthier, versions of 

the same product. 


OPERATING CONCEPTS AMADEUS 

procurement and using suppliers that we are 

proud to feature on our menus. When engaging 

with manufacturers and suppliers we first want 

to know what is their approach to reducing 

sugar and we want to work with companies 

that share our dedication to the issue. 

Another – and arguably one of the most 

integral recommendations to come out of the 

Public Health England report – was for those 

in the food industry to look at ways in which 

they can shift consumer purchasing patterns 

towards lower or no added sugar products. 

We have approached this task by testing 

promoting lower or no added sugar products 

over those with a higher sugar content – in 

this way, we are not dictating what customers 

should consume, but we are employing 

tactics that will help to enable customers to 

make healthier decisions when it comes to 

choosing what to eat and drink. 

For example, we recently ran a trial 

at one of the arena venues we provide 

catering services for, the Genting Arena in 

Birmingham, where we removed soft drinks 

with high sugar content from view in our 

fridges and on our tariff boards in favour of 

lower or no added sugar options. The higher 

sugar content versions of the products were 

still available to customers who wanted 

them, however, customers would have to 

specifically request for the product from 

Our main 

contribution to help 

tackle the issue is by 

aiding individuals to 

make positive food and 

drink choices that 

benefit their health. 

staff as it would have been placed out of 

view. During the trial, we did not experience 

any complaints or negative feedback from 

customers and there is no doubt that 

removing the visibility of the higher sugar 

products led more people to purchase lower 

sugar, and therefore healthier, versions of the 

same product. Due to the success of this trial, 

we will be looking at rolling the approach out 

across all our venues moving forward. 

While foodservice caterers do have a 

part to play in educating people about 

healthy eating and nutrition, I would argue 

that this responsibility rightly sits with 

our educational intuitions. As large-scale 

commercial caterers, I believe our main 

contribution to help tackle the issue is by 

aiding individuals to make positive food 

and drink choices that benefit their health 

through the catering offering we provide, 

whether that be by reducing portion size, 

including nutritional information on 

products or working with conscientious 

suppliers. Our pledge to tackle sugar 

consumption head on underlines our 

commitment to this. Right now, the industry 

needs to go much further and much faster 

when it comes to sugar reduction – only 

when all sectors of our industry step up to the 

plate and make changes will we start to see a 

real difference. 


COMMENT INDICATER 

The changing face 

of procurement 

Mike Day, Co-founder and CEO of IndiCater, 

looks back at the development of e-procurement. 

The e-procurement arena today offers exciting new choices 

and opportunities, but are we taking full advantage? 

Over three years ago, I wrote 

an article for EP about 

e-procurement, sharing my view 

that its impact would quickly be 

felt across all operational levels within the 

food service sector. With so much current 

discussion surrounding the changing role 

of procurement and its professionals, I have 

taken the opportunity to revisit my article 

and see if my predictions were accurate. 

A few years ago, larger food service 

organisations began using e-procurement 

as a platform for modern efficiency. In the 

technology arena, my company, IndiCater, 

has experienced first-hand the continual 

shift away from paper-based procurement 

solutions towards embedded software 

systems. Applying e-procurement processes 

across a business continues to ensure that 

centrally negotiated prices are rigorously 

applied, procurement teams lock down 

product consistency, whilst guaranteeing 

that invoices and delivery notes are received 

and processed in a timely manner. As a 

by-product, the suppliers’ role of manual 

invoice processing, tele sales/faxed order 

transmissions has taken a back seat, with 

e-procurement driving the automation of 

each step within the buying chain. 

As predicted, e-procurement has not 

been a flash in the pan, far from it. From 

the suppliers’ perspective, customers now 

have an increasing variety of e-procurement 

choices available to them. Larger wholesalers 

and suppliers are offering their own 

e-procurement systems, presenting end 

users with a platform from which to place 

orders and process invoices. Wholesalers like 

Brakes have taken this a step further, teaming 

up with food service technology specialists to 

provide a fully integrated range of services to 

reach beyond the confines of the customer’s 

shopping basket. Working hand-in-hand 

with Brakes’ own e-procurement platform, 

IndiCater’s online stock, recipe, menu, 

nutrition and allergy management tools 

can now be seamlessly linked together, 

providing a one-stop-shop for supporting 

Brakes’ customers during every step of the 

procurement process. 

From a customer’s perspective, the 

evolution of changes that have taken place 

in the e-procurement arena offer exciting 

new choices. E-procurement was originally 

seen as complex and expensive to set up, 

unpopular with both suppliers and customers 

who lacked the necessary technology. 

Today the demands of an operational 

landscape require together management 

controls. Operators both large and small are 

increasingly engaged with e-procurement, 

replacing out-dated manual processes. 

They are doing this using a variety of routes 

– from setting up their own platforms, 

engaging procurement consultants, or via 

suppliers themselves. At IndiCater, 60% 

of our software enquiries are focused on 

e-procurement and its associated tools. 

The software is simple to use; suppliers can 

upload and update catalogues at a click, 

whilst customers can accurately manage and 

control stock. Over the last three years, we 

have seen the number of suppliers working 

with IndiCater treble to over 750. This has 

been driven by an increasing number of 

customers putting pressure on their suppliers, 

remaining competitive and up to date, and a 

realisation by suppliers and customers alike 

that e-procurement is not, in fact, a ‘dark art’. 

As technology has evolved, so has the 

procurement specialist’s job role. Historically 

they have negotiated with suppliers, captured 

catalogue and pricing data, matched 

chefs’ needs to products and pricing, and 

communicated pricing information to the 

finance team. Some elements of the role have 

now been effectively replaced by software, 

whilst others have been enhanced. Shifts in 

the role have meant that there is more time 

available to focus on product sourcing and 

negotiating, alongside access to exceptionally 

detailed buying data. Specialists have 

also had to broaden their knowledge of 

procurement technology. 

Looking back, I was correct in my 

assumption that e-procurement would 

change the operating landscape for the 

long term. However, where e-procurement 

was until recently seen as a pioneering 

but complex technology, it is now well 

established, easy to set up and increasingly 

used by suppliers and customers alike. 


INSIGHTS RAMSAY TODD 

Procurement: Is it time 

to break the mould? 

Wendy Sutherland, Managing Director at Ramsay Todd 

asks if new approaches in procurement will really work. 

Both public and private sector are going through changes, but are they for the better? 

As Chair of the BIFM Procurement 

Special Interest Group, I have an 

active interest in how FM services 

are procured and work with a team 

of committed FM professionals from all 

sectors to develop industry best practice. 

Public sector procurement is heavily 

regulated and process driven but the green 

shoots of change are springing up in the 

private sector, which is challenging the 

perception of how services can be procured. 

Innovative approaches are being used to 

break the cycle of: 

Contract 

award 

Supplier 

visits and 

presentations 

Create 

specification 

Short list 

Prequalification 

Instructions to 

tenderers and 

submissions 

It’s a bit uncomfortable for those of us that 

live and breathe the procurement supply 

chain cycle but at the same time you can’t 

help thinking, what if it works? 

So what’s different? Pre-qualification is 

gone, specifications are developed at a later 

stage and the need for all bidders to complete 

lengthy tender responses have disappeared. 

It’s replaced by: 

n Contractor presentations at the first stage 

n The specification is issued to the selected 

bidder 

n The selected bidder produces the tender 

response and finances 

n The final price and contract is negotiated 

and agreed 

The private sector can afford to take the 

risk with this approach and it wouldn’t work 

for all organisations but, if cultural fit is the 

key driver, then you can see why this format 

is being adopted. I can hear the purists 

amongst you saying ‘but where’s the financial 

competition?’ That’s not easy to answer and 

my initial thought was this is crazy but, isn’t 

this exactly where a catering consultant 

comes into their own? We know the market 

and how contractors build their costs 

therefore a good procurement professional 

will be able to determine if the quote is fair 

and reasonable to both parties. 

What this procurement format does is: 

n Enables SMEs to compete on an even 

playing field 

n Removes the investment issue 

n Removes cost for Bidders with producing 

expensive tender responses 

n Challenges Bidders to demonstrate their 

USPs in a focused, controlled way 

n Reduces the evaluation period saving time 

and money on resources 

There would need to be checks and balances 

in place at the end of the process but if we’re 

honest, the gap between contractors has been 

narrowing for some time. They all promote 

the use of fresh, healthy food, local suppliers, 

environmental credentials, and programmes 

for staff training and development. How often 

is the final decision made based on who the 

client wants to work with? 

Speed dating for catering service providers 

has been in place for many years when 

selecting which suppliers to invite to tender. 

The thought of using this approach as the 

basis of the tender is both thrilling and 

terrifying at the same time. 

The public sector is restrained by OJEU 

requirements but the private sector can 

be creative and enterprising with their 

procurement methods. I will wait with 

interest to see the results of the new 

approaches and will be working with my 

colleagues at CIPS and BIFM to evaluate 

and share the outcomes. What is exciting 

however is, that even within the procurement 

world, the status quo is being challenged and 

that can only be a good thing . 


Going global 

Chris Durant, 

Senior Consultant at 

The Litmus Partnership 

explores the benefits 

and challenges of global 

catering contracts. 

Can global catering operations 

benefit from a common catering 

policy and consistent approach 

in spite of cultural and political 

differences? 

Effectively sourced, structured and 

managed global contracts can 

deliver a range of valuable benefits 

to companies but while many global 

organisations have talked about entering 

into worldwide catering agreements, 

relatively few have really progressed beyond 

a vision. This is perhaps not surprising 

given the challenges of cultural and political 

differences (both external and internal), 

differing regional and country laws and the 

way in which employee and welfare benefits 

are perceived. 

Inevitably the more mature and 

established European and US contract 

catering markets, where outsourcing of 

services is generally higher than many other 

parts of the world, have moved away from 

traditional staff catering models. Perhaps 

the most significant feature in the UK is the 

erosion of client subsidies and the growth (as 

in the US) of nil subsidy contracts. This is in 

striking contrast to many other countries. 

In Europe, works councils representing 

worker interests are common. They form 

a strong part of German and French work 

culture, requiring employers to consult on a 

diverse range of workforce related matters, 

including employee catering. The practical 

implications for caterers are that planned 

service changes may have to be agreed by 

works councils first and delays can cost the 

caterer or the client organisation money. In 

Germany, for instance, the strength of works 

councils makes the current high levels of 

catering subsidy hard to reduce or remove. 

Looking further afield, in Latin America, 

employee catering is heavily subsidised. 

In Brazil, it is estimated that over 10% of 

workers receive vouchers to buy not only 

meals at work but also everyday items like 

childcare, fuel and supermarket products. 

These vouchers are clearly seen as a major 

welfare benefit and are 80% employer funded 

or more, so nil-subsidy catering doesn’t even 

register on the catering agenda. Despite this, 

the South American foodservice market and 

Brazil in particular is developing rapidly and 


INSIGHTS THE LITMUS PARTNERSHIP 

some countries have elements of European 

business culture although labour laws in most 

are poor compared with Europe. 

Economic giants like China and India 

have shown strong growth and the potential 

for further outsourcing is high. China has no 

specific regulations relating to workplace 

catering but blue collar catering tends to be 

heavily subsidised. However, in big cities 

employees pay a larger amount of the cost, 

and food preferences are diverse. Longer 

term, subsidies are likely to reduce as the 

Chinese economy continues to expand 

and people become better off. Elsewhere 

in the region, in India, employers of over 

250 people must have a staff restaurant by 

law. This potentially provides a wealth of 

opportunities for global caterers as fledgling 

companies and the Indian economy grows. 

In spite of the obvious challenges, in 

theory at least, all global organisations can 

benefit from a common catering policy and 

a consistent approach to management and 

reporting including improved, shorter lines 

of communication, consistent budgeting, 

planning and performance measurement 

– all enabling easier identification and 

benchmarking of costs and trends across 

their estate. However, while a global supplier 

agreement can deliver significant benefits, a 

‘one-size fits all’ model for catering around 

the world is highly unlikely to work. Instead, 

© LASSE KRISTENSEN | 123RF.COM 

companies need to focus on establishing a 

common framework and set of guidelines, 

which allow for a degree of local autonomy 

to manage local needs. Additionally, global 

contracts require the development of strong 

supply partnerships, where relationships are 

based on more than just price and embrace 

the benefits of true collaboration. 

Traditional contract deals are often based 

on self-interest achieved at the expense of 

others. To work effectively, both clients and 

contractors need to move away from this 

outdated thinking to achieving a contract 

model based on true win/win principles, 

where all parties have a vested interest in 

making the relationship work. This can only 

happen when all parties have established 

objectives that are fully aligned. Clearly 

these principles should be the basis for 

all outsourced contracts but it takes on 

even more importance when dealing with 

operations, which may be thousands of 

miles apart. 

Looking ahead, change in global 

outsourcing practice and contract 

management will continue, initially in the 

mature markets but longer term in other 

parts of the world as countries play catch up 

and even overtake more established markets 

– cost pressures, environmental issues, 

skill shortages and corporate downsizing 

will be some of the bigger challenges. Very 

importantly, FM companies will develop a 

better understanding of catering services and 

an appreciation that they are different from 

other services and require a unique approach. 

In conclusion, foodservice caterers have 

generally been highly responsive to changing 

markets and trends but will need to find 

even more innovative solutions to meet the 

needs of a shrinking world and ever more 

demanding clients and customers. The right 

solution today will not necessarily be the 

right solution tomorrow. 

Ultimately, global catering contracts can 

provide the perfect foundation for sharing 

best practice, fast tacking efficiencies learned 

from more mature markets and engaging 

with local management in ways that help 

them play a part in developing the right 

catering service for their employees. 


Has outsourcing had 

its shelf life? 

Julian Fris, Director, Neller Davies argues we may have reached 

a point where outsourcing in its current form has had its time. 

If the golden age has passed, what now needs to change? 

When you look at bids being 

returned, margins are 

unfeasibly low – lower than 

2% in some cases. 

That, coupled with the fact that, additional 

payments are being made to secure 

business by contractors means that they 

are increasingly struggling to find viable 

solutions which return healthy profits in the 

medium to long term. 

Is this fair and reasonable? 

In effect outsourcing has just got a lot more 

difficult. As the market squeezes more out 

of contractors we are seeing more business 

failures, near-misses and acquisitions. Many 

will be familiar with the recent negative press 

around Carillion, Mitie, Serco, G4S, Capita, 

Interserve and so on. 

We have also witnessed CBRE, JLL, Elior, 

CH&Co, ISS, Servest and others snap up 

smaller companies. 

The UK market is becoming more 

oligopolistic and choice is increasingly being 

limited. New companies entering the market 

find it difficult to break through the cost, 

margin and risk barriers particularly with 

‘premier league’ contracts with the big PLCs, 

multinationals and public sector. According 

to a recent study conducted by FM World 

magazine, facilities management contributes 

about 8% of GDP in the UK. Market 

dominance is clearly an objective for the ‘big 

boys’ and they are acting predatory. 

Since the credit crunch, there has been a 

feeling that 15–20% can be saved from the 

building services function, however, this 

can’t be a recurrent activity. We get cornercutting, 

safety is compromised, slower 

service, disengagement – there’s plenty about 

that in the press at the moment on “valueengineered” 

projects. 

Initiatives to bring SMEs in to the 

mainstream have been mixed. Specialist 

sub-contractors go through rigorous vetting 

and are tightly controlled but they know 

their place. But that doesn’t work for all; 

it’s fine for lifts and air conditioning, but 

may be less so for a distinctive food offer. 

According to Small Business.co.uk, 40% of 

small businesses die within five years – this is 

staggering. The biggest problem is poor cash 

flow and, if they work as a sub-contractor 

to the ‘first-tier’ companies, they become 

wholly reliant on sometimes poor payment 

terms (30 days+) which can be catastrophic. 

We have seen new so-called ‘second 

tier’ caterers be presented with complex 

contract documents with significant risk 

transfer clauses and they are expected to 

sign up to that even though they are paying 

a concession. There seems to be a culture of 

passing risk down to the lowest level. 

We know that around 90% of catering is 

outsourced in the business & industry sector, 

FM is about half that. In the public sector this is 

significantly lower. For instance in healthcare, 

less than 50% of the estate is outsourced. 

Is there now an emerging case for greater 

use of self-delivery? You could argue that 


INSIGHTS NELLAR DAVIES 

© JAKUB JIRSAK | 123RF.COM 

there is a lot of talent out there who might 

relish the chance to in-source for a client, 

they have the business acumen, the contacts 

and so on. In some cases, in maintenance, 

around half of the work has to be outsourced 

to sub-contractors because of ‘closed 

protocol’ or specialist systems like access 

control, air-conditioning, lifts etc. In some 

catering operations this is the case where 

pre-prepared food is used – maybe less so 

for cleaning or security. So if we are in this 

hybrid world it does not always make sense 

to double-handle. 

So what of ‘in-house’? Detractors will say 

that it is manifested by poor cost control, 

protectionism, inefficiency, restrictive 

practices and a return to the 70s. But maybe 

the golden age of outsourcing has passed, 

particularly in the public sector (look at the 

service providers throwing back the keys), 

how many operators has the East Coast 

Mainline railway had in the last 10 years with 

the current one struggling? 

So transferring risk to the private sector 

can be a bit of a boomerang action where 

we’ll ultimately pick the tab up for failure. 

The answer rests in good and prudent 

management and is less about who the 

service provider is. Overall, the decision 

makers need to understand the facts 

rather than chase down the cheapest price. 

Customers are happy to pay if they receive 

quality and perceive value. In some areas 

modern catering trends prove this – do we 

want a cup of instant coffee or a barista made 

artisan americano? 

It’s also about customer attitude and 

expectation. An FM company selling the 

dream is compelling for a cash-strapped 

PLC or public sector organisation. If the 

purchasers realised the pitfalls of shorttermism 

then they might make a different 

decision especially when the savings are lost 

on unplanned monitoring and litigation. 

Maybe a period of full or partial in-house 

might reset the balance in the market. 

Companies get to understand their needs 

better and can selectively self-deliver and 

buy-in services as appropriate. In the end, 

it is about ownership and some service 

companies do it well, some less so judging 

by the amount of diagnostic reviews we are 

increasingly undertaking. 

One of the big-ticket items is – where do 

you get the labour from, how do you train 

them, how do you ensure they are productive 

and keep them engaged? 

Labour supply issues are an ongoing 

challenge in the sector, Brexit aside. We 

have to face up to it. Automation is not 

the panacea in an essentially customer 

facing industry whether self-delivered or 

outsourced. 

Dare I say if an employee had a choice for 

working directly for an organisation rather 

than an outsourcer, they would pick the 

former. There’s always a strong affinity to 

working for the brand – a sense of ownership, 

pride and longevity. Work for a contractor 

you are more likely to be TUPE-transferred 

from one to another with all that entails. 

That’s not to say that loyalty is not generated, 

but I would argue it less applies to the people 

on the ground and they are the ones who 

matter in the end. 


What makes 

pop-up ventures 

truly exciting? 

Aleksandrina Rizova, Architect/ Director of 

ALEKSA studio explores how pushing the boundaries 

of traditional design and engagement can bring 

the customer. 

Alongside traditional methods, mobile flexible designs and new 

techniques could create higher levels of engagement. 

I 

t’s summer in London and new pop-up 

ventures are in full swing. Whether food or 

retail, they are usually trendy, cool and one 

can argue, affordable for both organisers 

and the consumer. I love trying new places 

that are here today and gone tomorrow. I’m 

also always looking forward to stepping into 

a disused industrial building or run-down 

rooftop and taste new menus accompanied 

by a DJ set and even visual effects. What 

more can one ask for? 

Pop-ups can certainly reach a diverse 

audience but will rely on effective marketing 

and PR activities. I recently came across 

a story where mobile pop-up caterers in 

Covent Garden stressed the importance of 

early advertisement – with the anticipation 

of the customers being crucial. They argued 

that the offer may have disappeared before 

many people were able to discover. It raises 

the question of what ingredients are needed 

to create a buzz for a new hot temporary 

pop-up venue. 

As an architect I believe design is vital for 

a successful entrepreneurship. The choice 

of interiors, furnishings, materials, colour, 

pattern, signage, lighting and sound can turn 

heads and make headlines. The location is 

equally as important – bohemian rooftops and 

warehouse buildings seem to be highly popular 

at present. Taking over empty buildings can 

be a sustainable way of rejuvenating decaying 

architecture. Branding goes hand in hand 

with the food – menu and uniforms design 

and food presentation complete the winning 

package. I wonder if a successful design can 

even mask some not so good tasting food in 

the hype of attending a pop-up? 


INSIGHTS ALEKSA STUDIO 

In my architecture and design practice 

ALEKSA studio we are particularly 

interested in the use of digital design 

tools and fabrication techniques to create 

affordable, reconfigurable designs that can 

be fabricated quickly, delivered pre-installed 

on site (saving cost and time for on-site 

installation) and reconfigured for a different 

venue or event later on. Recycled materials 

can save costs and be quietly spectacular 

whilst promoting corporate sustainability. 

We have worked on a range of small 

scale pop-up installations in the past for 

exhibitions retailers but also private clients 

who are keen to push their business forward 

by investing in a mobile flexible design. 

An example project is the temporary pop-up 

window display we designed for make-up 

brand Kiko Milano on Regent Street in 2016. 

The window display was in place for three 

weeks in September and corresponded to 

the Kiko Milano latest limited edition. The 

The installation 

created a sense of 

perspectival illusion 

as one walked by – 

allowing for dynamic 

views into the shop. 

new products were exhibited and celebrated 

within a colourful and eye-catching 

installation inspired by the play between 

light and shadow, opaque and transparent, 

clear and textured. The installation created 

a sense of perspectival illusion as one walked 

by – allowing for dynamic views into the 

shop. The bright colour gradient and the 

surface pattern created a three-dimensional 

spatial experience within otherwise concise 

window space. The sense of movement 

was further accentuated by the ripple like 

effect and feminine curves found within the 

display elements geometry. The installation 

consisted of vertical fins and product display 

components fixed to a free-standing frame. 

The colourful vertical fins were made of 

CNC cut digitally printed acrylic where the 

colour and pattern gradients were carefully 

crafted digitally to achieve the desired visual 

effect of dissolving solidity. 

The appeal of pop-ups is certainly high 

at the moment and many can see how 

they can benefit the customer. This is also 

witnessed in both the leisure and business 

world. Reconfigurable designs can be a huge 

advantage for those looking to make short 

visual impressions and can easily be set-up 

and moved around depending on customer’s 

need. The world has increased in speed and 

we must now do more to catch the eye and 

make an impact. 


COMMENT ANQUAN LIMITED 

How much is 

your data worth? 

Will Burton, Senior Associate at Anquan Limited explains why it is essential 

the hospitality industry is prepared for significant data breaches. 

“Security is not a dirty word Blackadder!” 

Since 2015 there have been at least 

16 known major cyber attacks in 

the hospitality sector. Companies 

such as Intercontinental, Marriott, 

Hilton, Starwood and the Mandarin Oriental 

have been affected and many more have 

gone unreported. 

The EU Government Data Protection 

Regulation (GDPR) comes into force 

in May 2018 allowing the Information 

Commission’s Office (ICO) to fine UK 

companies up to 4% of their global annual 

turnover or £18m, whichever is the greater, 

for every data breach that occurs. 

Major incidents such as the WannaCry 

and NotPetya ransomware attacks and 

breaches at Target, Home Depot, Sony 

and Tesco Bank forced the hidden world of 

cybersecurity into the mainstream. 

Data protection is a serious issue for the 

hotel sector. Although incidents involving 

large hotel groups are most likely to reach 

the press, data breaches can happen in any 

hotel, regardless of size. If management and 

owners are not taking appropriate steps, a 

data breach is likely to occur at some point. 

A standard data set within a hotel database 

typically contains names, addresses, 

dates of birth and credit card details. Such 

information can be used to carry out credit 

card fraud making them agreeable targets 

for hackers. 

In a recent survey by cyber security 

company CarbonBlack, 70% of respondents 

said they would potentially stop using 

a company following a data breach. 

Consequently, the impact to a business is 

likely to extend well beyond a fine. 

In 2015 Synack, a cyber security company 

set up by two former NSA engineers, set up 

a ‘honeypot’ experiment which consisted of 

a computer server connected to the internet 

and nothing else. Within five minutes they 

registered unauthorised login attempts and 

over a 24 hour period there were more than 

99,000 recorded attempts to breach the server. 

So in the face of such adversity what can 

be done? Clearly there should be robust IT 

systems in place to prevent data breaches 

and many of the larger hospitality companies 

will use IT providers who should ensure 

systems are properly maintained and 

promptly updated. For those who don’t a fine 

of £18m and the resulting bad press could 

easily be the death knell. 

Some might argue that a typical hacker 

would be aiming to hit large organisations 

© XIMAGINATION | 123RF.COM 

given the greater chance for financial gain. 

However viruses come in many shapes and 

sizes and by their very nature are able to pass 

across networks, infecting as many terminals 

as possible, so in attacking one system there 

may be significant collateral damage across 

other organisations as a result. 

Awareness is probably the greatest 

hurdle to clear first. The government 

was recently criticised for running ten 

independent campaigns on cybersecurity 

awareness. The task is significant and while 

running these campaigns may not be the 

answer it does at least indicate there is a 

desire to build awareness of the threat by 

central government. 

It is no good reacting after an attack 

happens. Organisations need to review 

their data security policies and general IT 

requirements now. Crisis response training 

for senior management teams is a good way 

to build a sensible plan in case of a major 

cyber incident. This way communications 

are planned and considered, which is 

fundamental in such a situation. The more 

that organisations can do to prove they have 

been responsible will help them in the event 

of an ICO investigation following a breach. 

This is not a world that is removed from 

normal business any more – companies 

need to improve their working practices in 

the context of cybersecurity. This could 

help level a dangerous playing field that 

seems to be weighted, at this stage, in favour 

of the attacker. 


INSIGHTS CATERING CONSULTANCY BUREAU 

Young catering consultants 

– a now impossible dream? 

Peter Pitham at Catering Consultancy Bureau 

explains his route into catering and consultancy and 

asks how young people can enter this world today. 

Can we create a structured apprenticeship programme 

as a solution to the lack of talent? 

© NICOLA SIMPSON | 123RF.COM 

I 

feel very fortunate to have enjoyed the 

catering career that I have had. During 

the early stages, British Petroleum (BP) 

sponsored me for a seven year catering 

apprenticeship whilst attending day release 

at Lewisham College. After gaining my City 

& Guilds and also the Advanced Kitchen and 

Larder (706/3) I worked my way through 

the kitchen brigade before moving into the 

management side of catering. BP again 

sponsored me through a further three years 

of management development, working at 

all their main sites throughout England, 

Scotland and Wales. 

Following this I joined an event company 

as Special Events Manager and then Area/ 

District Manager, with a spell in business 

development. I was recruited by Gardner 

Merchant and put through a further 

personal development course over the next 

three years. Having spent time with 

several very good catering 

organisations I decided 

that catering consultancy 

could offer me a 

rewarding career, by now 

possessing a good depth of knowledge with 

the ability to help and support clients with 

their own catering requirements and there 

lies the problem; having spent a significant 

number of years working in the catering 

industry I felt that I then had sufficient 

knowledge, so, would this determine the fact 

that it may be an impossible dream to have 

a younger breed of catering consultant – 

perhaps not? 

A number of catering organisations 

have taken on young apprentices, together 

with design and equipment companies. 

For example Gareth Sefton from design 

company SHW Design has created an 

apprenticeship scheme to attract young 

people into the industry. This just leaves 

catering consultancy apprenticeships 

outstanding. I am not aware of many catering 

organisations who take on apprentices for 

catering consultancy and whilst I may stand 

to be corrected, there are not many catering 

consultancy apprenticeships either and this 

is a shame. 

I suspect that most catering consultancies 

are smaller organisations who would find it 

difficult to support an apprentice and therein 

lies an additional problem. I therefore ask 

a question of the wider catering world here; 

could a solution be to arrange and structure 

a programme for apprentices which includes 

spending the majority of their time with 

the parent catering organisation who took 

them on in the 

first place and to 

further arrange 

periods of time 

with design companies, such as Sefton 

Horn Winch and the good old catering 

consultancies, to allow a broader view into 

the world of catering consultants? 

I am sure that a working group could look 

into this for the wider good of the industry 

and provide a stable platform for apprentices 

to enable them to decide upon which part 

of the catering industry they would like to 

enter. This could also be extended to the 

practical side of the industry with apprentice 

chefs spending time with kitchen and design 

companies to give them an insight into the 

various aspects of the industry and by doing 

so, open up choices for them all. 

I was extremely lucky to have been 

sponsored by British Petroleum in the days 

when they managed their own catering 

arrangements and I certainly appreciated 

being developed in the way that I was. 

This is going to take a little organising but 

it would at the very least give a good clear 

insight into the various disciplines of the 

catering world. 


Are you starving workplace 

diners of information? 

Sally Davis, Director at Thread Consultancy explores how the changing 

world of work is impacting catering and what solutions are available. 

The need for a point of difference between caterers has never been more important. 

According to the Telegraph, “we’re 

working harder, feel more stressed 

and have less security – but Brits 

are happier at work than ever 

before”. Employers are considering work 

life balance learning and development, 

family commitments outside of “the norm” 

and health, wellbeing and nourishment in a 

way that hasn’t been commonplace. Many 

companies are focussed on getting staff dining 

“right” in order to have a hugely positive 

impact on the team and organisation, and 

all very well in organisations and buildings 

where employees must be in the office, or 

on the site to do their job. But, while average 

spend value in workplace catering is, in many 

cases increasing, the simultaneous rise in the 

number of client organisations encouraging 

agile and flexible working to attract and 

retain talent and altering working patterns 

for greater productivity, is putting a squeeze 

on many caterers with zero cost and fixed 

price contracts. 

In addition to the number of possible 

diners in the workplace reducing, this 

year-of-the-unexpected, has driven some 

harsh statistics around consumer spending. 

As a nation, we are saving less than ever, 

there is a reported average consumer credit 

debt of £7,370 which has increased since 

April. With the pool of possible consumers 

getting smaller, and the purses of those 

potential customers being squeezed even 

more, it is clear that any business involved in 

retailing must evolve its approach to product, 

merchandising and marketing. 

Caterers in the workplace have so far 

been able to address some of the changing 

consumer demographics, expectations 

and consumption patterns by introducing 

technology – such as contactless payment 

options – and by being more food and 

wellbeing focussed to address the rising 

demand for sustainably grown products, 

minimal processing, natural ingredients, low 

sugar and ethically sourced products. Thanks 

to the allergen information legislation 

introduced three years ago, it seems that 

they’ve also been able to instil trust in a 

previously sceptical consumer group. Recent 

research by the FSA showed that nearly half 

of food allergic and intolerant consumers are 

more adventurous about eating out – whether 

during the day or in their leisure time. 

However, these responses simply aren’t 

enough to drive sales that both caterers and 

organisations need for a sustainable business 

model. Two key areas that must be improved 

are that of a more modern approach to 

implementing culinary development plans 

fully on the ground, along with effective 

product marketing. 

In order to respond to reducing 

volumes on workplace catering sites, 

head offices of national and international 

catering companies are often tasked with 

producing marketing material to roll out 

for their operational team to use on site. 

Where this was once driven by a desire to 

create consistency of brand message and 

professional looking collateral to promote 

offers, now, the people on the ground 

need practical support from marketing 

specialists to continue to reach potential and 

repeat consumers, and to create a point of 

difference against the backdrop of even more 

noise and competition than ever before. It is 

As a nation, we are saving less than ever, 

there is a reported average consumer credit debt 

of £7,370 which has increased since April. 


INSIGHTS THREAD CONSULTANCY 

unlikely that the operational and marketing 

specialists can achieve this entirely on their 

own. The solution is for both parties to 

work closely together – to develop creative 

concepts and promote to the workforce 

by understanding their behaviours and 

working patterns. 

The catering and hospitality sector can 

look once again to the retail sector for 

guidance to access markets and buyers 

effectively. First because they have embraced 

a move to “bricks and clicks” mentality, and 

adapted the way they operate to utilise digital 

platforms and technology to their advantage. 

and enable them to better manage their 

production and staffing levels. 

Second, in today’s marketplace, caterers 

are under increased price pressures. Now, 

when inflation has been at 2.9% since May, 

(and 2.6% in July) – the highest in nearly four 

years, and the cost of quality raw products 

is rising (through increased transport, 

production costs and fluctuating value of £), 

we’re seeing a situation that is intensifying the 

squeeze on household budgets and caterers’ 

ability to deliver at multiple levels. 

It’s clear that operators can only offer 

competitive pricing to a certain level before 

disposable income, caterers must take care 

to offer choice, budget options and treats – 

as too many overpriced impulse buys is likely 

to lead to an increase in packed lunches 

from home, delivering a lack of footfall to the 

workplace dining room. 

Two key areas that 

must be improved are 

that of a more modern 

approach to implementing 

culinary development 

plans fully on the ground, 

along with effective 

product marketing. 

There are numerous ways catering operators 

can benefit from things such as online 

ordering to support them not only in engaging 

with their customers and gaining insights into 

when they think about their food and what 

appeals to them through website analytics, 

but also in contending with customer queues 

at peak service times. It can provide a whole 

new sales channel for operators through 

targeted marketing campaigns, allowing 

them to increase their capacity and sales 

without extending their footprint or resource, 

there is an impact on quality. Sophisticated 

menu engineering techniques should be 

applied to ensure menus are inviting and 

cost effective. Caterers must be able to 

demonstrate value to the customer, and 

where new innovative and freshly prepared 

concepts are visible, then the whole dining 

experience is valued and the possibility of 

repeat visits to the canteen far more likely. 

Competitively priced premium branded 

products are proven to grow average 

spends, but with the impending squeeze on 

© STYLEPHOTOGRAPHS | 123RF.COM 

Ultimately, in workplace catering as in 

retail, the responses from caterers must 

provide consumers with interactive and 

convenient experiences through storytelling 

and merchandising, and potentially using 

digital technology to allow them to browse, 

consider and buy whenever and wherever. 

By then targeting and personalising the 

food products and services to the customer’s 

specific wants and needs (where customers 

for example place more value on goods and 

services aligned with their individual values 

such as preferences for responsibly-sourced 

merchandise or local supply), operators 

can make employees feel connected to their 

workplace and its local community which in 

turn stimulates loyalty and habit. 

This cannot be achieved by caterers on 

the ground alone without specialist 

marketing support from research and 

segmentation through to integrated 

campaigns. It cannot be achieved by dated 

head office mass marketing designed to catch 

all – promoting all the options a customer 

could possibly want and forcing them to 

either wade through it or simply ignore it. 

After all, if we’re working harder, and feel 

more stressed than ever, the last thing any 

of us want is to work for our lunch and break 

times too. 


Does the foodservice 

model need to change? 

Sean Valentine, founder of Valentine Hospitality looks at 

how the marketplace has evolved for foodservice companies 

and explores how the model can change to suit. 

What will be the future differentiator between foodservice operators? 

Foodservice consultants believe: 

“Traditional structures and models 

are being challenged daily. Those 

considering starting in this market 

need to be geared up to tackle the traditional 

high street too. Gone are the days where 

foodservice companies played only in their 

own space. There is a necessity of having 

a clear idea of what the product or service 

is, as well as the importance of creating a 

marketplace where everybody can compete 

for contracts”. 

Sector focus and location is undoubtedly 

important; however, the structure an 

organisation takes from the outset could 

be the key differentiator for a business, and 

ultimately, the difference between success and 

failure. Evidence suggests that partnerships 

are important. Whether it’s William Baxter 

and Alastair Storey, Wendy Bartlett and Ian 

Mitchell, or Bill Toner at the CH&Co Group; 

there are many examples of partnerships that 

have created significant growth. 

Bartlett says: “Depending on the type 

of person you are, you need somebody to 

compliment your skills. If you are great 

at selling, you need that strong financial 

influence to have that balance. A partner 

can be very important when setting up 

a business.” 

In the current climate, great partnerships 

alone cannot guarantee success. Choosing 

the correct financial model to launch is 

crucial. Tim Jones, chairman at CH&Co 

Group, says: “Robyn and I took the low-cost 

The structure an 

organisation takes from 

the outset could be the 

key differentiator for a 

business, and ultimately, 

the difference between 

success and failure. 

option when we set up Charlton House 25 

years ago. The other route is the high-cost 

one, and that involves borrowing money 

or investing far higher sums of your own or 

family money. This would be to either set 

up the team and systems from the outset, 

or even buy your way into the sector by 

acquiring an existing company.” 

However, the industry has changed 

considerably since then and legislation 

means there are now other factors to 

consider. You would need much more 

investment today because costs are higher, 

there is far more red tape, and you would 

need to employ more people from the outset 

or out-source specialist tasks. A new startup 

would need to set up policies and procedures, 

health and safety systems, finance systems, 

a payroll service, IT, marketing capability 

and much more. This all comes at a cost 

and a huge amount of work. Of course, you 

also need to be able to support yourself 

financially until you start making money. 

With all the investment in place, and 

the company structure agreed, the real 

challenge often comes with winning that 

first contract. A lack of reference points, and 

no accounts history, it can be a real task to 

convince clients to procure the services of 

a startup business. The all-important first 

contract can often be the most challenging. 

Convincing a client to hand over an emotive 

part of their business to an untried and 

inexperienced foodservice startup can be the 

biggest challenge. There are, of course, other 

options which lead to the development of 

new businesses. Some companies buy others 

to get into the space. It’s highly competitive 

but not impossible, if people truly believe in 

their product and have a lucky break. More 

often than not it will involve the foodservice 

consultants sticking their neck out for that 

next great concept and team. 

© FGNOPPORN | 123RF.COM 


INSIGHTS VALENTINE HOSPITALITY 

The birth of the delivered in market 

will create a new level of competition for 

the foodservice operators, that allows 

the traditional labour structure at a fixed 

site to be challenged. At a recent industry 

breakfast, much discussion was had around 

the key differentiators between foodservice 

operators. When a client goes out to tender 

and receives many tenders back for their 

catering operation, what makes a client 

choose an operator. It could be argued 

that the team are the most important 

differentiator, however TUPE applies and 

the new operator takes on the existing staff 

and management. There is little room in 

the numbers and most of the operators have 

a marginal amount between them as their 

profits are being squeezed to a point where 

it is becoming non-profitable. The new 

delivered in model allows for much more 

flexibility around staff and product, the two 

most expensive elements of the service. At 

the moment, the delivered in phenomenon 

is centred around the consumer market with 

companies such as Just Eat and Deliveroo, 

but the business community is already 

looking at this model to help reduce costs 

and improve choice. 

The model is already adapting to suit 

the changing environment but more will 

and needs to happen. Traditional routes 

to success are no longer as accessible and 

without investment in place smaller players 

are less likely to progress compared to how 

it used to be. As caterers look to differentiate 

from the competition, we are likely to other 

changes to the model as we are currently 

witnessing with the rise of the delivered 

in market. 


Personalising the 

intangible and tangible 

Phil Dean, Managing Director of Certain argues that branding has 

evolved to such an extent in hospitality that organisations must now 

put personalisation at the forefront. 

If the brand has a persona, does this reflect the emotions of the leaders in the business? 

The consumer has never had more choice. They can choose 

to buy a product anywhere, at any time and the lowest 

price. And it’s in this world that branding has never been 

more important. 

Recent statistics from the US show that Apple’s retail stores are the 

most successful on the high street, with seventeen times more sales per 

square feet than the average retailer. The data, which excludes online 

sales, reveals that Apple achieves more than double the amount of sales 

per square feet in the US than the runner-up, Tiffany & Co, who ranks 

second on the list. 

It isn’t a coincidence that Apple also tops Forbes’ annual study of the 

most valuable brands in the world for the seventh straight year, worth 

$170 billion. Its brand value is up 10% over last year and represents 21% 

of the company’s recent market value of $806 billion. 

The ultimate goal is to create a 

simple, potent brand idea that can 

be executed with confidence and 

creativity in everything you do, right 

across your business. 

It can be hard to relate to a behemoth like Apple, but the fundamentals 

remain the same — a good brand informs everything you do. And it’s not 

just your logo; I think it is far more useful to use the word reputation 

instead of brand. It will help connect with your customers and how they 

relate to your products and service. 

It all starts with a simple question: what do people think of your 

brand? The answer to this will give you a point A on the journey and the 

point B will come from understanding what and how you want to sell. 


INSIGHTS CERTAIN 

© PRESSUREUA | DREAMSTIME.COM 

The ultimate goal is to create a simple, 

potent brand idea that can be executed with 

confidence and creativity in everything 

you do, right across your business. Great 

brands understand their customer better 

than anyone else and solve a problem that 

they have and this is best achieved when a 

simple, compelling idea sits at the heart of the 

business — an idea that can be brought to life 

at every opportunity. 

At its core, a brand is a promise to its 

customers. Not just tangible products and 

services, but emotions and feelings. And it’s 

customers that inform the strategy because 

brands are built by consumers, not companies 

and the way a brand is perceived defines it. 

We encourage businesses to develop a brand 

persona. Think of your brand as a person and 

how does it interact its customers? The brand 

persona from appearance to personality is 

what customers will judge you on. 

And remember, a brand is made up of 

intangible and tangible. It goes beyond just the 

logo, messaging, social media and advertising. 

The consistent communication of the brand 

will shape perceptions but if just one element 

is out the whole brand will suffer. 

How do great brands behave? 

Great brands are simple. They understand the 

consumer and how their brand is perceived 

and jumps at every chance to bring it to life at 

every touch point. 

Based on the brand promise, expectations 

are set, and people assume expectations will be 

met. If your brand doesn’t meet expectations 

at every interaction, people will be confused or 

disappointed. This understanding should drive 

investment in training and systems to deliver 

impeccable service every time. 

Branding in hospitality continues to 

evolve in line with the changing consumer 

experience and higher expectations across 

the board. Alignment of both the technological 

and physical experiences is critical and 

consumers take their lead from other 

sectors and expect high levels of service at 

every stage. 

I believe personalisation will be a key driver 

of branding over the next five years. Online, 

customers expect a personalised experience 

based on their shopping habits. How can you 

bring an element of that into a hospitality 

space? Can you capture their data and send 

them something personalised? Can you take 

the idea of loyalty and make it personal to 

their experience? 

Nowadays, digital is the main focus for 

many brands but don’t forget the important 

physical touch points of your brand – pay 

particular attention to your signage, windows, 

messaging and make sure it’s all aligned. It’s 

all part of the experience so don’t get carried 

away with social media and website and make 

sure everything works well together. 

The businesses that thrive in a constantly 

evolving market will invest in brand and 

recognise they need a laser focus on their 

purpose. 


INSIGHTS MAALT CONSULTANTS 

Fit for purpose 

Mark Arnold, Director at MAALT Consultants 

explains why today’s changing environment 

requires a specialist approach. 

Great emphasis must be placed on core objectives. 

We have arguably seen 

unprecedented levels of 

change with the Foodservice 

and FM sectors in the last 

few years with ever-greater demand on 

client organisations to achieve greater space 

productivity, financial savings, and efficiencies 

of scale and so on. This has created a boom 

in the IFM and TFM market for operators 

to provide a huge range of bundled services 

either through self-delivery or combination of 

self-delivery and sub-contracting to specialist 

firms. In many cases these are large multi-site, 

multi-country deals that require significant 

investment upfront by the supplier/s and a 

demand for aggressive savings glide paths 

which are often not agreed without full and 

proper knowledge of all the relevant facts 

and figures. This can easily result in complex 

contracts being awarded based on un-sound 

decisions and commitments, which ultimately 

creates challenges to successful delivery and a 

culture of distrust. 

So, what does this have to do with the 

Foodservice sector and the role of an 

independent consultant? 

In our experience the IFM, TFM and the 

caterer will respond to the questions asked 

during an RFI/RFP process on a limited 

timescale that may not allow for the time to 

really understand the objectives of the client 

organisation and how they can best meet 

them. Where there is a shortage of strategy, 

dialogue, financial and technical data (all key 

to the creation of a robust, well thought out 

propositions) then how can we know if they 

will stand the test of time and truly deliver? 

Following a 25-year career spanning 

hotel, and business & industry catering in 

client and supplier roles on a global basis I 

recently made a very conscious decision to 

enter into the world of consultancy. I believe 

there is a need for fresh perspective on some 

of the key issues. This includes the lack of 

understanding and clarity around supplier 

income from assorted discounts, the desire 

from clients to have investment from their 

catering supplier and the habitual approach 

to contract terms. I believe that it is the role 

of the consultant to question, challenge, 

debate and advise a client on these topics 

whilst simultaneously engaging the supply 

chain in the same meaningful debate. 

We have this multi layered involvement in 

the outsourcing of catering services and we 

often don’t truly know who the real client is 

and whether they have had direct involvement 

in the development of the RFI/RFP or has 

this been led by the Procurement team, who 

may have different drivers and objectives. 

This is where the role of an independent 

consultant really comes to the fore, when 

engaged at the outset or at least the very early 

stages of the process to decide to tender the 

catering services we are able to work with the 

client team to really understand the culture 

of the organisation, how it views it employees 

and the services it provides to them and how 

they in turn impact on the employee and their 

ability to demonstrate the right behaviours 

and values that underpin the organisations 

culture, values and market objectives. 

Early engagement in this way allows 

the consultant to offer un-biased industry 

wide views and perspectives and assist 

the client team in building a strategy and 

process that can be easily articulated, 

managed and delivered. We can open the 

debate on some of the possibly long held 

views and perspectives on the methods of 

delivering financial success in a catering 

contract, i.e. nil-subsidy is the way to go. We 

can articulate to our clients the power of 

catering services to impact on many areas of 

the business, including the health and wellbeing 

of their employees, space utilisation, 

collaborative working, employee recruitment 

and retention. 

So, in answer to the question posed 

earlier this complex layer of stakeholders, 

objectives, challenges and agendas means 

that there is a need for a fresh focus on 

catering services as part of bundled FM 

deals. Catering is the only service in a 

building where very often the employer asks 

the employee to contribute; out of their own 

pocket. With the explosion of the “eating 

out market”, environmental challenges and 

focus on “healthy eating”, today’s consumer 

reaches all the way through to the C-Suite 

and has an opinion which they rightly feel 

should be heard. In order to truly create 

outsourced solutions that are fit for purpose 

and sustainable we need to place greater 

emphasis on the organisational objectives 

as well as the voice of the consumer. By 

engaging an independent specialist at 

the outset this level of direct engagement 

can be achieved and will positively affect 

the outcome of a tender process and the 

successful delivery of a catering contract. 


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INSIGHTS& 


ACTION 

Thanks to our contributors and sponsors 

Bob Cotton 

Non-executive Director 

Tracey Fairclough 

Turpin Smale 

Catering Consultants 

Chris Stern 

Managing director 

Stern Consultancy 

Kate Taylor 

Nutritionist 

Chris Durant 

Senior Consultant 

The Litmus Partnership 

Aleksandrina Rizova 

Architect/Director 

ALEKSA studio 

Mike Day 

CEO 

IndiCater 

Julian Fris 

Director 

Neller Davies 

Sally Davis 

Director 

Thread Consultancy 

Sean Valentine 

Founder 

Valentine Hospitality 

Simon Carey 

Director 

Blink Cafes 

Peter Pitham 

MD/Principal Consultant 

Catering Consultancy 

Bureau 

Olubunmi Okolosi 

Founder 

Kajola 

Wendy Sutherland 

Managing Director 

Ramsay Todd 

Niall McCann 

Partner 

Joelson 

Mark Linehan 

Consultant 

Mark Arnold 

Director 

MAALT Consultants 

Paul Wright 

Project Director 

Tricon 

Martin-Christian Kent 

Executive Director 

People 1st 

Michèle Moore 

Director 

engagemoore 

Phil Dean 


Certain 

Miles Quest 


Wordsmith and 

Company

EP Insights & Action

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