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A closer look at the 2010 winners

12th April 2010, 12:26pm

The Cost Sector Catering Awards are the pivotal event in the catering industry's calendar recognising the hard work, commitment and dedication of those involved. We take a closer look at the winners and their achievements.

Sgt Robert Chambers RLC
Winner of the Armed Services Award
(Sponsored by Purple Foodservice Solutions)
Sergeant "Geordie" Chambers is the Kitchen Manager for 28 Engineer Regiment in Germany. As a manager he is mature and always considers the needs of others first, balancing his innovative and enthusiastic chef role with strong leadership and foresight. Leading from the front his effective and contagious leadership style allows him to mentor his subordinates and maximise their potential especially those less proficient chefs who require additional support. His commitment, dedication and patience place him in the outstanding bracket. In September 2009 he deployed to Afghanistan, as an acting Staff Sergeant, Master Chef running the Super Kitchen in Camp Bastion. During his tour, he stood out as a leader who, along with his loyal team, met the feeding requirements of more than 4000 troops, three times a day in a kitchen designed to feed 2000. He leads with authority and excels at managing his 84 Military Chefs and local workers. Equipment was another success story for him as he is always looking to exploit whatever is available, making piping bags from empty packets, scrapers from plastic lids and cutters from empty tins. Notably he also designed and organised the building of an electronics and maintenance workshop outside the super kitchen.

Andrew Aston, Executive Chef UK & Ireland, Compass Group UK Ltd
Winner of the Chef Award
(Sponsored by Electrolux)
Andrew Aston began his career as a trainee chef in 1991 at Gardner Merchant and gained experience at the Four Seasons Hotel in Marylebone, the Civil Aviation Authority and GEC Marconi before his success led him to Compass in 1999 at the newly-opened Millennium Dome, providing a 24-hour catering service for 4500 building staff. He moved to Goldman Sachs, the first dining contract for the new Restaurant Associates, and flourishing in the challenge, was soon promoted to head chef with a 32-strong brigade with a £2.7m annual turnover. In 2003 he was promoted to a new role of development and implementation chef developing initiatives such as the Guest Chef Programme. Andrew has worked closely with the Compass Junior Chef's Academy; has been involved with the Richard House Children's Hospice and the London Advisory Board raising funds for Springboard and gaining the Chris Beaumont Award for Excellence. He is described as "extremely loyal, committed and a valued member of the Compass culinary team".

Connect Catering Ltd
Winner of the Contract Catering Award
(sponsored by Peros)
With a mission statement to deliver top management, quality, fresh food and excellence, Connect Catering aims to build mutually beneficial relationships with customers, staff and suppliers, through integrity, innovation and professionalism. Having steadily grown since inception 20 years ago, the company's values and ideals have remained at the core of its business. It has gained Investor in People accreditation and Environment Awards while being judged last year as one of the Best Places to Work in Hospitality. The constant aim is to stay ahead of the industry-recognised standards. Training is an important part of Connect operations covering the essential needs of food service team members through to management support courses and culinary skills training. Part of this programme now highlights nutrition with the growing interest in healthy eating. Another new development, after a large internal investment, has been online purchasing with the launch of a web browser. On the consultancy front Connect is frequently approached to conduct site surveys and reports for clients with self catering operations. Over the years a Quality Challenge has been established as a monthly comprehensive check on all aspects of the catering provision. For important contract catering contracts, clients' needs are individually supported by a highly motivated team of operations managers with an average of 10 years' experience.

Andrew Wilson, Operations Manager, Baxter Storey
Winner of the Contract Catering District Manager Award
(Sponsored by Nestlé Professional)
Joining the company three and a half years ago, Andrew Wilson as operations managers has been integral in BaxterStorey's success in Scotland, seeing the contract portfolio rise from five to 60 client sites across the country. He is described as a 'true ambassador' of the company ethos having a real eye for details while also having a natural straight forward approach, allowing him to develop relationships at all levels. His clients speak of his common sense approach to problem solving while working tirelessly to deliver against customer expectation. Andrew has an impeccable contract retention record and has also been responsible for increasing extensions in two contracts through negotiations with the client. One of his most difficult tasks has been to move the two BBC contracts to nil cost and with his managing director has reduced the subsidy collectively by £80,000. This resulted in a contract extension for 18 months and also as a result of this creativeness and consistency of the catering offer, BaxterStorey is in a great position to win further BBC business in the UK. Andrew has worked closely with the unit managers, communicating on a daily basis resulting in a very small turnover rate in Scotland over the last three years. The company says that their operations manager is capable of working effectively and efficiently across a large Scottish geographical patch.

Les Darlington, Tillery Valley
Winner of the Contract Catering Salesperson Award
(Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline)
Having enjoyed consistent success over the past two years and with his team delivering year on year sales growth, sales director Les Darlington last year saw sales increase by 19% on the back of a 98% contract retention rate. The current fiscal year continues to look strong and yet again double digit sales growth beckons. Contracts have been won primarily from within the healthcare sector and wins have included: Hillingdon Hospital and Mount Vernon Hospitals; Airedale Hospital in Yorkshire and a major PFI development at University Hospitals North Staffs, in partnership with its parent company Sodexo. Hillingdon Hospital was the first account to use Tillery Valley's innovative frozen steam meals offer through Sodexo Healthcare's Bonne Santé menu providing real time ordering for its 470 patients. Staffordshire Combined Services delivers meals to nine community hospital sites across a wide geographical area. Medway Maritime Hospitals is a major NHS Foundation Trust and Kent's largest hospital delivery 4000 meals per week. Tillery Valley also gained places on the NHS Supply Chain framework agreement for England and Scotland's Direct Meal Service contract. In addition sales have also grown through the community meals market enjoying both organic and new business growth with its primary service partners. Consistent service delivery, food quality and continuous improvement in delivering environmental initiatives which in turn contribute to reduced waste, a lowering of food miles, local sourcing and a lower carbon footprint are cited among the reasons for the continuing success.

Compass Group UK Ltd
Winner of the Corporate Responsibility Award
(Sponsored by Cadbury)
At the end of 2008, Compass galvanised the passion and energy of more than 50,000 colleagues in 7000 locations to build a responsible business through its Corporate Responsibility Framework. In its first year the company was proud of what it achieved with the biggest programme of its kind in the cost sector with beneficial impacts on its people; sustainable sourcing; wellness and nutrition; environment and the community in which it operates. The company says it regards corporate responsibility as doing the right thing in all aspects of its business and although this may sound simplistic, it is doing everything in a way that benefits all stakeholders –from clients, customers, colleagues and communities to shareholders and the environment. Achievements over the past year range from inspiring the 13,000 new colleagues on the award-winning One Compass Welcome induction; the £15 million sales of Fairtrade products; the 1300 workplaces benefiting from nutritional information; and the £267,562 raised for Cancer Research UK. The sheer size of its business gives Compass the power to make a real difference while its clients and suppliers are increasingly confident that by working together it is making its impact meaningful and sustainable.

Beverley Baker, Head of Commercial Services, Surrey Commercial Services
Winner of the Education Award
(Sponsored by Premier Foods)
A long-standing professional working in the public sector, Beverley Baker is head of commercial services for Surrey County Council and has spent her career within the authority over many years, having mastered many challenges in that time. She manages a budget of £2 million, providing services - largely school meals - about 50,000 a day, to more than 350 schools while also managing services to staff restaurants. When she was at the helm, Commercial Services were the first education catering organisation to be accredited with the Investors in People award and has held the Hospitality Assured accreditation since 2004. Beverley has been at the forefront of radical changes to services and adapting as well as responding to changing legislation over the years. She has enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to make a real difference to young people's health through the food served, balancing the need to operate a viable service with the new welfare based requirements. She has been an active member of the Local Authority Caterers' Association taking the chair from 2000-2002. She has also played her part on the Government's School Meals Review Panel and the School Food Trust.

Heritage Portfolio
Winner of the Event Caterer Award
(Sponsored by Pritchitts)
Formed in late 2002 from a strategic merger of two successful Edinburgh companies, Heritage Portfolio now has events catering as one of its three distinct divisions. The company's central theme is the provision of event food and service of unrivalled quality through staff that have a genuine passion for looking after guests. Over the past eight years Heritage says that it has built up an enviable and desirable reputation within the corporate and private event catering market across Scotland. To achieve this, the company team works hard and strives to lead the industry sector, saying that it has an absolute desire and energy to be number one with a modern, innovative and highly professional approach. Heritage provides catering services to more than 30 fixed venues across Scotland, ranging from palaces and castles to stately homes and buildings of distinction. In addition catering is provided in corporate offices, marquees, private homes and gardens. The company says that its unique and extensive experience allows it to develop a real balance between commercialism and conservation, having an empathy with both the client's objectives and their individual properties. The impressive list of contracts include those with National Museums of Scotland; Signet Library; Royal College of Surgeons; Musselburgh Racecourse; Advocates Library and Parliament Hall; Merchant Halls of Edinburgh; Royal College of Physicians; Palace of Holyrood House and the Scottish Government Bute House.

Margaret Meadows, Catering Manager, Royal Bolton Hospital
Winner of the Healthcare Award
(Sponsored by Unilever Foodsolutions)
Significant achievement is the key to taking services forward to satisfy the ever-increasing demands placed upon the services from a number of sources for Royal Bolton. In turn a high calibre leader is key to attaining this achievement and the hospital Trust feels that this has been successful under catering manager Margaret Meadows who has moved the service forward over the past five years. She has overseen ongoing staff training, development and an internal mentoring scheme. On the finance front, savings of £540,000 up to April have been realised over the five year period and in addition a current under spend of £150,000 runs concurrent with these savings. Income has continued to rise year on year the forecast figure for 2009/10 is £1,250,000 which has risen from £822,324 in 2004/5. Wastage has been cut from 31.33% in 2005 to 6.02% in 2010. Backing this encouraging status, Margaret's work in the area of quality has included a number of key initiatives. The Trust says that since she joined the hospital at the end of 2004 from local authority catering, she has driven the service forward with enthusiasm, hard work, innovation and determination.

Manchester City Council for Manchester Fayre
Winner of the Marketing Award
(Sponsored by Atlantic Creative Services)
In 2008 market research in Manchester schools found that leftovers following a family takeaway, that would usually be thrown in the rubbish bin, were being brought in by schoolchildren in packed lunchboxes and eaten cold. Although data from the School Food Trust in 2009 evidenced that the Manchester Fayre school meal numbers had increased above the national average, the city council's marketing team was tasked with developing and delivering a campaign that would further increase meal numbers. They targeted one main segment – pupils who always brought a packed lunch – with the aim of encouraging them to switch to healthy and nutritious school meals. As part of the campaign a new Fresh Fayre menu was developed to appeal to youngsters, while building an awareness of the key features and benefit as well as creating interest. The idea was to create a whole dining experience. Life sized characters were designed and brought to life to act as mascots including Sasha Spud, Pablo Pasta, The Cook and Sanjay Sandwich. The campaign's success can be shown by an average of 15% of pupils switching from packed lunches to school meals while a successful PR campaign generated £37,465 worth of free media coverage in local, regional and national press titles reaching 782,957 people.

Kim Beevers, Restaurant Manager, Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Royal Hospital
Winner of the Public Sector Award
(Sponsored by Fretwell Downing Hospitality)
An NHS Foundation Trust hospital since 1999, Chesterfield had an outsourced catering service. But two years ago a refurbishment of the main concourse brought an opportunity to submit a business case, in competition with the private sector for the operation of the front entrance catering facility. To support this the Trust employed Kim Beevers as restaurant manager, responsible for developing the catering at the Royal concept. A £300,000 investment was budgeted in the facility to serve staff and the public while introducing a Costa Coffee outlet. Local suppliers were engaged where possible fitting in with the Trust's ethos on corporate and social responsibility. The capital investment has to be paid back over five years, generating an annual surplus of £70,000. Kim has grown the catering at the Royal brand and first during 2009 extended this into hospitality around the site once again eating into the business provided by two commercial catering companies. Profits in year one having accounted for investment in the hospitality kitchen, have run at around £30,000. Kim's Cafe@theRoyal brand begun in February, provides a quality bean to cup offer as well as grab and go sandwiches and paninis. It is anticipated that for the first year of trading, having paid back the capital investment, a profit of between £30,000 and £40,000 will be realised.

Graeme Millar, Facilities Manager, Linc Cymrulinc Cymru
Winner of the Social Care Award
(Sponsored by apetito)
The facilities management department at Linc Cymru was created in April 2009 with the first nursing home opened in June while five extracare schemes were brought in house with a TUPE transfer two months later. Linc-Cymru specialising in affordable housing, social care and health sectors in Wales, has operated as an independent, not-for-profit sector for 30 years. Graeme Millar and his facility team of 70 serve more than 300 meals a day to six separate sites. Opening menus for the Capel Grange Nursing Home in Pill, Newport were written by the newly appointed facilities manager for the residents and agreed with Supply Direct and supporting specifications produced. New menus were also created for the extracare schemes with chefs learning new dishes and being trained in the internet based ordering system. The new menus put greater emphasis on local produce and traditional food preparation as well as cooking techniques. Meet the Residents sessions are now regularly held in all the schemes , identifying both the popular and less popular dishes. When a consistent theme emerges, immediate menu changes are made, an example being the use of haddock or cod instead of pollock. Favoured dishes have been added such as Sue Lewis's traditional faggots and peas, named after a resident at the Wellwood extracare home.

Lindley Group for Ffos Las Racecourse
Winner of the Stadia Award
(Sponsored by Manitowoc Foodservice)
A focus on making the most of the very best of local food and drink while putting this at the heart of menus, as well as offering an innovative approach with freshly cooked BBQ fare in the public concourse areas, made the Lindley Group a successful caterer for the newly-opened Ffos Las racecourse in Carmarthen. Part of the Northern Racing Group (NRG), the course has flexible, state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor facilities making it ideal for almost any catering event from wedding receptions and business conferences to full scale exhibitions. In fact the NRG awarded the caterers an eight year, £5 million contract to supply all the services at the Carmarthenshire in Spring 2009, citing their confidence in Lindley's ability to deliver high quality catering for high numbers in a high pressure environment. Ffos Las's first racing season was a resounding success and its facilities have been expanded to cater for 15,000 race-goers rather than the original 10,000 planned capacity. And during the racecourse's first seven months, Lindley has catered for more than 50,000 visitors with a 50/50 split between hospitality and catering services. The Bridles restaurant, with its Welsh fayre menu featuring wholesome, home-cooked produce, was expanded from 160 covers to 220 seats, while a VIP marquee serviced up to 500 guests with a further 250 in the Owners and Trainers area.

Patrick Erni, Catering Manager, Charlton House
Winner of the Unit Manager Award
(Sponsored by Meiko)
In the five years that he has worked for Charlton House, Patrick Erni has proved that he is the 'model' catering manager, demonstrating a love and passion for food and striving for the best customer service. He manages to achieve this with tight financial management of his budget benefiting the client and company. He is described as having a '5 star' eye for detail and a commercial 'high street' approach to innovation. Patrick started at BDO in Baker Street London in late 2006 running the small basement cafe, hospitality and fine dining, with a £580,000 turnover while also serving three other satellite sites. He was a key player in the mobilisation of BDO's move to a nearby site, making it a tremendous success working alongside the Charlton House operations team. The four former sites came under one roof with an occupancy of 1400. With the new building came exciting opportunities and Patrick helped to develop a new restaurant branded Fibonacci, with open plan chef theatre style kitchen. There was also a full extensive deli bar, branded coffee shop, 40 meeting rooms, four board rooms and 10 training suites, as well as five private dining rooms to be served. Corporate events are organised and hosted in the new 'great space' enabling Patrick to use his five star hotel background with style and professionalism. He and his team have pushed turnover up by 105% to £1.2 million through events and fine dining as well as the restaurant food and service.

Michele Washington, Head of Catering & Conference Services, Queen Mary University Of London
Winner of the University/College Award
(Sponsored by Brakes)
When recruited to lead the catering at Queen Mary in early 2007, Michele Washington inherited a department that made a loss of just over £500,000 in the year to middle of the year – a level similar to the previous three years. By July 2008 the department closed its books at a breakeven point and while the competitive pressures on the service continue, its financial performance remains strong compared with the past. This achievement required a lot of thought and effort, and on occasions the decisions Michele had to make were not popular with all stakeholders. With her determination to succeed, however, and a clear vision of what the college expected from her, the catering department was successfully lead through really challenging times. And as time moved on, customers and stakeholders began to understand the direction it is moving, and to commit to its vision, which is critical for success. During the difficult period Michele demonstrated an outstanding ability to identify and utilise cost saving opportunities, negotiating favourable deals with suppliers in her quest to produce costs. She has proved to be an exceptionally driven and motivational manager who gets the best out of her staff. As a result of Michele's efforts, the catering unit is now providing a wellbalanced, attractive offering for staff and students, meeting special dietary requirements such as halal, gluten-free, vegetarian and Kosher. The three oncampus catering outlets offer a great variety and excellent quality of food while achieving tight financial targets. The team recognises that not all activities are inherently profitable when the well-being of students is the core business.

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