Recently in contract catering Category

Bizarre job titles are made more traditional at Berkshire based contract caterer Artizian after it lost faith in the title 'minister'.

The firm said the "negative slant and connotation" now associated with the title 'minister' prompted the change.

"Whereas in the past it was regarded as an esteemed position and one to look up to, due to our government this appears no longer to be the case," it added.

New job titles, taking into account the "need for greater clarity on the roles", have been announced.

• Pauline Vallance, previously minister of calm, is now senior manager - HR & team player insight
• Martin Dibben, previously minister of excellence, is now senior manager - food & procurement insight
• Kenny Tranquille, previously nutritional therapist, is now simply a nutritionist
• Judith Owen previously consultant minister of fun & development, is now training partner

This Kitchen Rat can't help thinking that Judith must have been disappointed by the change.

Who wouldn't want to be the the minister of fun?

Finally, we have a winner for the Apprentice role - and she works in hospitality.

Restaurateur Yasmina Siadatan, owner of Mya Lacarte restaurant in Caversham, Reading, beat favourite Kate Walsh for the top job.

She strikes a blow for catering - despite the derogatory comments about the profession last week and the quality of her winning product.

In a final which asked the two contestants to produce a box of chocolates - because real life is like that - Yasmina triumphed with her cheaper, more mass market version.

Kate's were, everyone concurred, delicious and in fact, during filming for the promotion of Yasmina's chocolate brand, one of the models spat out a chocolate after a shoot.

It brings to mind one of the earliest tasks, when she was in charge of a contract catering task in which her food was likewise of very poor quality.

Strange for someone who runs a restaurant.

Sir Alan's other concern with Yasmina was that she'd find it hard moving from being self-employed to working for someone else - "two years in from running my own business I was set up for life," he said.

"Also will I be putting 20 people out of work?"

But Yasmina said that her brother was now taking over the running of the restaurant, and reiterated that she definitely wanted to work for him.

And, thanks to Sir Alan going on his "gut instinct", she will be now.

Caterer Lexington held a gathering for a select few recently to celebrate its placing in the Sunday Times Best 100 Small Companies to Work For 2009 list.  

Held at law firm and client William Smith's stunning new offices in London's vertiginous Bishopsgate Tower in the City.

Lexington chief executive Mike Sunley gave a quick thank you speech where he'd picked out a few of the more unusual findings from the staff survey carried out as part of the Best Places process.

The finest, delivered with a chuckle by Sunley, has to be that "70% of staff thought they were helping to make the world a better place" working at Lexington.

You'll have to agree that that's not bad for a contract caterer.

Lexington trainee wins 2009 Olive Barnett Award>>

Contract caterers caught up in G20 protests>>

A Minute on the Clock - Mike Sunley>>

If you're going to have a Lean & Green campaign, as in the case of caterer Harbour & Jones (H&J), it goes without saying that you have to walk-the-walk and not just talk (a lot).

To this end Kevin Harrison, H&J's ever so slightly scarily-named compliance director, has e-mailed all staff to inform them they will be receiving their very own pedometers.

H&J staff are being challenged to record each mode of transport they use in their working week, and to see if they can get anywhere near a recommended 10,000 steps a day, which should make them both healthier and "greener", albeit in quite a few steps.

Although there's a quarterly prize to be won, Kitchen Rat has not yet confirmed if it is indeed a night out with H&J co-founder Nathan Jones, or whether the runner-up gets two nights out with Jones for their troubles.

However, Harrison does warn in his e-mail that anyone caught cheating by shaking their pedometers, getting creative with cab reciepts or doctoring other people's scores, will, without doubt, win three nights out with Jones. Consider yourself warned.

Harbour & Jones adds to management team>>

Is God on Harbour and Jones's side?>>

Harbour & Jones scoops advertising agency deal>> 

Elior development chef Mark Crowe has admitted to having nightmares after seeing the contestants on The Apprentice attempt last week's catering challenge.

Certainly it turned into a bad dream for boys' team leader and hospitality worker Rocky Andrews owner of Fatso's Filling Station, who was fired as a result of his team's efforts.

Crowe told Kitchen Rat: "As a development chef for Avenance, we have many prestigious City companies as our clients and the challenges facing the The Apprentice contestants in last night's episode were very familiar.

"Our City clients demand and rightly expect the very best standards of food and service when entertaining their guests. Last week's programme highlighted just why this should be left to the professionals. I am still having nightmares about the second-rate canapés the teams served, and I certainly won't be using any of them on my new summer hospitality menus!"

Nor will Sir Alan Sugar, one suspects.

The Apprentice Catering challenge>>

Hospitality hopefulls escape the boardroom in the first Apprentice>>

So the heads of state attending the high-profile G20 summit in London's Docklands are to get down to the not inconsiderable task of saving the world economy today.

Well good luck with that one. But it appears the G20 circus has been both feast and famine for the world leaders and those in the hospitality industry.

There was some trouble in the City yesterday affecting Compass Group and Lexington, while later the likes of Barack Obama enjoyed a slap up meal at Downing Street prepared by Jamie Oliver.

The Ritz hotel was one of many taking no chances, electing to board up and hucker down. And thanks to Vacherin for their snap from one of their contracts yesterday that you can see at the top of this entry.

At the Excel Centre at London's Docklands where the summit proper is taking place, it's good news for Compass Group, whose Leith's brand is looking after the feeding duties. However it's not so good for Creativevents who run a number of fixed sites, a stand and on-floor catering at the exhibtion centre on a standard day and have been, essentially, kicked out for the duration.

All around caterers have had to adapt, with Elior, which has many contracts within the City, ordering in extra stock and changing some menus to temporarily make more use of dry and frozen goods in case protests affect deliveries.

Still, with most City clients facing lockdown on the premises, Simon Titchner, managing director at ISS Eaton, candidly told Kitchen Rat: "Actually the protests helped us yesterday as takings were up across the business as all customers used their internal restaurant facilities as they could not go out."

Feast and famine. Feast and famine.

G20 Sumit website>>

World leaders start G20 summit>>

Vacherin appoints head chef for first public restaurant venture>>

Recession presents "great opportunity" for contract caterers to prove worth>>

So you think keeping your customers happy is increasingly hard in this recessional times, do you?

Well how about the prospect of setting back the peace process in Northern Ireland a few years, over something as seemingly innocuous as your choice of flowers? Not grumbling now are you...

One shit,shit, shit! moment happened to Colin Prentice and team at the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont in the not too distant past.

Prentice and his team, professional to their core, provide a range of services as Eurest Services at the Parliment Buildings in east Belfast, including putting out the flowers.

However, on one occassion a garland of lilies was put up in the building as part of the day-to-day service. Very nice, you may think, but the lilly is of course a symbol for nationalists of the Easter Rising. Not so nice.

Luckily it was spotted and removed before politicans from either side of the political divide noticed, avoiding any rumptions, accusations of favouritism or broadsides from Ian Paisley.

Although people love their coffee, I doubt you get that sort of fallout if you added milk by mistake to a customer's Americano in Starbucks.

For more see A Minute on the Clock this week in Caterer.

Compass Group wins £500m racecourse deal>>

Catering giants tune into FM for revenue growth>>

Compass creates one-stop shop in Eurest Services>>

Recent coverage in Caterer about the renewed interest amongst contract caterers in providing facilities management services bought things full-circle for one reader.

While conceding there was certainly a demand for facilities management from some clients - and adding that the market had developed significantly since, with many professional managers now in the field - our source couldn't help but think back to a time when FM, in most people's minds, was simply a radio frequency.

"Some 24 years ago Compass challenged existing operations managers and their bosses to go out and 'sell' - cleaning & security contracts - with great kudos afforded to any that managed this feat.

"Lifelong caterers received an hour or so of 'training' to prepare us with resource to provide arms-length consultant expertise. The negative energy this created was something to behold. The result was loss of focus on the existing business and loss of key accounts and managers."

Still, with the recent win of National Grid and an extension to their Shell contract, as well as ComputaCentre, it's fair to say Compass's new FM strategy appears to be paying off this time.

Compass creates one-stop shop with Eurest Services>>

Caterers tune into FM for revenue growth>>

Although Kitchen Rat can't attest for the validity of this one, rumour has it that an issue fought over vociferously on the departure of former Aramark chief executive Bill Toner was, wait for it, a £50,000 wine cellar at his London pad.

Mr Toner, who left Aramark in 2005, had quite legitimately amassed the collection of fine wines at his South Bank home for the purpose of corporate entertaining, as was the vogue in those halycon days of greed in the City.

However, on having his contract terminated Aramark's American owners demanded the wine back and Toner had to ultimately relinquish it. Surely not the best way to avoid sour grapes.

Still, given the pursuit of disgraced RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin and his £703,000 pension pot, perhaps losing some fermented grape juice isn't all that bad in the larger scheme of things.

Where are they now? Bill Toner>>

Marcus Wareing enters into partnership with Aramark>>

Kitchen Rat fears contract caterer Harbour & Jones may be making the most of an unfair, other-worldly, advantage over rivals when it comes to picking up new business.

A recent visit to London landmark St Paul's Cathedral to meet some of the new Harbour & Jones team, suggested something more than a strong offer and charisma might have come into play when the caterer was competing for the contract.

Apparently when H&J was invited to pitch for the deal last year they arrived at St Paul's only to be told that one of their rivals was running late.

The knock-on effect was that the caterer was asked to present in a chamber away from the main dining area of the Crypt.

This, H&J co-founder Patrick Harbour conceded, suited his team down to the ground as they had a "Best of British" selection of produce with them to showcase, which they were then able to arrange fetchingly on a stone shelf inside.

This was all good, but better still, as the cathedral's top brass walked in to hear the pitch, a shaft of golden sunlight, as if on demand, shone through from the window above, illuminating the produce and creating a bucolic harvest scene. Divine intervention?

It's hard to say, but H&J co-founder Nathan Jones was apparently sighted later in the cathedral lighting a candle, which one imagines was in reverence but could have been in gratitude.

Well, in these tough times it pays to keep the supreme being on side, after all.

Harbour & Jones wins £5m St Paul's Cathedral deal>> 

H&J scoops advertising agency deal>>