Change of Art

Within five months of taking over the Art Café at Hiscox fine art insurers in the City of London, BaxterSmith increased business by 30%. That's some achievement for the contract caterer, as this was its first retail catering outlet - its other clients are in the business and industry sector. A new menu, specialist catering staff and a dedicated deli chef all helped to raise standards and revenue.

"This contract is an interesting hybrid, doubling as a staff benefit and yet open to the public," says William Baxter, executive chairman of BaxterSmith. "The café could make a profit if the policy was more aggressive and there was less discount on take-away, but the client prefers to retain control and aims to break even, which is why we operate on a management fee."

External customers help offset costs, and BaxterSmith, which took over the 75-seater licensed caf‚ with a £250,000 turnover in September 2001, revived it from a loss-making operation to break even within a few weeks. Previously, it had been run by an in-house manager using staff supplied from an agency.

When it opened in 1998 the Art Café was a coffee shop with staff taking it in turns to prepare and serve snacks, which were all bought in. Now a restaurant, the chef and trained staff serve a variety of meals using fresh ingredients from a new production kitchen with limited cooking facilities. BaxterSmith also introduced upmarket brands such as Soup Opera, Illy coffee and Konditor & Cook gâteaux.

"We chose BaxterSmith because we wanted top-quality caterers and we liked their management style," says Alice Bradshaw, Hiscox's deputy facilities manager. "They are open, innovative and honest about what they think they can do. They introduced a take-away service, for example, at 30% discount which now accounts for 25% of revenue."

The café is open from 7.30am to 5.30pm providing hot and cold meals, snacks, specialist coffees and teas. Average spend is £7 for a meal plus beverage. Hiscox staff are allowed a 10% discount. In the morning 70% of custom comes from Hiscox staff packing the café for meetings, which is encouraged. This is reversed at midday, when 70% of diners come from outside. The increased popularity means the café is fully booked at lunchtime for several weeks ahead.

For Baxter it was a matter of going back to basics.

"Good marketing starts on the basis of a good product served by people who care. The café had been rather left in the wilderness for three years and lacked professionalism," he says. "We replaced the staff with ‘quick smilers', updated the uniforms, put in a manager with qualifications and introduced a cutting-edge menu, after we'd surveyed the local competition to make sure we were offering what people wanted. We work closely with Hiscox to reflect their image. It's more of a joint venture."

The Art Café was the brainchild of chairman Robert Hiscox, who wanted it partly as a showplace to exhibit paintings and partly for company staff. It reflects the artistic influence with a curved bar, circular tables in frosted glass, and a beech-wood floor and chairs.

"Future plans include a refrigerated area to display desserts and a licence to serve food on the pavement outside the café during summer," says catering manager Juliette Passingham. "We are also expanding our special functions with events such as race nights and leaving parties."

A selection from the Art Café menu

• Grilled panini with salami, mozzarella, salad, tortilla chips and salsa, £4.50
• Griddled rustic triangle bread topped with crushed wheat, roast vegetables, tomato, purple onion, tortilla chips and salsa, £4.50
• Aubergine, purple onion and Brie timbale with sun-dried tomato dressing, rocket salad and cheese twists, £5.50
• Salmon darne with lemon chutney on French bean and leaf salad served cold with tomato bread, £5.95

BaxterSmith

4 Market Square, Amersham, Buckinghamshire HP7 0DQ
Tel: 01494 432900
E-mail: info@baxtersmith.com
Web site: www.baxtersmith.com

Contracts: 30
Turnover: £15.5m
Staff: 400-plus

Hiscox Art Café
Catering staff: six
Turnover: £250,000
Average spend: £7