From soldiering to the City
Steve Johnson is sipping coffee and explaining how chefs sometimes have to "defend the situation they're in at work". You might think he was talking about the tough regime in a top kitchen. But he isn't; he's talking about being trained to use a gun - and being prepared to use one when he was a Royal Marines chef during the Bosnia crisis in 1992.
Johnson's tales of the Armed Forces sit incongruously with his current job as executive chef with the in-house catering team at Close Brothers, the largest independent merchant bank in the City. Yet curiously, despite seeing action in recent history's worst military conflicts, he describes contract catering, where he has worked since 1995, as the "biggest eye-opener".
Johnson, 40, started cooking in the Royal Navy aged 16. He got his military and chef training at HMS Pembroke. The latter, he says, was a thorough syllabus, split between accounts, theory and practical work, with time spent in each department. It's a level of training that he says just isn't provided by most colleges. He also recognises that few head chefs have the time to hone youngsters' skills on-the-job. And even if they did, many kitchens nowadays buy-in pre-prepped items, especially produce such as fish and meat.
"Catering training in the Navy was diverse and old-school, but I'd say now that it was the best in the world," Johnson says. "I get students from top colleges who haven't been taught as much as we were."
Tough regime
So speaks a man who went on to round off his own education in one of the toughest regimes in the world. After six years in the Royal Navy, he went to France grape-picking and found himself signing up for the French Foreign Legion. It was a shock to the system. Recruits sign up for five years, during which time they give up their citizenship, passports, civilian clothes - and personal life. They also give up their language: with soldiers from more than 100 different countries, the compulsory tongue is French.
"It appealed at the time but I wouldn't recommend it - it's not Beau Geste, sandcastles and camels," he says. "They are very professional, specialist troops. If you stick at it it's rewarding, but it isn't for the faint-hearted."
Like everyone else, he joined as an infantry soldier but his background meant he quickly slotted into being a chef. For the next five years he catered in officers' messes all over the world, cooking traditional Proven‡ale fare - "They eat well".
Nevertheless, it was tough. In 1987, he saw action in Djibouti, Somalia, and again in the Gulf in 1991. While he jokes that it wasn't a great career move, many successful people have been legionnaires (including, strangely, Louis Armstrong) and Johnson is convinced it hardened him up and gave him self-discipline. "At school I was bullied. I was the little fat boy who was told he wouldn't amount to anything."
He would prove the doubters wrong. By 1991, Johnson had left the foreign legion to join the Naval reserves in the UK as a full-time chef. Among his more interesting jobs was at St James's Palace in the officers' mess, which "had the best food budget in the Armed Forces".
It turned out to be his last job in the forces. When the catering was awarded to civilian caterers (Compass), Johnson was out in the commercial world. Initially, he worked at Sutcliffe's Coutts bank contract. Then, in 1998, he was appointed executive chef at BBC TV Centre, a contract run by Gardner Merchant.
Initially, civilian working proved a nightmare. While most chefs would consider cooking in a war zone a challenge, Johnson regarded coming to terms with TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations) and the ubiquitous staffing problems as horrific. Subsequent jobs in the City were equally difficult. He describes one kitchen as "like working in Beirut".
In addition, Johnson also had to overcome employer prejudice against his military background, which was rife five or six years ago.
"People either thought I would be a hard-nosed brute or that I wouldn't be able to cope with the job because I hadn't worked under Gordon Ramsay or the like. I got asked some weird questions, like whether I had been in combat - they didn't want to know if I could cook."
Johnson admits that his naval and military training does influence how he works, but he reckons it's positive. "I can be moody, but I run a tight ship. The kitchen's always clean. I'm very keen on a clean kitchen."
They are qualities that have helped him settle in at Close Brothers, a traditional but progressive bank that doesn't want to lose control of its catering operation.
Johnson reckons most contract caterers "would give their right arm for the site", which turns over close to £200,000 a year. But he says that will never happen. "The client wants overall control," he says. "We work for the bank; there are no outsiders."
Johnson loves it. He likes the money, the hours and working directly for the bank. In fact, he says, it's like working in a fine-dining restaurant. He and his sous chef, Malcolm Wood, do all the cooking for the 84 directors and their clients across 19 dining rooms and one auditorium. They are helped by six waiters and a maitre d'. He doesn't have to worry about the 500 employees: there is no staff feeding and no vending.
A la carte
All the menus are à la carte and change every month. As some directors prefer old-style dining and others are more modern, Johnson designs dishes that can be either plated or silver-served - such as grilled sardines on buttered leeks with a sweet pepper mayonnaise or baked fillet of salmon on a confit of vegetables with a sesame prawn brioche.
Although Johnson tends to get in at 7am and leave around 2.30pm, he and the team are on 24-hour call to accommodate clients jetting in for meetings from around the world. All rooms are pre-booked but the inevitable last-minute demands (on a recent occasion for kangaroo and ostrich meat) mean Johnson needs a good rapport with suppliers.
He clearly doesn't miss the high adrenalin of army life nor the financial pressures of working for contractors. One big attraction of working for a well-heeled in-house operation is the lack of pressure on the budget. Johnson works to a 40-60% food cost but he is actually encouraged to go over budget rather than compromise quality. There is no profit, as it is the client who ultimately picks up the bill (the bank's fee embraces utilities and catering).
But surely these services are dependent on the fortunes of the City? What happens when the economy slumps? Johnson shrugs and concedes that there has been natural wastage in recent years with catering staff down to nine from 15. But he adds that people still come to the bank when times are tough because they need to refinance. Either way, the bank sees the in-house facilities as being cost-effective and - importantly - more confidential than restaurants.
Johnson is certainly proud of it. "If it was open to the public we would be going for stars," he says. "People don't realise how dedicated chefs are in contracts like this. We do everything - not like restaurants where they just work the pass. It's the best environment I have ever worked in."
The contractor's view
Tim West, chief executive of Avenance, says it is unusual for a company contract to be in-house nowadays. The recent BHA survey noted that 90% of business and industry contracts have been contracted out - and that is reflected in the City, too.
West acknowledges that contractor staff do effectively have two bosses, but he says the client is always king. He says that by contracting out the host company can concentrate on its main business, and points out that the contractor has the expertise to attract and train good-quality staff.
But does he think it is possible to convince stalwart in-house contracts of the benefits of contracting out? "At some point there will be a desire for change," he says. "Either a major institution will move or a key director will leave and the in-house culture will change or a new facilities manager would decide to benchmark the process. Any of those can be a catalyst to contract out," West says.
The in-house operation
As more and more City establishments choose to contract-out their catering, in-house operations such as the one at Close Brothers are becoming rarer. Andrew Barham, 39, city house manager, looks after all the client services at the merchant bank, including kitchen (chefs and food service), reception and switchboards, as well as the cleaning contract. He talks us through the reasons the catering has remained in-house and how it works…
Why aren't you putting the contract out for tender? We prefer to employ our own staff and thereby get improved loyalty as well as maintaining confidentiality. Staff are fully accountable to the bank rather than a third party. We also get control over menus, costs and - most importantly - quality. We believe outsourcing would be to the detriment of quality because the company wouldn't have direct control over it. For instance, having Steve Johnson as a permanent member of staff means that he understands the client and can adapt, while a contractor would be less flexible. Also, outsourcing means paying for someone else's profit. The only thing we outsource is cleaning.
Do you have recruitment problems? No. We have two chefs and six food service staff. The only real change in the past 18 months (since I have been here) has been the head waiter.
How do you train staff? This starts when staff are recruited and is ongoing. Steve monitors food standards in the kitchen, and the head waiter is hands-on so is able to set an example of service and check on his staff. All staff have two appraisals a year.
Who uses the facilities? We cater for external clients who are being entertained by managers, executive and non-executive directors. Meals are often used for confidential discussions so service is discreet. There are five subsidiary companies in this building and a further 14 in a neighbouring building who can also come over. There are also the many other subsidiaries within the UK and abroad that entertain here or just use it as a base for board meetings and AGMs.
What services do you provide? The maximum number of hot lunches on a single day would be six rooms and/or 24 covers, whichever is the greater, regardless of how quiet other functions may be. Limited storage space means hot food has to be ordered at least 24 hours in advance.
The 19 dining rooms can take a maximum of 30 people taking tea or coffee, while the auditorium can take 120 people. On a daily basis there are likely to be 80-150 teas and coffees, three or four sandwich lunches (roughly 20 covers) and two or three hot lunches (about 10 covers). However, there are days when there may be a breakfast for six, sandwiches for 50, six hot lunches for 20 as well as a buffet for 70. No two days are the same.
What does it all cost? The catering department is subsidised (although that figure is confidential) - but it's seen as an acceptable expense to retain the control and quality. Food is re-charged to the entertaining manager.
OK, so what's the budget per head? As guidance Steve works to 40-60% of recharge. But he can go over budget, because this is seen as more acceptable than a drop in quality. Ultimately, his aim is to achieve an average food cost of £6 a cover for the month. The likelihood of this being achieved depends on the breakdown of food served, so in a month when there's an unusually high number of hot lunches there will often be an overspend, but the reverse happens when sandwich lunches predominate.
For instance, there is a £25 set charge for a three-course meal. Within this there is likely to be a basic food cost of £10-12, the remainder of which will be made up of drinks from the bar, nuts, tea/coffee, chocolates, linen, staff and general overheads such as purchase and maintenance of crockery, cutlery and equipment. The aim is to operate at cost, rather than at a profit.
Factfile
Close Brothers
10 Crown Place, London EC2
What is it? The largest merchant bank in the City
Who does the catering? It's in-house
City house manager: Andrew Barham
Executive chef: Steve Johnson
Turnover: Annual forecast is nearly £200,000
No of staff: Two chefs, six food service staff - waitresses and tea hostesses - and a general assistant. Temporary staff are taken on only when absolutely necessary.
