Pump up the action

Motorists planning to cross Europe by car would do well to stop at Aire de Berchem, where petrol is a mere 30p a litre and breakfast is served around the clock.

Situated 30km from Luxembourg's capital on the main highway from Metz in France, Aire de Berchem pumps out more than 100 million litres of fuel a year, making it the biggest Shell petrol station in the world. Integral to this is a catering operation run by Eurest in Luxembourg, with annual turnover of £20m.

When it was built, in 1982, the popularity of the station, which sells petrol at 20% less than most countries, was not anticipated. It has since expanded six times, most recently in 1997 when it doubled its facilities to 42 pumps (24 for cars, 18 for trucks) and increased restaurant seating from 90 to 200.

As the station serves as many as 6,500 cars and 3,500 people a day at the height of the holiday season, it was vital to enlarge the restaurant but, as space was limited, the expansion was forced upwards. This led to a restaurant "tower" on six levels, but its 200 seats are still not enough, say Eurest operations director André Richardy and catering manager Eric van Sandtvoort.

"At certain times, we have to get 250 people an hour through three cash points," says Richardy, who does 35-45% of his business in the holiday months of July to September. "We also have to be prepared for the sudden influx of coach parties - two at the same time could nearly fill the restaurant."

Eurest won the 20-year contract from private caterers in 1992 when Shell decided that the business was expanding so quickly it needed to bring in national contractors. The contract is a partnership with Shell, with Eurest taking a management fee plus a percentage of the profits. Eurest also operates the facilities at the BP service station at the other end of the same highway.

The catering service, like fuel, is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The restaurant is self-service and free-flow, with three cash points and six split levels, each with about 30 seats. It deals in 10 currencies at any one time. Although this is sorted by sophisticated software at the cash points during busy periods, one person spends each entire day counting the different currencies. Richardy employs between 28 and 70 staff depending on the season. Despite the international flavour of the operation, most of the French-speaking staff have only a smattering of second languages, but managers all speak at least two languages.

Shell's policy is to target mainly truckers and coach drivers and offer them special treatment, and this is reflected in the catering. Their pumps are positioned ahead of the car pumps, truckers get free coffee when buying fuel, and coach drivers get a free meal when they bring their customers into the restaurant. Both are offered different menus, and coach drivers are sometimes served before the visitors to allow them to get back to their vehicles to rest.

"For truckers, these service stations are like their homes," says Richardy, "which is why we have a special menu for them and a separate area in the restaurant for them to sit. Many want to inspect the kitchens to check we're preparing fresh food for them, and we're happy to do this."

Breakfast, costing £3-£4, is particularly popular with truckers and is served around the clock. It includes porridge, croissants, bacon, eggs and fruit. Although these are available to the general public as well, there are additional items such as omelettes and potatoes that are for truckers only because, after spending hours on the road, they need something more substantial. There is also a £5.50 truckers' menu available during their high season, October to June, covering soup, salads, starter, main course, drinks and rolls.

"Truckers like this place because not only are fuel and cigarettes cheaper, they can park their truck within sight of the restaurant, which is glass-fronted - very important from the security point of view," says Richardy.

Unlike most other service stations, Aire de Berchem offers a flexible menu which changes weekly for truckers and seasonally for private motorists. To maintain flexibility and home-made standards, food is a mixture of fresh and frozen, with main meals produced on site. "It costs more to produce this way, but allows for menu items to be changed more often and for special dishes to be regularly produced," says Richardy, whose team can shift two tonnes of French fries in one day at the height of the season. "We try to offer four to five main dishes from different countries. The Dutch like soups, the Germans schnitzels, the Italians prefer meat with no sauce and almost everyone likes steak, French fries and pastries."

The only branded food is Compass's in-house Upper Crust sandwich service. Average spend is £3.50-£6. The highest spend occurs when people are coming back from holiday. "I presume they stop off to get rid of their spare currency," Richardy says.

There are different customers at different times of the year. Summer brings campers; winter brings the skiers. Because many cars are carrying families, Richardy lays on offers for children, such as a free meal for under-12s if the adults buy two main meals, plus special menus and promotions with suppliers such as Coca-Cola.

As well as the difficulties of dealing with large numbers in a limited space, Eurest also faces the challenge of managing a menu to prevent waste and running out of dishes while making food available on a 24-hour basis. "We must be able to serve breakfast at 3am, if necessary," says Richardy, who admits that most wastage occurs with breakfast service, as these food items cannot be held for long.

"We have different ovens to control each stage of cooking and preparation," he adds, "and we try to produce food that can either be cooked on the spot, like steak, or held and regenerated at the correct temperatures. We can manage with pasta, for instance, because it can be kept only partially cooked and the sauces can be heated. But we can't use fish, because it is too dangerous to keep."

Pre-ordered take-away snacks and sandwiches are available for coach parties but this service is not used very often.

The restaurant is sited between the toilets and the shop - vital, according to Richardy. "What do most people do when they arrive? Fill up with fuel and go to the rest room," he says. "It would be a huge mistake if they were in a separate building. But situated between the shop and the restaurant is perfect."