Spoiling tactics
It's lunchtime in London's Covent Garden. Van drivers bang doors, scooters buzz between the crowds, an orchestra plays Strauss in the piazza. But behind the doors of 12 Floral Street there is only the pad of slippered feet and the splash of water as towel-clad figures sip Champagne and reach for slices of fresh pineapple beside the swimming pool.
This is the Sanctuary, London's first spa exclusively for women, which has just completed its two-year £3m refurbishment, the first in its 25 years. The final stage in May was the modernisation of the 94-seat restaurant and re-equipping of the kitchen ready for Leith's Management, a business within Restaurant Associates, the fine-dining division of Compass Group, to take over when the Sanctuary reopened in June.
There was no tendering process; the Sanctuary approached Leith's directly and after discussions awarded it the three-year £2m cost-plus contract.
"They liked Leith's philosophy, possibly because Prue Leith was a woman in business, and we've had an easy partnership from the beginning," says Sally Knief, Leith's operations manager. "They liked our passion for food and the industry."
The Sanctuary provides relaxing and revitalising treatments for body and face, and relaxation therapies including massage and aromatherapy sessions. Men are not allowed on the premises, so an all-female catering team serves up to 200 people a day in the new lounge, the recently enhanced Spa restaurant and the Koi Carp Lounge and Juice Bar.
The Spa restaurant can be found at the heart of the Sanctuary, in a room that was once a rehearsal room for the dancers of the Royal Ballet. The decor is elegant and comfortable, with parquet flooring, granite-topped tables and beechwood chairs. Dishes range from pan-steamed scallops flavoured with peppercorns on a raspberry-dressed salad (£8) and corn-fed chicken with roasted Mediterranean vegetable couscous (£10) to chocolate and orange mousse (£6).
The kitchen was re-equipped with fridges and a combi-oven to accommodate a new menu. Leith's redesigned the menu to reflect its philosophy of simple, freshly prepared food that could be created daily to consistent standards of taste and presentation.
"We provide healthy choices for people counting calories," Knief says. "But the restaurant aims to reflect the Sanctuary experience, which is to be pampered and spoiled, hence the selection of nice and naughty treats available. One of our most popular items is chocolate cake."
Buying into the pandering policy, Leith's introduced a £15 Champagne brunch, which includes soft scrambled egg with hot smoked salmon and chives served with toasted rye bread, strawberries and a glass of champagne.
It also switched from partially self-service to complete waitress-service in the restaurant. "We recognise that many of the women visiting the Sanctuary look after their families when at home, so the last thing they want to do is fetch their food in the restaurant. By introducing table-service, all our guests are waited on hand and foot and their every need is pandered to," Knief says.
Atmosphere
Part of the refurbishment included converting treatment rooms into a lounge, where breakfast and snacks are served. Originally customers relaxed and snacked in the Koi Carp Lounge overlooking the swimming pool with its famous swing, but the Sanctuary found that some guests wanted to chat, which could disturb those snoozing, so the second lounge was opened. It maintains a meditative atmosphere with low lights, squashy sofas and scented candles, but a fuller menu including breakfast is now available.
"We like to allow customers a couple of hours to sit over their lunch in the restaurant and the new lounge enables guests who only want breakfast or snacks to chat and takes the pressure off the restaurant during busy times," Knief explains.
The Koi Carp Lounge, so named because of the fish swimming in a pool, has a Moorish influence with low, cushioned seating, archways and fountains. Here juice, fruit, coffee, tea and pastries are served, and guests can rest and nibble on melon and pineapple slices which are offered free every hour. Although guests order at the counter, they are served by waiting staff.
Catering is seen as part of the whole day's experience, as Linda Wilding, chairman of the Sanctuary Group, explains: "We're proud of the food and pleased with Leith's. If you sample all the elements of the Sanctuary you will find them all in step. The building looks fabulous, the food is lovely - nothing offends you about the experience. Food is an important part of this and we cannot afford a weak element because this will be remembered."
One of the things that tipped the balance towards Leith's was its policy of having a single point of contact, in this case Sally Knief. "It's unusual in business that the person pitching runs the contract in the end," Wilding says. "Sally is now included in all our meetings and we work as a team to provide the best things for the customer."
To ensure that they understand what the Sanctuary is trying to achieve, all new members of the catering staff are treated as guests for a day during their first week.
Being exclusively female extends to all catering staff, and any men needed on the premises, such as when the building work was done, have to work out of hours. The exception was Mark Stonham, Leith's operations support manager, who spent two hours a day hidden in the kitchen during the first week to oversee the opening of the contract. Leith's also employs a man mornings and evenings to make deliveries, move stock around, refresh the bar and carry out heavy-duty kitchen cleaning. The Sanctuary itself employs a full-time female maintenance worker.
Sample menu at the Sanctuary
Chargrilled chicken focaccia with avocado spicy tomato and coriander salsa, £8
Oyster mushroom risotto with truffle oil and Parmesan shavings, £8
Chargrilled tuna steak with ni‡oise vegetables, £10
Fettuccine with roasted artichokes, olives, Dolcelatte cheese and lemon-infused oil, £10
Caramelised apple tart with vanilla ice-cream, £6
Passion fruit cheesecake topped with orange and passion fruit jelly served on sweet fruit coulis, £6
Restaurant Associates
166 High Holborn, London WC1V 6TT
Tel: 020 7301 2000
Web site: www. compass-group.co.uk
Contracts: 131
Staff: 3,000
Restaurant Associates, the fine-dining division of Compass Group, UK & Ireland, was bought by Compass in the USA four years ago. Since its UK launch earlier this year, Restaurant Associates has gained new business worth a combined total turnover of almost £60m, with 12 new contracts. These include the Sunborn Yacht floating hotel with 104 luxury bedrooms, berthed at ExCel, London Docklands, and a four-year contract with Esporta Health and Fitness Clubs, with a combined total turnover of at least £40m.
By Jane Baker
