Using the best to compete with the best
Raising the standard - this means different things to different people. To King Charles I, who flew his flag in Nottingham in 1642, it meant the start of the English Civil War. In forestry circles it means planting a tree without support. In terms of living, it means an improvement of conditions. In hospitality it means making cooking, guest care and service better.
Generally, we all want to raise our standards. Whatever field or discipline we work in, we want to improve. The achievements of yesterday will never do for tomorrow, and what's acceptable tomorrow will be inadequate by the end of the week. An "onwards and upwards" approach, that's what carries a business to the next level of development - a willingness to look around, identify good practice and embrace change.
Contact caterer Aramark has been making an impact on the UK food service industry since chief executive Bill Toner took over at the top two years ago. His target is to make the UK division of the US-based global operation dominant in its market. This means constantly having to raise standards, matching and beating the competition in all areas.
Aramark's latest initiative is to join forces with chef-restaurateur Gordon Ramsay, putting contract catering cooks and front of house staff through Ramsay training programmes at his top restaurants and new training school in London.
This is not the first time that a contract caterer has linked up with a high-profile chef in order to up the ante. Gardner Merchant (later Sodexho) did it with Gary Rhodes back in the 1990s, for example. More recently, Charlton House engaged the services of David Cavalier, and there are countless other illustrations of where food service companies have applied the approach of fine dining to in-house contracts.
In fact, the Aramark/Ramsay deal, while an exciting development for the parties involved, only represents a shift in emphasis that all the major players in the sector have been pursuing for some time without much recognition from the rest of the industry. Take a look at the achievements of the contract catering chefs in salon competitions in recent years. Teams from Compass and Sodexho regularly win top prizes at Hotelympia; the immediate past-holder of the Knorr National Chef of the Year award, Bruce Sangster, was a contract caterer, one of the finalists in the Gracia Caminante Chef competition works for Avenance, and so the list goes on. Contract caterers have been "raising their standard" for a while.
Where the Aramark/Ramsay connection stretches the boundaries in the relentless drive for excellence is in the area of service. Contract catering front of house staff will be put through their paces in two- and three-Michelin-starred restaurants. This shows a holistic approach to being the best. And the best is what food service companies need to be. Contractors are not only competing with rival companies, but with high-street restaurants as well. They need to be ahead of the competition at all levels.
Parts of the food service sector remain driven by price - in schools and institutions, for example - but, for most private contracts, the term "cost sector" is no longer appropriate. By applying Michelin-starred qualities to its business, Aramark is making sure that the standard continues to be raised.
Forbes Mutch
Editor,
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
