Compass Group wins £26m Edinburgh Zoo contract

19 April 2011 by
Compass Group wins £26m Edinburgh Zoo contract

Compass Group has won a £26m contract to rejuvenate the catering operations at Edinburgh Zoo.

The caterer has been tasked with ensuring the food offer becomes a key part of the visitor experience as part of the 10-year deal, while also providing a more commercial focus for the Zoo's catering operation.

The Compass team will operate all of he zoo's eateries, following a refurbishment and rebranding programme that will see the Jungle Café transformed into the Jungle Food Court. The existing Stripes Restaurant will be turned into Grasslands Restaurant, which will include a deli bar and coffee bar.

Scottish creative agency 442 has been brought in to theme areas of the dining outlets taking inspiration from the main animal habitats represented at the zoo: rainforest, grassland, woodland, oceans and wetland.

Roy Westwood, creative manager for sport, leisure and hospitality at Compass, said: "We have worked very closely with 442 to ensure that our new concepts are unique to the fantastic environment of the Zoo. All of our designs are incredibly creative and are in-keeping with retail design normally found in the high-street.

He added that Compass was also keen to ensure that the design works in synergy with our food offer. "For instance our main restaurant will feature elements of front-of-house food theatre and front-of-house pizza making and baking, allowing customers to see our chefs preparing dishes right before their eyes."

Andrew Roberts, commercial manager for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, said that Compass Group's commercial experience and financial investment will take the eatery experience here to the next level. "We're delighted to be able to provide this fresh and contemporary offer to visitors to Edinburgh Zoo, and the recent launch of Grasslands has been well received by visitors," he added.

Compass teams up with Jason Atherton to sign four-year deal with BMW PGA championship >>

Richard Cousins gives first Arena Savoy Lecture since hotel reopening >>

Compass in £48m deal with Rose Bowl cricket ground >>

By Janie Stamford

E-mail your comments to Janie Stamford here.

If you have something to say on this story or anything else join the debate at Table Talk - Caterer's new networking forum. Go to www.caterersearch.com/tabletalk

Caterersearch.com jobs

Looking for a new job? Find your next job here with Caterersearch.com jobs

[Newsletters For the latest hospitality news, sign up for our e-mail newsletters.
The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking