Restaurant Associates appoints Healthy Eating Cateys winner as head of ESG
Cateys winner Luxagini Dayanandan has been appointed to head of ESG for Restaurant Associates Group.
Dayanandan (pictured above receiving her Cateys), who is currently head of wellness and nutrition at the catering company, won the Foodservice Cateys 2023: Healthy Eating Champion, an award which recognised her work in developing innovative nutritional programmes.
Some of her achievements which clinched her win included developing the Ways to be Well health and sustainability scheme across the company's offer. This included the launch of the Good for Gut range across its client sites' breakfast and lunch offerings, focusing on dishes that promote gut health, which saw a 40% uptake in orders. She also delivered over 90 ‘lunch and learn' sessions across Restaurant Associates sites, educating customers on nutrition, health, and wellbeing.
Dayanandan will assume her new position from 1 June 2024 and will oversee the company's net zero, wellness, and social value goals.
Dayanandan's appointment comes as the catering firm announced several further promotions within the company.
Other appointments include Hayley Barnard, who has been promoted to business director at Restaurant Associates' guest services firm Rapport, and Daniel O'Hehir who has been promoted to director of client operations, also at Rapport.
Barnard joined the head office team in 2015 as head of operations. In her new role, she will lead the overall day-to-day UK&I Rapport business, while O'Hehir, who will report into Barnard, will oversee key client accounts.
Commenting on the new appointments, Matt Thomas, managing director at Restaurant Associates, said: "We are delighted to announce this round of promotions of some key team members, rounding off what has been a fantastic year for our business. Internal promotion is integral to our success and our company ethos, and so we are very proud to recognise and celebrate the achievements of these individuals.
"These promotions mark an exciting chapter for Restaurant Associates Group, reflecting our ongoing commitment to excellence, innovation, and the continued growth of the talented team."
Restaurant Associates employs more than 3,000 people and serves more than 20,000 meals annually across a range of sites, including Unity Place in Milton Keynes and Hinxton Hall in Cambridge.
