Marine Hotel Association
Supplying the cruise industry
Philippe Faucher is md of Barcelona Europe Supply and Apollo Group director of operations. A former chef and cruise culinary director and now on the MHA board, he talks to Jo Austin
OBH: What was your training/background and what brought you into the cruise supply business? PF: I originally trained as a chef in none other
than the UK, working for Louis Outhier at the Grosvenor House Hotels’ ‘Ninety Park Lane’ Michelin-starred restaurant in London, then onto Michel Roux’s three-starred Waterside Inn amongst other well-established properties, I ended up in France, working for the Comtess de Paris in EU. I later saw some advertisements for Celebrity Cruise Lines and Michel Roux happened to be the consulting chef at the time, so I ended up on cruise liners as executive chef for about seven years. I then set up a food and beverage consulting firm in the US and consulted for one to two ship operations, and hence became more involved in the purchasing and logistics. As we all
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www.onboardhospitality.com
know, the primary ingredient is the key to the success of the finished product (with the knowledge associated to preparing, cooking and serving it of course)
When and why did Barcelona Europe Supply come about? BES is a major subsidiary of Apollo Ship Chandlers, now the Apollo Group, which was formed back in 1969 to be the ‘silent partner’ behind successful ship operations. It’s a fact that most small firms and start-up cruise companies simply can’t afford to match the product line of the large companies and by outsourcing to us we can give them the competitive edge. The Group has grown to include Apollo Global Catering, Europe USA Marine Travel, Freight Solutions, Apollo Risk Management Solutions, and our newest affiliate, Barcelona Europe Supply Company.
What is your day-to-day core business? We service the needs of cruise vessels in Europe. This involves handling goods at multiple difference temperatures from dry to deep-frozen. We also have the option to handle merchandise in bond so can manage all requirements from consolidation of goods, to fresh orders and emergencies. Our facility is fully compliant and licensed for non Eu approved goods, hence we are one of the few to provide US protein items in the area. We are currently developing our business to manage deck and engine supplies and then will go into the duty-free market , but that is a long way off for now …
What is the biggest challenge in your job? I think one of the challenges amongst many many others that we are faced with is the global economy and rising markets, that once used to be stable to a certain degree, whereas
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