44 | INTERVIEW: CHARTWELL S | CATERING AND HOSPITALIT Y
W:
www.universitybusiness.co.uk/news/catering
CHARTWELLS AND OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY Gillian Almond, commercial director of estates and facilities management at
Oxford Brookes University, Phillipa Fletcher, head of commercial operations at Oxford Brookes University and Amy Garret, marketing and communications manager at Chartwells at Oxford Brookes University, explain more about the recent development
✥ What prompted the project? Gillian Almond: The vision of Oxford
Brookes University is to offer an exceptional on-campus experience for staff, students and visitors. The recognition that catering is integral rather than peripheral to realising this goal started us on the journey to change the face of university catering. There is a widespread and growing interest in food and drink, which means that our students are more engaged with issues relating to environmental sustainability, provenance, quality and the freshness of the food they eat. Our customers are beginning to have a more holistic knowledge and interest in food through travel, food trends, the ever- growing popularity of food and cooking programmes, which we wanted to be reflected in our new food offer. Bringing the best of all these influences and elements together was the first step towards our ground-breaking new food offer.
✥ Where did you get your inspiration for the food offers and menu development? Phillipa Fletcher: University catering is not just about sustenance, our students want to be able to come on to campus
and enjoy something that they can’t (or won’t!) cook at home or that they can’t get elsewhere. Our offer had to be reflective of the trends on the high street, and worldlier to meet the increasing expectations of our customers, so we went on a road trip! With our teams in tow, we visited a number of innovative and inspiring food outlets, festivals and destinations such as Borough Market and the Big Feastival. As well as enjoying a day away from work, these field trips inspired our team and created a sense of community and involvement in such a big project.
✥ Can you explain a litle more about the menu development, and the role of your customers in this process? Amy Garrett: We believe that the most unique thing about our new food offer is the work and development that has gone on behind the scenes to make our vision a reality. Headed up by our in-house Executive Development Chef, Robert Dant, and with the help and guidance of Allegra McEvedy, our catering team has worked tirelessly to continually develop a menu that is truly bespoke to Oxford Brookes. Recipes have been created, tested and reworked until they are perfect. Through sampling,
feedback forums and simple chats over lunch, we have worked alongside our customers to deliver a menu that meets the needs of, and is relevant to, our diverse student population.
✥ Have any elements of the project been challenging? GA, PF, AG: One of the biggest challenges has probably been creating a sustainable offer that meets the needs of a very diverse student population that compares favourably with the best on the high street. Across our four campuses, the requirements and expectations of our customers are varied. An obstacle, we think, we have overcome by developing bespoke food offers based on extensive research and customer engagement. The opening of our new outlets in the John Henry Brookes building follows similar projects at two of the other campuses here at Oxford Brookes. And the project will not end here. The next challenge will be maintaining the standards we have set for ourselves and striving to continually improve our catering provision. And not to forget our ongoing quest for sustainable and tasty food offers which are affordable and value for money. We think we have found the answer. UB
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