FEATURE
that staff catering facilities are up against! We no longer have a captive audience – quite the opposite, we have a capped audience - and we have a customer base that is far more interested and knowledgeable about food. The key to success these days is in enhancing the workplace experience and giving reasons for people to use you.
TFM
How would you describe the modern dining experience?
PR: There are four key elements of the modern staff dining experience that correlate to Peter’s Workplace Management concept. Firstly, it’s all about breaking down the barriers and by that I mean both physical and intangible barriers. It’s no longer acceptable to just open for two hours for breakfast, two hours for lunch – it’s not how people want to eat, and it’s not a good use of valuable square footage because today, people want all day grazing at a time that suits them.
It’s also about removing the barriers between the servery and the kitchen. People want to see the chefs and hear from them and one of the best mechanisms for this is chef’s theatre and chef’s tables.
www.tomorrowsfm.com
The other elements are that today, everyone is a foodie; healthy food is more important; and finally, understanding that one size no longer fits all.
TFM
So does the fact that everyone is now a foodie mean that they
are also keen to eat more healthily?
PR: Unfortunately not yet, but our role is to help them understand what impact eating healthily can have on them and also to make it easy for them to choose healthy options. Customers today are far wider travelled and eat out more and want to know about what they are eating. That gives caterers a great opportunity to engage with them by arranging events like ‘meet the supplier’ days, giving information on provenance and promoting particular foods.
Cooking healthily benefits everyone and companies and FMs want the food to reflect well on them, which means it must be tasty and popular, but what about if it also enhances performance? We’ve developed a range of foods that can target different aspects of nutrition like impacting on mood, providing energy, superfoods or
simple well-balanced dishes – depending on how people feel, they choose the easily identifiable dish that will provide for their needs at that moment.
TFM
Why does ‘one size fits all’ not work in catering any more?
PR: This goes back to the amount of competition outside and the alternatives available to our customers. Using the healthy eating example, the reality is that it’s not for everyone so caterers need to work smart, be flexible and have the ability to offer a range of options, including dishes that can be personalised at point of service.
TFM
Are we likely to see the High Street chains taking over and
opening up branches in the workplace?
PR: I doubt it. For example, why don’t we see Pret in workplaces? Years ago we were being told that they would be taking over our business, but unless you have several thousand staff, or a big campus operation with loads of different outlets, it just doesn’t work – it’s too rigid.
www.vacherin.com TOMORROW’S FM | 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66