LEISURE MANAGEMENT PROMOTION
Levy Restaurants’reasons for approaching Aikens were several. At the time, the company provided the catering for Somerset House through the Admiralty Restaurant, café and deli, but decided it was time for a rethink. Somerset House had become an increasingly well-known venue, hosting a number of high-pro- fi le events, including London Fashion Week and a series of major art exhi- bitions, and the catering no longer provided such a good fi t. “We needed to think about how we could support Somerset House’s vision from a food-and-beverage per- spective. It became obvious that we had to look at it in a very radical way, and completely reposition the offer on site,” says Roy Westwood, creative director at Levy Restaurants. Levy Restaurants began exploring the celebrity chef route, which offered clear benefi ts in terms of raising the profi le of the catering at Somerset House, and carefully considered who might complement the venue. “Somerset House has a very strong heritage in terms of Britishness, so we needed to fi nd a chef partner who had the same strong British roots,” says Westwood. “Tom was at the top of that list with his Tom’s Kitchen brand – it’s very casual and very inno- vative. You’ve got the support of a Michelin-starred chef, and yet it’s very casual in its nature and inher- ently British in its tradition.” The partnership sees Levy Restaurants manage and run the venue, while Aikens trains the staff and oversees the menu.
TOM’S KITCHEN AT LONDON FASHION WEEK
Tom's Kitchen Events were responsible for catering London Fashion Week at Somerset House; from models to photographers, from the British Fashion Council to major sponsors and designers along with guests, media and bloggers.
2,648 COFFEES
1259 SANDWICHES VS
FAST STATS 15,000
NUMBER OF ATTENDEES
5,465
1,515 125 120
NUMBER OF CANAPÉS SERVED
BOTTLES OF CHAMPAGNE
PEOPLE ON THE CATERING TEAM
HOURS OF GROUND PREPARATION
872 SALADS
“The working relationship we’ve got with Levy Restaurants is very strong,” says Aikens. “There’s a real transpar- ency between us, and we completely understand one another in terms of what we’re focusing on.”
What is also apparent in this new
The team at Tom’s Kitchen adopts Levy Restaurants’ guest-fi rst approach, putting customers at the centre of every decision and chal- lenging them to expect more from their experience. This approach drives results in terms of foot- fall, ensures repeat bookings and increases time spent in the restau- rant and spend-per-head. In 2013,
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spend-per-head increased by 8.3 per cent in Tom’s Kitchen and 3 per cent in Tom’s Kitchen Deli, generat- ing a 117 per cent profi t increase compared with the previous year. The team at Tom’s Kitchen also cater for Tom’s Kitchen Terrace in the summer and Tom’s Kitchen Skate Lounge in the winter. Other events hosted at Somerset House include Film4 Summer Screen (35,000 cus- tomers) and Summer Series with American Express (35,000 customers).
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
partnership is the marriage of Aikens’ values with those of Levy Restaurants, championing the use of fresh sea- sonal British produce, creating inspiring dining spaces and nurturing future culinary talent.
“There are a lot of advantages
for everyone with partnerships like these,” says Westwood. “We get to learn from the best in the industry and it raises our profi le. From the chef’s point of view, they get the opportunity to work in unique venues, often with a lot of heritage, such as museums and places like Somerset House. Also, it helps chefs explore avenues they might not have otherwise been able to – such as with Tom’s Kitchen Deli. “We can afford to try things, and if they work, the chefs can take that knowledge away and apply it to their own businesses.”
ISSUE 2 2014 © cybertrek 2014
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