Cover story


“We listen, we deliver, and we change”


Chris Purser


fit our portfolio. I would say: ‘I know you think I am being precious, and I am’.” Vacherin, which now has 1,110 employees,


prides itself on creating good working envi- ronments, so the process of the new con- tracts started at ground level, with a focus on wellbeing, sports, charity and social events. “We’re a tight group. We work and


play together and set high standards for our- selves,” says Roker. “Clients began to under- stand we weren’t going to brand everything with Vacherin – we are discreet, but we have a strong culture.”


Machine learning Vacherin’s ethos is also protected operation- ally. There is a dedicated Vacherin front-end, which includes operations directors, the


On offering flexi-working opportunities post-Covid


Since Covid, Vacherin’s clients have been battling with how much they mandate the return of their employees to the office or allow freedom to work from home. In response, Vacherin set out its proposals


for a flexible approach to catering in a paper called ‘Beyond Covid-19: The Future of Workplace Catering’. These include offering building-wide catering delivery; call-order and table service; and flexible dual-purpose catering areas with work-free zones. It also offers ideas to enhance the work-life balance of employees, including mini-markets, a concierge one-stop-shop service and Vacherin at Home. “We’ve put them all into action,” says Roker.


“Covid accelerated change that was happening already and if we’re talking to a client about designing a space now, we look at flexibility so that no matter how usage patterns change it will be fit for purpose. We’re making spaces hybrid – where people come on their own to do some work and have a coffee or hold small meetings. We’re getting away from the traditional staff restaurant with two hours of


26 | The Caterer | 28 April 2023


service at breakfast and two hours at lunch. It is about enhancing office life.” So, while Covid has changed things, Roker


says it is not all for the worse. In fact, he can confirm that in the last quarter of last year the run rate was 83% like-for-like pre-Covid. “People coming into the office for three days


a week have the same budget as when they came in for five days and are using the facilities more during those times,” says Roker. “They are more relaxed because in the days they are at home they can also run errands or do chores. Back in the office, they want to spend more time catching up with colleagues over a cappuccino.” New working patterns have also made


him rethink how he employs his own teams. Fridays are used for staff training, for instance, while he recruits some team members for a four-day week. “We offer the chance of 40 hours within four days – maybe working at evening events. Monday to Thursday is busier and we are taking as much money as ever,” says Roker.


culinary team and head of sales to make sure the brand stays true to its values of providing bespoke, quality F&B and wellbeing initia- tives. Then there is the CH&Co central engine room, with access to HR, finance, procure- ment, marketing, sustainability and learn- ing and development, technology, systems, sustainability, communications, its quality, health, safety and environment policy, legal services and more. Crucially, this embraces a hybrid element as Vacherin has a dedicated marketing manager, two dedicated HR man- agers on the central teams who benefit from training and shared ideas – and similarly with procurement and sustainability. “Vacherin can tap into a big machine, but


still have a name and a face. Those are the things that help us remain distinct and retain clients,” says Roker. Inevitably, Roker had to reassure Vacherin’s


clients when the business was sold. “But now, three years in, I can say: ‘I told you. I am still here and the people who used to look after you are still here, and we are still true to our values, but with some new faces and input’.” Moving into a bigger operation was a transi-


tion for Roker, too. “I don’t always agree with everything, but they are open to listen to me


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