Foodservice Caterer of the Year Sponsored by Unox THE SHORTLIST


Simon Houston and David Hawkes


Houston & Hawkes Matt Thomas


Restaurant Associates


Matt Wood Lexington


THE JUDGES


Frank Bothwell Thomas Franks


Morag Freathy


Compass Group UK & Ireland


Claire Philpott Cartwheel


Recruitment


Allister Richards CH&Co


Chris Stern Stern Consultancy WINNER Matt Thomas, Restaurant Associates 2024


An incredible 100% client retention rate is not a statistic you see very often, but it is the number Restaurant Associates (RA) is proud to have achieved over the past 12 months. To ensure happy customers, a business must also have buy-in from its people and therefore have a leader that empowers its teams to deliver the best possible food and experience. That leader at RA is chief executive Matt


Thomas, this year’s esteemed recipient of the Foodservice Caterer of the Year award. In what was an exceptionally strong category, judges praised Thomas’s passion and determination to strive for a high level of excellence, which sees RA continue to improve and develop. As a premium hospitality brand working


with a wide range of prestigious businesses and venues, from cafés in zoos through to fine dining members’ clubs, RA has created a cul- ture where its customers and clients inform every decision. This ensures the business con- sistently delivers outstanding food, service and customer relations in a crowded market – an attitude Thomas lives and breathes. Thomas joined RA in 2021 from WSH,


where he was managing director of Searcys, and prior to that he was managing director London of BaxterStorey. He joined RA in the depths of the pandemic and demonstrated strong leadership during some of the industry’s darkest years. Not only has he successfully navigated the business through Covid-19, he has also overseen dozens of new contract wins, while providing a steady stewardship through three years of considerable change. This last year, along with retaining every contract, RA has seen 42% organic growth and significant investments to its team structure. As well as delivering on sustainability goals (including partnering with sustainable restaurant Native to develop zero-waste menus and launching a British-first sourcing


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“A leader who demonstrates this level of passion and determination can only


do good” Morag Freathy


policy), RA has also become a London Living Wage employer. Thomas oversaw the integration of luxury


event caterer Rocket following RA’s acquisi- tion at the end of 2022, as well as investing in culinary partnerships with chefs Sabrina Gha- your and Dipna Anand and Italian wine pro- ducer Fontanafredda, all of which have helped the business diversify and elevate its offering even further. An operations man through and through, Thomas has also led the charge to create a new Level 4 apprenticeship programme, Collaborate, in which culinary and front of house teams work alongside each other, something RA chef partner Michel Roux calls the “very first of its kind”, and which “unites kitchen and service for common good, while championing personal development”. Looking to the future, Thomas is clearly bringing stability, growth and increased confidence to RA,a business that understands why listening to its customers and looking after its people is the single most important recipe for success.


WHAT THE JUDGES SAID “A leader who demonstrates this level of passion and determination can only do good. His attention to detail and drive for a high level of excellence has resulted in some outstanding results, with 100% client retention being the tell- tale of a well run business” Morag Freathy


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