Sustainability is a key element of foodservice at Lesaffre, which means organic, fresh and local food for diners
F
or foodservice consultant Patrice Legrand FCSI, the chance to work with the French yeast producer Lesaffre was an opportunity to create a
new dining space from scratch for hundreds of employees, in keeping with an important cultural tradition in France. Te company’s Lesaffre Campus in Lille,
northern France, was inaugurated in 2022, bringing together the largest yeast factory in the world, plus a research and development center, across a 19-hectare site. “Lesaffre has been a major global player
in fermentation for over a century. It’s a story that began in 1853 between two friends, Louis Lesaffre and Louis Bonduelle, who joined forces to build a grain alcohol and gin factory in the north of France,” says Legrand. Now the company with a long history has more than 11,000 employees – including hundreds based on the new Lille campus, which has made a number of environmental commitments across the site. But despite high ambitions for the
campus, the original dining options were far from adventurous. “Initially, the construction project,
catering for a campus that can ultimately accommodate 700 employees and corporate catering, consisted solely of a cafeteria with 20 microwaves,” says Legrand. “In other words, outside the level of ambition of the overall project.” In France, there is a strong tradition
of communal dining, and it is common for
companies to offer on-site canteens for staff. Legrand’s company, Beha Legrand, was assigned the project of developing the dining options for the Lesaffre Campus. “Companies, particularly those with a
strong culture, increasingly want to offer their employees a lunch break with a meal. We know how important quality corporate catering is in France,” Legrand explains. “We therefore started with a blank page, taking as a starting point the mission that Lesaffre had given itself: To better feed and protect the planet”. A steering committee was set up with staff – an important part of the process when designing a restaurant for highly-informed staff working in the food business. “Unsurprisingly, what emerged from the
discussions was ideas of organic, fresh, local, and innovative food, including vegetarian options and varied products – a dining room where you can also schedule informal meetings, fluid distribution with choice and variety of food,” Legrand says. A historic building was commissioned to
incorporate plans for dining, linked to a farm in a style typical of northern France, with a historic gate dating back to 1689 and space for both diners and caterers.
CHANGED BY THE PANDEMIC
Before the outbreak of Covid-19, demand was estimated at 500 restaurant meals at lunchtime, with another 200 meals daily to be outsourced to local sites or for takeaway.
With Lesaffre’s agreement, Legrand
suggested bringing in consultant Catherine Bournizien FCSI, director of Phinéa Conseil, to help to integrate the service provider. A committee brought together employees
every month, including a laboratory quality manager, a purchasing manager, and a representative from the production factory, plus Legrand, Bournizien, and Lesaffre’s real estate director, Jacques Gustin. Eventually, the group chose Eurest from the Compass group to operate the new restaurant. However, change came with the global
pandemic: employees turned towards working from home and the number of staff attending the campus dropped dramatically. When the restaurant opened in May
2022, attendance was still well below the initial projections, but it has since seen a steady recovery. “Since 2023, the restaurant is becoming
a place of social life on the campus, reaching 400 meals, with 30% of these vegetarian meals, and heading steadily towards 500 daily meals,” says Legrand. Affordable prices for the meals formed
a key part of encouraging staff back to the workplace after the end of the pandemic. “Eurest is still in charge of operating
the restaurant, which is in full swing. Today the service is truly high quality and varied,” concludes Legrand, adding that it allows them to “satisfy employees who are very knowledgeable about food quality. It is a real place of life and exchange,” he adds.
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