Food For Thought
The Outsource Magazine's Autumn publication, looks into the fact that with more variety on the high street, it's hardly surprising that expectations of the type of food served in the staff canteen have moved on from burger & chip - 'If you can't stand the heat, put someone else in the kitchen'.
With more variety in restaurants and supermarkets, it's hardly surprising that people's expectations of catering in the workplace have also changed dramatically. The Formica tables and meat & two veg world of Victoria Wood's dinner ladies is charmingly out of date: now people are concerned with Fair Trade produce and having an Atkins-friendly menu.
'To some extent, trends on the high street like Café Nero and Pret a Manger have influenced the type of environment companies want,' says Alastair Storey, founder and managing director of Wilson Storey Halliday, a catering company servicing blue-chip companies.
Keeping up with these trends is one reason why most companies choose to bring in specialists to manage their catering facilities rather than take on the job themselves. 'Many look at it as part of an employee benefits package and part of an obligation – in many cases you don't want people wandering off-site for productivity reasons and you also want people to make use of it as an informal meeting area,' says Storey.
With floor space – particularly in cities – at a premium, companies don't want to use a vast canteen-style area that will just be used for a couple of hours at lunchtime: they want a space that staff will use for meetings throughout the day. Outside caterers, who want to maximise their profits, will know the best way to do that.
Whether it's a business perk or opening necessity, the reasons for outsourcing are the same for catering as any other part of the business: it allows companies to concentrate on what they do best.
The trends in catering:-
More "grab n go" convenience offerings
More bakery and sandwiches
Greater emphasis on quality
Increased use of branding
Greater emphasis on healthy eating
A more sophisticated customer base
Smaller serving areas
Use of retail shops alongside catering
Reduced or eliminated client costs