Mack is sharp as a knife!
One of the Operations Managers at Wilson Storey Halliday, Mack Allan, has won a Cost Sector Catering Award, one of the highest accolades that can be bestowed from within the foodservice industry.
He was nominated for the Contract Catering District Manager Award and won it in the face of some very strong competition.
Recently presented at a prestigious ceremony at the Hilton London Metropole hotel, the Awards are testament to recognising the talent that the foodservice industry nurtures. There are fourteen awards in total and each one reflects the very high standards achieved by each of the finalists.
Mack's nomination was prompted by the outstanding success he has achieved for one of his clients. Having held the post of Operations Manager for two years, he is responsible for three major group contracts. The client set a brief to reduce catering costs by more than 50% over a two year period - at little or no cost to food quality or service levels. The contract consisted of 8 state-of-the-art restaurants and coffee bars, which at their peak two years ago, employed 75 catering staff and served a customer base of 3200 staff.
Mack, through his consultative management style, not only achieved the savings, but also managed, through implementing commercial offerings and a rigorous merchandising campaign, to increase sales by 25% - all this without a single staff redundancy.
This kind of style has developed through his expansive career, although his first dally into catering could have put him off! He was at the age of 13, helping to prepare 2000 lunch boxes for his school's annual open day, not always the most influential, but it was the stereotypical Head Chef and his seeming authority over everyone in the school that held him in awe. He later went on to join the Army Catering Corps and found himself cooking for Royalty one minute and squaddies the next. In 1990 he returned to civvie street and joined Gardner Merchant, where he made his first transition into management.
Linda Halliday adds her own thoughts on Mack's award win. "It was great that Mack surpassed our client's objective, but it was the way in which he achieved it that I believe deserves the recognition by his peers in the industry - hence the nomination and now the award."
She continues "His management has resulted in us being awarded a long term contract with that client - he achieved on all levels without a loss of people - a real testament to the man's outstanding abilities".
In the opinion of his team, he is supportive, open and honest, demanding of himself as well as others, and quick to reward success. This latter point is evident when he commented on winning the award. "It is a superb feeling to have won and even more so to have been nominated by the company and judged by my peers. But this award isn't just for me, it's for the catering managers and Head Chefs out at the locations and to all the team at Head Office who provide me with great support. At the end of the day it is those people that have made it possible for me to win an award like this."
Article by Linda Kingston, Media Monkey