When a trio of Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) members came together with combined long-term know-how on the same project, the client could be sure that his business was in safe hands.
One of the three, Marios Poumpouris, managing director Chiller Box says: “We each have an understanding of how the others work and the quality of service we can provide together. It’s a great network to be part of and a guarantee that we are going to deliver quality.”
Chiller Box, as an allied member of the FCSI, linked up with consultancy member, Coverpoint and catering contractor member, Lexington, to design, install and manage Café 200, a café bar open to commercial residents and the public at 200 Aldersgate in the City of London.
The value of their partnership was proved when they were faced with a tight deadline to transform the space allocated for catering by the client, Deutsche Pfandbriefbank, into a fully operational business.
The building had stood empty for 10 years when the client acquired it. It has capacity for 3,000 people, and is currently looking for tenants. So far, some 450 employees are working in the building and making full use of the catering facility.
Coverpoint first became involved with the building in December 2010, when it was completely empty. The developer had already established the café area, but there was no idea of what was needed to make it work.
Coverpoint’s catering consultant, Adam Griffin, says: “Back of house, there was nothing. There were no services, no ventilation and a very small working area. We had to determine what was needed and what the space could deliver in terms of revenue.”
In February 2011, the catering was put out to tender. “We went to five contractors, but we knew from the outset that when the building became fully occupied, it would generate profit,” he says.
Chiller Box was then brought in to determine what could work within the confines of the kitchen and Lexington was appointed to run the catering contract. Initially the sole catering need was to supply a service – mainly just coffee – to prospective tenants coming to view the building.
But between the three partners now working on the project, the demands were to decide what to serve, what equipment was needed against what was possible, and when to trade.
“We had worked with both Chiller Box and Lexington before,” says Adam “but it was the first tender we had awarded to Lexington.
“The most unusual part of the contract was that the space had been allocated and designed before anybody came on board. A menu that could be produced from a kitchen with no extraction had to be developed and it was too late to influence any design changes, so we compromised on what hot food could be served.”
Chef Graham Busson describes the galley-type kitchen as “compact and bijou”.
“Lunch time trends are generally moving away from hot dishes, but there was still a demand from the client and we had to find a way of delivering a decent offer.”
“The working environment does limit us to some extent, but not entirely,” says Lexington sales and marketing director, Russell Scanlon. “Breakfast includes hot panini and porridge and at lunch time we offer soup and a hot main dish.
“The essential piece of equipment is the Rational combi oven with a built-in hood which overcomes ventilation issues, removing the steam whenever the door is opened.
“There is also a high speed Panini grill from Electrolux on the back bar, heating the product in just one minute, thirty seconds a side. It’s a state-of-the-art piece of equipment which has not been long available in the UK.”
According to unit manager, Raewyn Olsson, “it’s the best piece of equipment ever”.
There is also a Hatco soup well which cooks, boils and holds soup, another ideal back-bar innovation for the style of operation. A Brasilia Espresso Perfetto coffee machine, with four group handles, serving Illy coffee, with two induction pads completing the range.
“There was a long lead time to get the coffee machine over here, but it is proving itself and the extra handle will be especially important as the number of customers increase,” says Marios.
“Everything is made on site,” says Russell. “We have a grab-and-go selection in the chill cabinet, offering pre-made deep-filled wedge sandwiches; we do all of our own baking and, in addition to a serve-yourself salad bar, lunch includes a hot feature dish every day.”
Café 200 is aiming to provide the sort of menu that is different to others in the local area. There’s a Pret-A-Manger next door and many other similar outlets in the immediate neighbourhood.
“At the moment, they are our main competitors,” says Russell. “We are the only caterer in the building, although new tenants could bring in their own, so we need to stay competitive.
“We offer a delivery service to the offices in the building, but so does Pret-A-Manager, as well as providing functions for hospitality. Café 200 is a good place for the client to show off as he takes prospective tenants around the building.”
The client is also aiming to entice new tenants by bringing in ‘extras’ to the building. A Virgin Active gym is already open and members are encouraged to use Café 200 when they receive a loyalty card.
Russell says: “While the full menu range is available to them, we also offer our ‘Let’s Energise’ range of calorie-controlled, high-energy items.”
Tenants can also choose to pay by cash or through a cashless system, which can be subsidised if that is the client’s wish, although the aim is to eventually arrive at a price neutral menu on a commercial basis.
“The client is keen to see the Café become more commercial and once we hit 1000 people in the building that will happen,” he says.
When the trio first became involved with the project, the only item of equipment in place was the counter. He continues: “We took out the wells and replaced them with a flat surface, so that the counter can double as a bar for functions. We can also bring out the induction pads from the kitchen and use them on the counter.”
Feedback from customers has been good. The Café is serving around 100 for morning coffee and 150 at lunchtime, plus a range of informal meetings taking place through the day in the comfortable seating area adjacent to the more formal eating space. With the present equipment installation, Russell estimates they could probably serve up to 1,000, but would then be at capacity.
Russell says: “We have three staff members on site but have a wide support team in Lexington we can pull in as needed, particularly for functions. Once we pass 500 we would need another team member and at 1,000 would need six on site, including a commis chef.”
Lexington, celebrating its 10th anniversary, works exclusively in B&I in south east England, Central and the West End of London and in Reading and Oxford. Chiller Box has a similar patch along the M4 corridor.
The contract is financially challenging, Russell admits. Lexington has some investment in the outlet, primarily in light equipment. But as it grows, more equipment as well as extra staff will be needed to service it and an additional kitchen will be needed, probably in the basement.
“This sort of contract is bread and butter to us,” says Marios from Chiller Box. “But every contract needs attention to detail to deliver it properly.”
One of the main ‘details’ Chiller Box had to contend with was the building itself. As well as having to overcome the fact that there was no ventilation and no main services laid on and no possibility of making structural alterations, when it finally came to installation, there was nobody on site to receive the equipment.
So the kitchen was put together off site and delivered in one go.
“We had to work closely with the building managers to get the services correct and sorted,” he says. “And once in place, we had a couple of days to put everything in.”
The team worked on a Thursday and Friday ready for the café’s opening the following Monday.
At present, Café 200 looks a little lonely in this large modern and under-occupied building. But once it really gets into full swing, the three FCSI company members who made it happen will have an even better example of how it pays to work together.
Chiller Box
Chiller Box is a commercial kitchen designer for restaurants, bars, pubs, cafés, hotels and schools across the UK. Based in London, it supplies and installs catering equipment, commercial refrigeration and air conditioning systems as part of a one-stop shop business solution to hospitality and public sector clients.
Coverpoint Catering Consultancy
Since 1993, the consultancy has been working with clients in the UK, across Europe and around the world in the commercial, leisure and retail foodservice sectors. Based near Reading, it specialises in shopping environments, visitor attractions, retail stores and arts venues as well as business and industry sites.
Lexington Catering
London-based Lexington Catering specialises in contract catering in the business and industry foodservice sector with a focus on food freshly prepared on site using ingredients sourced as locally as possible. It aims to create bespoke offers, ranging from small coffee bars to vibrant cafés, and express-service delis to massive staff restaurants.
www.lexingtoncatering.com