A pilot scheme for new EATS (Exploring the Appetite of Today’s Soldiers) dining hubs at six military sites is preparing for final evaluation and potential roll-out across all UK camps and bases.
It aims to address concerns about the lack of flexibility seen in existing canteens and to introduce the choice, variety and convenience that today’s recruits have grown up with on the High Street.
The idea is to provide a range of healthy and popular options over a wider range of hours in a more modern and inviting environment, as well as offering meals for click and collect on a mobile app.
In doing so, the new-style catering operations will overcome one of the longstanding issues when dining halls close before soldiers have finished their day, prompting them often to order unhealthy takeaways.
The EATS dining scheme was launched a year ago under trial with contractors Aramark, Compass (ESS), and Sodexo each trialling it at two military sites, with a review then to determine if the service is financially viable and can be extended across the country.
Initially it was hoped the trial would take just ten months, but delays getting some of the trial sites up and running have meant that review has slipped into the early part of 2023.
The very first site trial started at The Keogh Barracks in Aldershot in January 2022 where Aramark holds the catering contract, as well as providing a number of other services.
Glyn Ingram, Aramark UK’s defence and judicial sector director, has helped oversee the trial, starting with the briefing from the Army, the surveys of service personnel, the development of designs and menus through to the introduction of the concept itself.
“There are between 300 and 400 people here at Keogh on any given day and the canteen used to attract no more than 60-80 of them each day.
“It was an old-fashioned canteen and was known locally as the ‘scoff house’. The main aim was to come in, grab your food, eat and get out as quickly as possible.
“It was not seen as a place to dwell or spend time socialising.
“The queue went from main hall, into the kitchen where plates were filled and then they filed out the kitchen back into the hall to eat at rows of tables.”
The Army knew it wanted better for its soldiers and worked with Aramark to survey personnel to find out what they really wanted.
Ingram said: “We had to be very careful to ask the right questions, otherwise you just get an ‘institutionalised’ view of things because this was what they were used to and it can be difficult to see how it might be different.
The site includes the Ranger Regiment and the Royal Army Medical Corps as well as the Army Medical Services Museum, which means the customer profile is different to many other military sites. Up to 25% of personnel are female.
“That came out in the surveys,” said Ingram. “Because of the medical side of things there is a higher than average number of women at Keogh and they said they found the canteen a bit intimidating and didn’t like eating there.
“That’s one reason why we’ve now got high-backed seating in to break the room up a bit.
“All the food serving has been brought front-of-house and the chefs interact with the customers. There’s not a single, solid servery, but several islands, each serving different options.
“We have also installed digital menu boards showing what’s being served and the menu is also incorporated into the military’s Side-By-Side app [this helps service personnel keep up-to-date with life on their base all in one place].
“Using the app users can find out about the latest offers, see the daily menus and photos of the dishes, pre-order their meals as well as access all the nutritional information they need about each.”
The different food stations now in operation offer a mix of familiar favourites with more aspirational dishes offering seasonal and global flavours, delivered as plated meals as well as grab-and-go options - all in a relaxing environment.
Fresh ingredients are used to create healthy, balanced, tasty food through a wide-ranging menu. Meal deals and promotions complement well-balanced, consistently-sized portions, which are designed to offer real value-for-money.
Ingram says that although, the new concept has definitely put more focus on healthier options, this has not been done at the expense of traditional favourites.
“We serve pizzas here, but also offer a click-and-collect service which is very popular. We know that pizza is a popular choice, but we think we’ve pitched our offer just right in terms of quality and price. The guardhouse, for instance, told us that since we started our own pizzas the number of deliveries to the gate they have to handle has dropped dramatically.
“And overall the numbers we serve have doubled to 120 or more a day and the number of meals served have increased by 160% since the introduction of the new EATS concept.”
Another element in the success of the new site is the decision to incorporate the shop into the EATS centre.
“This was a good move as the shop allows us to also offer sandwiches, snacks and drinks all on the one site.”
Another change has been to increase the opening hours.
“We’re now open all-day, not just for breakfast and then lunch and then dinner. People now drop in for a coffee – Starbucks is the choice here – and then use the different seating areas around the room as informal break-out rooms for meetings.”
Ingram says that all the feedback received so far has been very positive – from the personnel who use the facilities, the 15-strong catering team who provide the service and the Army command itself.
WO1 (SSM) Colin Sinclair, HQ Regional Command said of the concept: “Army EATS is about recognising the customer’s needs, recognising how the customer works, and that they may not want three meals a day or any kind of restrictive menu; they want a more welcoming environment with modern technology, and a menu that responds to their needs.
“By addressing timings, technology, the offer and the environment in which our customers dine, we know that we can have a positive impact on the wellbeing and ultimately retention of our service personnel.”
Ingram adds: “We knew we’d got things right when Gurkhas from another site we manage in Folkestone came to Keogh. They loved the choices, the flexibility and the atmosphere we have here.
“The important thing about EATS, though, is that it is not a template you would use to create the same thing on every base. Each one is different and its needs have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“What it does enable you to do, though, is take a proven concept and tweak it to provide the service that suits the personnel mix on any base.”