Connect Catering Limited
8 Rockfort
Wallingford
Oxon OX10 9DA
T: 01491 826000
F: 01491 826007
E: [email protected]
www.connectcatering.co.uk
GOLD
It has to be . . .
a partnership
Acclaimed food critic
Charles Campion
independently reviews lunch
at Musgrave Retail Partners
GB run by Connect Catering,
Charles writes ...
Putting principles into practice
“There is a genuine feeling of partnership
here.”
On the face of it, having a client whose major
focus is food – the Budgens part of the business
alone has over 500 food stores – could be a
mixed blessing.
The rubric is ‘Fresh, local, value, choice’ and Simon
Wells, Connect’s client at Musgrave, is passionate
about food at every level. “Having an engaged
workforce is very important; that starts with
interaction and the interaction is often over food.”
To pick out two
lunch dishes;
“The slow cooked
lamb shank served
with parsnip mash
potato and red wine
jus is very sound; the
kind of dish that many
a gastropub would
aspire to. The portion
size is impressive.”
“One of the core values of Connect Catering is to
work very closely with clients.”
All food is freshly made and tailored to the tastes of the customers
The salad bar not only provides all the regular
staple ingredients so that the customers can
assemble mixed salads to their liking (these are
paid for by weight), but also offers two daily grab
and go salads such as tuna niçoise, caesar salad,
Thai chicken noodle, and halloumi and lemon cous
cous. There are a few ready made sandwiches on
offer but the vast majority of customers prefer to
have their sandwiches freshly made by Sandra.
When Musgrave moved offices Connect was able
to help design the new kitchen, the restaurant
ergonomics and take care of all the catering
implications. However, their investment in their
people is where they truly excel.
“Connect Catering is obviously proud of
what it does and that sustains the relationship
between customer and caterer.”
Sandra, Food Service Assistant, joined Musgrave
in January 1997 and then moved to Connect
under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of
Employment) regulations in October 2003. Sandra’s
domain is the deli bar where, as well as bespoke
sandwiches, she is responsible for the deli specials
and twice weekly hot deli options, which can
be anything from fresh roast beef carved into
ciabatta, hoki fish fingers, roast pork with apple
chutney, and herb roast chicken with stuffing.
The hot food offer is ever changing, with the chefs,
Oliver and Carlos, preparing everything from
scratch (as you would expect with the keywords
being ‘fresh, local, value, choice’). Every day
there is a soup, a chef’s special, a chef’s choice,
a vegetarian option and a dessert. These might
be dishes like sweet chilli, chive & tomato soup,
breaded chicken cordon bleu with creamy leek
sauce and thyme rissole potatoes, beef and
fine green bean stroganoff served with savoury
potatoes, cheesy spinach pasta bake with garlic
bread, or sticky ginger cake with custard.
Musgrave also uses the dining room as a place to
inform its staff and allow them to sample new items
from their own brand range, SuperValu. There is
no substitute for bringing new products into the
everyday lives of the staff, and Connect handles
a SuperValu meal deal – an offer that teams a
sandwich, crisps and a canned drink from the
Musgrave SuperValu range.
The deli
“The pan fried red
mullet served with
sesame noodles and
roast vegetables is an
ambitious dish. The
fish is well cooked,
carefully filleted and
with a light flouring.
Good flavours and
fresh tasting food –
the noodle element
is also delicious, nutty
with sesame.”
To find out more about how Connect Catering
work in partnership with their clients please
call their sales team on 01491 826000 or email
[email protected] to arrange
a meeting or a skype video call.
“Musgrave House
is not huge, but
at lunch time
you will hear the
same satisfied
buzz as you do
in a successful
restaurant.”
WHO’S WHO
C
onnect Catering was set up in 1989 by John and Jane Herring and is still very much
a family business, as three of John’s daughters hold senior positions after working their
way up through the company. The Connect portfolio of clients work on a cost plus basis
and the client list is a diverse one. Connect has worked with Musgrave Retail Partners GB
since 2003.
M
usgrave Retail Partnership with its brand sales of £6.6bn, is not a very well-known
name in the UK, but reel off the list of retail brands they are responsible for in Britain and
Ireland – Londis, Budgens, Mace, Superquinn, Centra – and you will recognise plenty of
old friends.
Charles Campion with Connect’s Catering Team: (from left to right)
Oliver, Siu, Sandra, Carlos and Sue proud to cook for the esteemed
food critic
C
harles Campion is not only a multi award winning chef, author and TV judge, he
is also a renowned food critic. According to his website he lives in Worcester with his
wife, two lively grown up children, six chickens, five ducks, two cats and a dog!
www.charlescampion.com
Extracts from Article Published in FSM Magazine August 2012