FSM Awards 2016
The world of contract catering is often the unseen side of the industry, working across all sectors from education to hotels, leisure to event catering and of course in the workplace. The average man in the street will generally have no idea that the likes of Compass or Elior or ISS is serving him, but never the less the sector is huge and in recent years it has upped its game to compete with the high street and the rise of food to go, including the street food revolution.
As the leading foodservice agency we do a lot of work in this sector and understand the exceptional standard of the food concepts on offer, as well as the level of innovation and commitment to service. So it was great to be invited along to the FSM Awards at the Lancaster London this week to see the top performers in the industry receive their coveted FSM Awards. The evening was hosted by Jamie Robbins of H20 Publishing and compered by seasoned presenter, Mark Durden-Smith, who kept the audience in stitches with his observations and comments throughout the awards. The night (and wine) flowed and with the awards spaced out between courses (ensuring award ceremony boredom was avoided!) everyone had a fabulous time. The menu was outstanding, with each course designed and created by a different contract caterer and the venue itself, The Lancaster London, (most of which you can see on the Jellybean Twitter feed). So it was with great enthusiasm that the assembled guests toasted Santé de Chef and Santé de Service. The awards, which covered every discipline within the industry and were judged by a twenty four strong panel, culminated in the announcement of the Lifetime Achievement Award which went to friend of Jellybean, Phil Hooper of Sodexo, following a forty year career in the field of contract catering.
Well done to H20 Publishing, all the nominees and winners, the sponsors who make it all possible, the contract catering teams behind the menu and the venue team for such a great night. We look forward to next year’s event!