School caterers are often the unsung heroes of our industry, but this was certainly not the case on Monday evening as The Royal Garden Hotel played host to the annual EDUCatering Awards. The evening saw the great and the good of the school meals industry gather to see who would walk away with these coveted awards. With contract caterers – big and small, local authorities, individual schools, food and drink brands, and of course the leading foodservice agency represented, the night honoured every aspect of the sector, from primary to secondary, innovation to marketing, CSR to newcomers, and everything in between. The awards were judged by a panel of 21 industry professionals from the world of school catering with one notable exception – the Innovation Award, which was judged on the night by the audience via their key pads. But this wasn’t the only technological touch to the evening. At each end of the room was a Twitter wall screening tweets using the hashtag #EDUAwards and included a leader board of most influential accounts tweeting, helping to drive the social media amplification of the event (nice one!).
When it comes to fundraising events, blending good food, good wine and good company with a generous smattering of sporting celebs is a clear recipe for success. The annual Hospitality Action Sporting Legends Luncheon took place on Friday 7th of October at the Lancaster London and as a loyal supporter of the charity and the leading foodservice marketing agency we were of course there. Joined by some of our lovely clients we gathered at the drinks reception where the beans could be found propping up the bar whilst scoping out the gathering sporting celebrities.
The best thing about a city weekend away for me, is discovering new places to eat! A Jellybean through and through…everything is about food! And on a recent weekend to Manchester with friends, being based in the popular Northern Quarter meant that we had no shortage of fantastic restaurants and bars to try out.
It has to be said that Michelin starred cuisine and zoos are not likely bedfellows, but when it comes to fundraising for Hospitality Action anything is possible! So last week we hot-footed it down to ZSL London Zoo to be greeted by llamas (would you believe?) to enjoy a fabulous menu devised and cooked by Michelin stared chef Ollie Dabbous of Dabbous London. We arrived and made our way through the zoo to mingle with other diners surrounded by the zoo’s enclosures and their resident wildlife within. As the leading foodservice agency we are lucky enough to go to all sorts of fabulous events and meals, but never before had we been entertained in a zoo, so this was a first for us!
As the leading foodservice agency we make sure we get along to as many Arena networking events as possible and certainly never miss the annual Face 2 Face with Alistair Stewart. This year it was held at the stunning Landmark London Hotel with a line-up including the headline interview with Dennis Hogan MD of Compass Group UK & Ireland, as well as a panel discussion on the impact of Brexit on the hospitality industry.
Having just passed the 3 month mark at Jellybean, I jumped at the chance to attend my first industry event. Specifically designed for those new to foodservice, the Horizons Key Club and Study Tour seemed right up my street.
In the creative world, we all want to create that winning piece of work that has impact, gets recognised and delivers on the objectives. As the leading foodservice agency, here at Jellybean we strive to do this for our clients every day. However, to deliver outstanding creative you have to start with a killer brief – one that drills down to the fundamental proposition and steers the transformation of your thinking and your business.
One of the perks of the job is the trips, and this one was extra special because it was a competition prize for this year’s Tilda Chef of the Year winner, Lee Warren, who works for Compass. Another ex-winner and now judge of the competition, Danny Leung of Lexington Catering, joined us along with new Tilda Head of Foodservice, Craig Dillon and BigH journalist, Sophie Witts.
The Universal Cookery and Food Festival – now in its fifth and arguably most high-profile year – is the Craft Guild of Chefs’ love letter to food, farming and the harvest. The recipe seems simple but the final result is so unlike any other foodservice event in the calendar; take a bunch of innovative suppliers, throw in a band of leading chefs, add growers, foragers, farmers, beekeepers, bands, beer, about two-and-a-half tons of hay and cover with a corrugated tin roof until done.
With the all-day-dining and on-the-go eating trends showing no sign of abating, the ever popular annual Lunch! Exhibition couldn’t be more on-trend. So little wonder the aisles were packed with trade visitors looking to check-out the latest trends and products. The Business Design Centre was packed with exhibitors, plus two keynote theatres, a start-up zone and innovation challenge area so there was lots to see and taste. Of course as the leading foodservice marketing and PR agency we were there to check out the show, support our clients who were exhibiting and meet up with friends and contacts.
At the end of July, I hastily threw a pair of neon Primark wellies, an extra thick sleeping bag, a very unattractive head torch and various other ‘staycation’ essentials into the back of my friend’s car. After the rather predictable game of car-Tetris which resulted in a fair few sacrifices, we were on our way through the Dartford Tunnel.
Yes, yes and yes! And guess what, we even got sunshine!
Whilst thinking of ideas for what to get my boyfriend for his birthday, I came across a fantastic deal on Groupon which was very much up our street – cocktails and a Spanish platter on a rooftop bar in Trafalgar – Vista Bar, on the roof of the Hilton Trafalgar Hotel to be precise.
On the 2nd August I was in the fortunate position of attending MAA’s first GreenJam event on ‘How Account Handlers can be more strategic’ with a dynamic panel of speakers: Kit Altin, Head Innovation & Global Planning Director, Leo Burnett; Sarah Stratford, Executive Strategy Director, Field Day London; Simon Callender, Creative Planning Director, World of Initials and Philip Slade, Strategy Director, Crispin Porter & Bogusky. Naturally I was keen to see what I could take away to implement for our clients at a foodservice agency.
When the call came and we were asked by new client and continental cheese giant Futura Foods, if we’d like to go to the International Cheese Awards trade day we didn’t hesitate.
I was very much looking forward to my first ‘food safari’ and it lived up to my expectations. With the guidance of Richie and Rich and some flat shoes on ready to cover some serious ground, I was looking forward to getting started. Time to see the latest foodservice concepts on offer in our capital.
At Jellybean we’re very lucky to be invited to a lot of ‘do’s’ – highly swanky affairs where, often dressed to the nines, you get to eat, meet, drink, donate to fantastic causes and, if the eating and drinking hasn’t taken too much of a toll, dance yourself into the wee hours.
When it comes to rankings and ratings you can’t find a more valuable source than feedback from current clients, which is why we value our Recommended Agency Register (RAR) status so highly. Every year the RAR team-up with prestigious marketing title THE DRUM to run both a Design Agency Census and an Independent Agencies Census with rankings determined from a rigorous questionnaire and most importantly, RAR client feedback.
Another quarter has passed during which Brexit has happened. Working at Jellybean Creative Solutions, a leading foodservice pr agency, we were keen to learn what impact this would have on the eating-out-market and hear from MCA on their key findings from their panellist of 6000 consumers.
