John Charles, MD of Catering2Order, had a ministerial visit from Jonathan Shaw MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on Tuesday (2 March). The Minister appeared to be very receptive to the issues discussed with John and our own Chief Exec, Sally Reynolds.
But not content with that, John was elected onto the Board of Social Enterprise London (SEL) at their AGM on the Wednesday night and at their hustings went on to tackle the third sector spokespeople of the three main political parties over government contracts.
Election sound bites aside, John later commented: "Something far more innovative and effective would be if all parties gave a commitment to ensure that local government contracts below 25K which only require 3 quotes were to be made more readily accessible to social enterprises via a national body such as Social Firms UK and distributed by them to regional bodies such as SEL. Many of these smaller contracts are much more likely to be awarded to social enterprises due to the nature of their size and capacity and in turn allowing these smaller companies to establish a delivery track record whilst proving the value that social enterprises bring both to the client and their local community."
John explained that using intermediary tendering services can cost £800 a year per Borough (in London's case) and involves a lengthy pre-qualification process - both of which create real barriers to small companies subscribing to such services.
Set up in 2007, Catering2order has rapidly become one of London’s leading award winning contract catering.jpg)
companies providing a variety of catering services to meet the exacting needs of our clients. Our services range from full catering provision management such as staff restaurants and canteens to corporate hospitality and buffet catering for functions, events and meetings. As well as daily office lunch and fruit delivery.
As a company we are passionate about everything food related. Ensuring that our service is based on set quality controls and is reliable, consistent, flexible and responsive to our clients needs. Our award winning staff take great pride in the quality of their work and are dedicated to our demand for excellence in our delivery of service to each customer. Sourcing preference is given to local, organic and FairTrade suppliers. Whilst we are aware of our environmental responsibilities, using recycled packaging and recycling our waste.
We are experienced in delivering our services on site at clients premises as well as preparing catering off site from one of our production kitchens and delivery by our own temperature controlled vehicles across the London region.
Some of the catering solutions we have provided to clients such as the 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority, the Cabinet Office, Skanska Civil Engineering, Mott MacDonald, Willmott Dixon, Southwark Council, Action For Blind People and Peabody Trust include: Staff restaurant management, cafe and canteen setup and management, national and international press conferences, corporate hospitality, staff briefings and away days - along with a host of other functions and events.
As a Social Enterprise we self fund our own paid work placement scheme for people with disabilities and from socially deprived communities. Offering them real world training and development. Leading to Our scheme achieving an 85% success rate of graduates going on to meaningful employment. In turn helping us and our clients to demonstrably deliver on CSR values.
Catering2Order is an outside catering company. The company recently won a contract with the Olympic Delivery Authority.
!!NEWSFLASHES!!
* Nov 09 Catering2Order wins:- - Thames Gateway Business Award - catering contract for the newly-refurbished John Harvard Library in Southwark - regional supplier to Wilmott Dixon construction
* Oct 09 - new contract win for Speedy Hire on the Olympic Village - Catering2Order's Managing Director, John Charles, is the keynote speaker at the Afro Caribbean Business Network (ACBN) * June 09 John Charles appointed:- - Chair for BusinessLink London's Deaf & Disabled Entrepreneurs Advisory Group (DDEAG) - advisor to BERR
* September 2008 - Catering2Order were appointed as caterers for Skanska Civil Engineering on the Olympic Village. Following on from the success of the contract with Skanska Civil Engineering on the Olympic village in January 2009 awarded 2 further large project contracts.
* Nov 08 - Catering2Order shortlisted for the very first social enterprise award to be presented from the Growing Business Award (www.growingbusinessawards.co.uk) which began in 2005. This new Award is made to an individual or an organisation that has made the most significant contribution to social entrepreneurship in the UK in the past 12 months.
* 11th December 2008 - John Charles (Managing Director) of Catering2order was a panel member of a Webinar broadcast hosted by Business 2 Business and sponsored by Go South, London Development Agency and the Olympic Delivery Authority along with a number of other local councils. The objective of the Webinar was to highlight how to tender for contracts especially ODA contracts. For more information contact John on tel: 08712 ....
* Nov 09 - Catering2Order featured inTrailblazers magazine as an inspiring example to young people of what a social enterprise can achieve. To view the article, visit: www.socialfirms.co.uk/news/document/format_uploaded/download.php/doc878....