Acorns 2020: Josh Key, 29

Development and sustainability manager, Blue Apple Catering

Nominator Sarah Prentice

Josh Key started his career in hospitality at just 18 years old with BaxterStorey. He achieved considerable success within the company, including contributing to year-on-year growth in excess of £40m annually and winning bids with Amazon, PwC and British Airways. For nine years he worked his way up through BaxterStorey’s parent company WSH and then ISS Facility Services before joining entrepreneurial contract caterer Blue Apple.

Key leads Blue Apple’s sustainability team and has a wide remit, including food waste, single-use plastic, food miles, reuse and recycling, as well as being responsible for 11 Green World Ambassadors (an initiative of environmental group Green Organisation). He and executive chef David Belsey also run interactive masterclasses with a local secondary school.

He has continued to deliver innovative and winning tender documents for Blue Apple, including a recent technology company contract that made use of a bespoke mobilisation website. He’s ‘the finger on the pulse’ with openings, venues and food trends, a member of the Association of Catering Excellence, and was also recently involved in a Future Foodservice session about the next 10 years in the foodservice industry.

Who is your hospitality hero?

Tom Brown, the head chef of Cornerstone. Tom is testament to what passion, hard work and commitment can achieve in a fiercely competitive industry at such a young age. Tom has learned from some of the industry greats and worked hard for success, putting his own stamp on our sector. He’s proof that the hard work you put into the industry paves the way for a fantastic, diverse and rewarding career.