Former Casual Dining Group CEO appointed non-executive chairman of Social Pantry

Events and workplace caterer Social Pantry has appointed former Casual Dining Group CEO James Spragg as non-executive chairman.

Spragg will work with Social Pantry’s CEO and founder Alex Head to accelerate the growth of the business, while maintaining its core values of sustainable catering and the hiring of ex-offenders.

Spragg, who was CEO of Bella Italia, Café Rouge, and Las Iguanas owner Casual Dining Group for six years, said: “I am delighted to join such a progressive company that is growing fast. Social Pantry is at an exciting point in its growth journey, with plans to achieve its B-Corp accreditation and a partnership with [food waste app] Olio now under its belt. I look forward to working together to deliver on its next phase of development”.

Head added: “With a background growing some of the UK’s leading restaurants and hospitality brands, James is uniquely placed to take Social Pantry to the next level. I could not be happier to begin working with him and look forward to unleashing exciting growth across our event and workplace catering.”

Social Pantry was launched in 2011, initially focusing on event caterering and later expanding into workplace dining. In November 2022 Head told The Caterer the business had seen 30% growth year on year and was looking to achieve 50:50 split in event and workplace clients.