Restaurant Associates eyes new heights with Edinburgh Zoo contract extension

Restaurant Associates (RA) is hoping its catering and hospitality offering at Edinburgh Zoo will reach new heights after securing a three-year contract extension.

Central to its offering will be a giraffe-themed food and drink menu, celebrating the arrival of five new giraffes at the zoo.

It will launch a ‘girafternoon tea’ from the new Giraffe Cafe and introduce hydroponics in the Grasslands restaurant, which will grow cress for sandwiches and wheatgrass for smoothies, inspired by the diet of the giraffes.

RA, part of Compass Group, provides services for weddings, conferences, meetings and events at the venue as well as running the restaurant and two cafes.

Steve Chandler, managing director of Restaurant Associates Venues, said: “We have loved every minute of working with Edinburgh Zoo over the last decade. Our partnership began in 2011 with the arrival of the giant pandas, so it seems fitting that we mark our tenth anniversary and contract extension with another much-anticipated new arrival! The giraffes have generated a lot of excitement, and it has been a pleasure to adapt and support the Zoo to come up with a new sustainable catering concept to match.

“Conservation is the core message at Edinburgh Zoo, and their ethos of sustainability and high quality matches our own values. The Restaurant Associates team in Scotland has developed bespoke packages and delicious menu items to support this philosophy, even down to the introduction of the hydroponics which reflects our sustainability and healthy eating ethos. We are thrilled to strengthen this partnership, and we cannot wait to see how visitors react.”

Ben Supple, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland director of engagement and business development, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Restaurant Associates at Edinburgh Zoo. This is a partnership in the truest sense of the word, with the Restaurant Associates team very much part of the RZSS family and our journey to connect people with nature and protect threatened species."