Cateys 2024: Foodservice Caterer of the Year: Matt Thomas, Restaurant Associates

An incredible 100% client retention rate is not a statistic you see very often, but it is the number Restaurant Associates (RA) is proud to have achieved over the past 12 months. To ensure happy customers, a business must also have buy-in from its people and therefore have a leader that empowers its teams to deliver the best possible food and experience. 

 

That leader at RA is chief executive Matt Thomas, this year’s esteemed recipient of the Foodservice Caterer of the Year award. In what was an exceptionally strong category, judges praised Thomas’s passion and determination to strive for a high level of excellence, which sees RA continue to improve and develop. 

 

As a premium hospitality brand working with a wide range of prestigious businesses and venues, from cafés in zoos through to fine dining members’ clubs, RA has created a culture where its customers and clients inform every decision. This ensures the business consistently delivers outstanding food, service and customer relations in a crowded market – an attitude Thomas lives and breathes.

 

Thomas joined RA in 2021 from WSH, where he was managing director of Searcys, and prior to that he was managing director London of BaxterStorey. He joined RA in the depths of the pandemic and demonstrated strong leadership during some of the industry’s darkest years. Not only has he successfully navigated the business through Covid-19, he has also overseen dozens of new contract wins, while providing a steady stewardship through three years of considerable change. 

 

This last year, along with retaining every contract, RA has seen 42% organic growth and significant investments to its team structure. As well as delivering on sustainability goals (including partnering with sustainable restaurant Native to develop zero-waste menus and launching a British-first sourcing policy), RA has also become a London Living Wage employer.

 

Thomas oversaw the integration of luxury event caterer Rocket following RA’s acquisition at the end of 2022, as well as investing in culinary partnerships with chefs Sabrina Ghayour and Dipna Anand and Italian wine producer Fontanafredda, all of which have helped the business diversify and elevate its offering even further. 

 

An operations man through and through, Thomas has also led the charge to create a new Level 4 apprenticeship programme, Collaborate, in which culinary and front of house teams work alongside each other, something RA chef partner Michel Roux calls the “very first of its kind”, and which “unites kitchen and service for common good, while championing personal development”.

 

Looking to the future, Thomas is clearly bringing stability, growth and increased confidence to RA,a business that understands why listening to its customers and looking after its people is the single most important recipe for success. 

 

What the judges said

 

“A leader who demonstrates this level of passion and determination can only do good. His attention to detail and drive for a high level of excellence has resulted in some outstanding results, with 100% client retention being the tell-tale of a well run business” Morag Freathy

 

The shortlist

 

Simon Houston and David Hawkes Houston & Hawkes

 

Matt Thomas Restaurant Associates

 

Matt Wood Lexington

 

The judges

 

Frank Bothwell Thomas Franks 

 

Morag Freathy Compass Group UK & Ireland

 

Claire Philpott Cartwheel Recruitment

 

Allister Richards CH&Co

 

Chris Stern Stern Consultancy