Foodservice Cateys 2022: Retail and Leisure Caterer of the Year – Sodexo Live

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Sodexo Live has been awarded this year’s Retail and Leisure Foodservice Catey for its strong performance during and after the Newcastle United football club’s takeover of St James’ Park stadium, which began last October.

Over the course of the season, Sodexo Live has welcomed 1,079,868 match day guests to the stadium, of which 55,821 directly experienced its fine dining or bistro offering, marking a 28% increase in covers and a 34% increase in guests spend per head.

It has also made a conscious effort to collaborate closely with Newcastle United with the aim of expanding the diversity of events, such as the creation of upsells like official stadium tours or sustainability and wellbeing workshops facilitated by the Newcastle United Foundation.

From August to the point of submitting nominations to the Foodservice Cateys, Sodexo Live has also capitalised on the conferencing and events opportunities at the venue. For example, it held 2,063 events across a range of spaces within the venue, including 16 function suites, the largest of which seats 900.

It continues to secure events with local and national businesses, such as EY and Sage, and it has hosted 30 NHS events over the past year. In 2023, Sodexo Live will be responsible for the Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences alongside Newcastle United and the Premier League. The foodservice group also supported rugby fans during the Dacia Magic Weekend in September and July, which received positive feedback from Super League Hospitality and the Rugby League World Cup.

Despite the highs, Sodexo Live has also had to navigate the stresses of the hospitality industry, which have been particularly acute this year, including supply chain challenges and staff shortages. But the team have embraced these with characteristic innovation. It recruited Kyle Bowman as development chef, who has been crowned ‘Sodexo Chef of the Year’ at the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering show, to add creativity to its menu offering, and trained more than 1,500 new recruits to maintain standards. It also continues to provide teams of extra staff on match days, race days or other events at nearby venues such as Perth Racecourse, Doncaster Football Club, Headingley, Musslebrugh Racecourse and Hampden Park.

Sodexo Live’s achievements at St James’ Park have been recognised at the recent Stadium Events and Hospitality Awards, in which the team received ‘Operations Team of the Year’, ‘Best Stadium Events Venue’ and ‘Matchday Hospitality Award – Large Stadium’. It is only apt that they should be awarded the Foodservice Catey in Retail and Leisure to add to their collection of accolades.

What the judges said

“It’s been a fantastic 12 months for the team at St James’ Park, with very strong growth and great innovation.” Chris Gamm

“In football, the window in which to make money is small; as such, innovation is required to maximise revenue.” Ben Gardner

The shortlist

Amadeus

Elior

LNER

Sodexo Live

Past winners

2019 London North Eastern Railway (LNER)

2018 Amadeus

2017 Jockey Club Catering

2016 Amadeus

2015 Levy Restaurants

2014 Benugo

2013 Green & Fortune