Foodservice Cateys 2021: General Manager of the Year: Michiel Hageman, Bartlett Mitchell

Michiel Hageman was appointed Bartlett Mitchell general manager for London-based international law firm Hogan Lovells two and a half years ago. He is responsible for staff dining, as well as partner and client fine dining, in two buildings, the Kulan Kitchen staff restaurant, 35 meeting and conference rooms, and a large event space. Prior to Covid-19, there were 1,200 Hogan Lovells staff on site, along with a 60-strong Bartlett Mitchell foodservice team.

From the outset of the pandemic, Hageman showed exceptional leadership. He made communications with his team paramount. Weekly team meetings, game nights and cooking demonstrations were held via Zoom. He ensured heads of department contacted team members from all departments every week, and every Wednesday he hosted a Meet the GM Hour so staff could share their concerns and ideas to improve the working environment.

Throughout lockdown, he supported team members in completing NVQs and implementing development plans. Financial training sessions for supervisors were introduced to improve the understanding of profit and loss, forecasting and budgeting, and a chef’s academy was created to progress the development of chefs into management positions.

To keep in touch with customers while they were working from home, Hageman created a weekly newsletter featuring recipes. It proved so successful that it has been adopted across all Bartlett Mitchell sites.

Customer engagement was further maintained by the production of more than 1,000 Christmas hampers for Hogan Lovells staff, who also benefitted from a series of cookery classes that were regularly oversubscribed.

Concerns that many people were going hungry during the pandemic inspired Hageman to help those in need. This resulted in the Bartlett Mitchell team supporting three charities – the Felix Project, With Compassion, and Food For All – by producing 50,000 portions of soup and volunteering more than 10,000 hours. The support will be ongoing, as Hageman believes the sense of purpose created by volunteering has strengthened the team.

Hageman is focused on inspiring every member of his team – he considers a kitchen porter to be just as valuable as a manager. His support of the wider Bartlett Mitchell business and his popularity among his own team and that of the client team have earned him respect on both a professional and personal level.

In the words of the client: “Michiel is a pleasure to work with and a highly respected member of the extended Hogan Lovells team. His proactivity and commitment to supporting our business objectives and values, excellence in all he delivers, one-team approach, commitment to success and good citizenship are outstanding.”

What the judges said

“An excellent submission that brought to life the many ways that Michiel supports both his team and his clients. The many initiatives he has successfully introduced over the last year brilliantly showcase his energy and passion for his role. A truly worthy winner.”

Greg Mace

“Michiel has achieved so much in this last year with some impressive statistics to underpin him as being the category winner.”

Mark Philpott

The shortlist

• Kane Bridgman, Amadeus
• Michiel Hageman, Bartlett Mitchell
• Simon McKinnon-Brahams, The Clink
• Claire Thomas, Eurest

Past winners

• 2019 Trevor Bostridge, Bartlett Mitchell (previously Catering Manager of the Year)
• 2017 Paul Bate, Amadeus
• 2016 Murray Soper, Bartlett Mitchell
• 2015 Emma Williams, Green & Fortune
• 2014 Jamie Stevenson, BaxterStorey
• 2013 Renier Oberholzer, Harbour & Jones