Foodservice Cateys 2024: Healthcare Caterer of the Year – Medirest, Compass Group

Medirest, the healthcare division of Compass Group, clinched this year’s trophy for its outstanding work on several innovative projects, led by an industry-first digital dining transformation at Springfield University Hospital in London.

Within just eight weeks, Medirest’s team transformed the psychiatric hospital’s traditional healthcare kitchen and restaurant into a technology-driven dark kitchen supporting the menu offerings of up to five outlets.

The dark kitchen uses Compass’s Time2Eat software, which handles orders via its app or touchscreens in the restaurant before delivering requests to the kitchen. This was the first time in a healthcare setting where ordering via kiosk or app has been linked with a kitchen management system and electronic point of sale capabilities.

The restaurant had the lowest possible environmental impact, with biodegradable disposables and zero to landfill except for food production, with a commitment to keep that within a 0.5% ratio, as opposed to the standard rate of 4%. For further sustainability measures, digital menu screens cut paper usage and make the customer journey more fluid.

The team used an innovative approach to bridge the gap between decommissioning the old kitchen and introducing the new concept, with a street food-style provision from a collection of vendors and a charitable Change Please coffee cart outside the hospital building.

The digital innovation underpinning the concept has significantly improved the system’s capability to flag items that are out of stock, leading to their removal from the menu and reducing customer complaints. The integration of kiosk technology with the kitchen management system also eliminates unnecessary touchpoints, resulting in a dramatic improvement in the speed of service. Wait times of 5-6 minutes have now been cut to just 3-4 minutes.

Elsewhere, Medirest revolutionised the food offering and dining space in Barnet Hospital’s Wellspring restaurant, which was transformed into a well-being hub with a wellness garden for staff and visitors. It offers a flexible space with plants, sofas, warm lighting, task-focused formal seating areas, meeting pods for private conversations and a staff-only area for an escape from the clinical environment.

The food is a fresh, consumer-led offer that provides value for money and encourages healthy eating. The menu offers scratch-cook dishes, a salad bar and a wide choice of fresh options. There’s also a commitment to offer three value meals for under £3 as a permanent part of the menu.

With sales data showing that, after launch, restaurant sales increased by 41%, and food sales rose by 48%, it’s no wonder that Medirest is our Healthcare Caterer of the Year.

What the judges said

“Superb digital innovation that is unique
in the NHS and an important element to meet future sustainability targets.”

Neel Radia

“Medirest’s approach to innovation and technology is not only groundbreaking, but
also proving to be highly effective.”

Gavin Gooddy

See previous winners of the award here