Creative Taste wins £7m Greenwich Park catering contract

24 September 2013 by Janie Manzoori-Stamford

Creative Taste, the cultural and heritage division of Creativevents, has won a £7m catering contract with Greenwich Park.

The five-year deal will see the caterer operate the Pavilion Cafe, the White House Bakery, a Coffee & Bakehouse and two kiosks within the Royal Park when the contract begins on 7 November.

Creative Taste will take over from incumbent operator Company of Cooks, which last month told Caterer and Hotelkeeper of its decision to withdraw its retender for Greenwich Park, as well as Regents Park, which was later awarded to Benugo.

Plans for the new business include a complete internal revamp of the Pavilion Café to make the space more attractive with improved lighting and seating.

The oldest Royal Park, Greenwich Park dates back to 1847 and is home to the Prime Meridian Line and Royal Observatory as well as being part of the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage Site, which is home to the National Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College.

Graham Dear, Greenwich Park manager, said that Creative Taste was the successful bidder because it demonstrated a "genuine understanding" of the heritage of the site and proposed design concepts that were sympathetic to the Pavilion building and the listed St Mary's Lodge.

"In addition, they showed a great understanding of how our audiences change over the course of a day, and are keen to look after our local community users as well as our international visitors," he added.

Creative Taste was formed at the start of the year in a bid to secure business in the visitor attraction market following the acquisition of Creativevents by Mitie last year.

The new brand's first win came in May when it was awarded a six-year deal at Dulwich Picture Gallery worth £3.8m.