Cost Sector Catering: What are the current challenges and main drivers for your business?
Cameron Clark: The ongoing introduction of new and amended food regulations proves a constant challenge to adhere to but, with forward planning and strict implementation, we are able to keep ahead of these changes. On top of this, we have been working hard on our development programme to ensure we keep revitalising and improving our offering.
This year, we are launching nine updated recipes in our Crown Choice dessert range, and will be showcasing them on stands 45 and 46 at the HCA National Leadership and Development Forum in Liverpool, which runs 14–15 April.
The range consists of desserts to cover all preferences – from hot to cold, rich to light, there is something that can accommodate anyone who enjoys a sweet dish. Others in the range include some traditional sweets such as bread and butter pudding, apple pie with farmhouse chunks of apple, and a date and apple crunch.
What advice are you offering your customers?
We work alongside our customers and suppliers very closely to enable us to continue offering the best we can.
Our advice is for our customers to continue to work in partnership with us and to give us feedback, whether good or bad; it’s all useful and enables us to deliver the best possible products.
What are your bestsellers?
Our bestsellers are always to be found within our more traditional dishes, because we primarily supply the healthcare market, with older people making up the largest percentage of this. These include our award-winning lasagne, shepherd’s pie, fish in parsley sauce, and many of our casseroles and roast meat dishes.
Are any particular trends spurring on your product development plans?
We are always keeping abreast of new ideas and trends that could affect our portfolio at Anglia Crown to ensure we provide a product offering that fits in with our client needs.
We champion patient choice at Anglia Crown and like to ensure that we provide an extensive range to fit multiple dietary needs. Just last year, we developed and launched ten new vegetarian and vegan dishes to provide greater choice for those who choose to eat less meat for health or personal reasons.
Within the range, we developed three pan-Asian and Indian meals including sweet and sour Quorn; a creamy lentil, tomato and cauliflower daal; and an appealing mild vegetable jalfrezi curry. Ensuring a consistent and appealing texture while retaining flavour is a fundamental element for all new Anglia Crown products, but it’s particularly important for speciality diets such as meat-free.
Being part of a much bigger group gives us access to all up-and-coming trends within the UK and abroad. We are currently working on some exciting ideas that we hope can be shared with our customers very soon.
If you had one wish for 2016, what would it be?
Good health and happiness would be a good start – and in that order.