After the unprecedented issues the industry has had to cope with over the last two years, the event focused on the need to work together and share knowledge to get the foodservice sector back on track, particularly universities which had students in lockdown.
Brakes’ education development chef Colin Salmon has been behind the creation of new menus for every meal occasion, while the company’s new skill-based star system - with bronze, silver and gold levels - offers varied menus and caters for all skill sets.
Brakes, being part of the global brand Sysco’s portfolio, was a target for Matt Tebbit, head of residential catering and bars at the University of Reading, who alongside its executive chef Karlene Gaskell, highlighted on the demo stage ‘Menus of Change’, a new approach to the university’s food and drink offer. Sysco is a major player in the US education sector and Tebbit said he made use of the knowledge it offered.
This involved visiting universities there that now focus on sustainability and good food health, and collaborating with the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS).
Tebbit said that at the University of Colorado Boulder this included implementing self-sufficiency, supporting local businesses, plant-based cooking and ‘clever cooking’ utilising the whole animal, plus healthy seasonal menus with the emphasis on flavour, freshness and scratch cooking.
Tebbit said that the university was done with café culture: “We now have clever cuisine and its available to every student. Now 70% of students repeat purchase, up from 8%.”