Caterer Edwards & Blake wins £2m worth of contracts

More than 12 new clients include Bury St Edmunds brewing giant Greene King, the Bayer CropScience site in Norwich, the Birds Eye plant at Lowestoft, King Edward VII School at King's Lynn, Lowestoft College and the Premier Foods factory at Wisbech. Joint managing director Shirley Edwards, whose 23-year-old son, Daniel, works for the company as a chef manager, commented on the wins: "We're absolutely delighted that Edwards & Blake is enjoying its best year ever and winning major new contracts as the company's reputation for fresh, restaurant-quality food and really good value spreads across East Anglia. "Edwards & Blake is a regionally-based company, rather than one of the big national caterers, and can therefore offer a much more personal, flexible and responsive service. That's what clients are increasingly demanding and why we're experiencing such tremendous growth, despite challenging economic conditions and tough competition for every contract." Edwards & Blake is now based in the market town of Swaffham, and provide contract catering at over 55 locations across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Essex Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire – serving more than 8,500 meals a day to employees, schoolchildren and students. Turnover at Edwards & Blake has been increasing every year since it recorded sales worth £126,000 in 1998. In 2007 turnover stood at £5.3 million and exceeded £8 million in 2009.