![Neil Lodge, Fosters chief executive with Emma Stenning, chief executive, Bristol Old Vic](/sites/default/files/styles/single_page/public/images/fosters_bristol_old_vic_from_l_to_r_neil_lodge_chief_executive_fosters_and_emma_stenning_chief_executive_bristol_old_vic.jpg?itok=-xQHCGK6)
The family-owned caterer successfully tendered for a five year-contract which will see it operate the theatre’s new event space, refurbished cafe bar and theatre operations.
The deal is an extension of a partnership between the two which has been in place for decades and last year saw Fosters provide the catering for the Old Vic’s 250th anniversary.
The event spaces include the Foyle Room, suitable for meetings of up to 12 people, Coopers' Hall for dinners up to 120 and the main auditorium for theatre style events for up to 540.
The contract will be overseen by Fosters’ chef director, Tom Green, who said the Old Vic represented an opportunity for Bristol to “showcase itself to a wider regional, national and event international audience.”
Green said: “With the south west’s rich abundance of food and drink producers and suppliers it is an ideal opportunity to match the spectacle of the Bristol Old Vic experience with an equally impressive food and beverage offer.
“Our aim is to ensure that visitors to Bristol Old Vic, and guests at events, leave with a real sense of the region’s food heritage, provenance and quality, alongside its’ proud thespian history.”
Fosters provides the catering at heritage, sports and arts venues across the south-west of England including at Bath Rugby club and Brunel’s SS Great Britain museum.
It will begin to delivery all retail and event catering at Bristol Old Vic from Autumn 2018, when the theatre reopens following the completion of a £25 million refurbishment which started in 2012.