The Top 20 ‘most influential’ people in public sector catering represents the industry’s leading lights based on their ability to represent the concerns of people working in the sector, as well as their capacity to drive change. They cover schools, universities, hospitals, the care sector, prisons and catering colleges.
Andy Kemp
He has pushed the Government repeatedly to increase the funding of school meals, sending letters to both Boris Johnson and then Liz Truss showing that the £2.41 allocation for universal infant free school meals should be closer to £3 to account for food price inflation.
In 2019 he was awarded an MBE for his ‘outstanding services to the foodservice and hospitality industry’, work for which he was also awarded an honorary degree by the University of West London. He sits on the board of the One For All Foundation, and has worked closely with school meals organisation LACA and the All Party Parliamentary Group on School Food.
David Oliver
The head of catering at Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPS), he is responsible for feeding 80,000 prisoners a day on an average budget of £2.15 for three meals a day.
He has introduced a national training plan that enables prisoners to gain a NVQ level 2 food hygiene qualification to help them find employment after leaving prison. And he is working with university researchers on studies linking food and behaviour, such as the effects of omega 3 on reducing anxiety and violence among prisoners.
Phil Rees-Jones
Chair of the University Caterers Organisation (TUCO), the leading professional membership body for in-house caterers in higher education with more than 300 members.
The organisation also operates a not-for-profit procurement service offering a ‘consistent and efficient buying process’ through a series of regularly updated framework agreements. With more than 15 years of experience in catering, hospitality and retail, he joined the TUCO board in 2014 to lead on governance and assist in determining a research strategy.
Brian Robb
As chair of the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA), Brian has worked to put in place a reforming and modernising strategy to make the organisation ‘fit for the future’.
Under his leadership the HCA has instituted a webinar programme to help members stay in touch and informed about industry issues. He has also warned that ingredient cost pressures and availability threaten carefully constructed food safety protocols over allergens.
In response to the recent ‘state of the industry’ survey by the Public Sector Catering Alliance, he said: “The impact of rising costs is difficult in public sector where our budgets are finite and we have no way to pass on increase.”
The first four 'Most influential' in public sector catering were revealed yesterday.
Four more leading figures in the industry will be named on the Top 20 'most influential' list tomorrow. i