18th Sep 2008 - 00:00
Image
Abstract
Catermasters, the Leamington-based provider of contract catering services, has taken ten of its senior development chefs on an inspirational tour of the Rungis food market in Paris.
The trip was part of a new initiative to ensure the company's ideas and service remains fresh and innovative. Rungis is widely regarded as the largest food market in the world and reportedly sells more than 7 billion Euros (£5.6bn) of food every year. Based just outside Paris, Rungis covers 232 hectares and attracts chefs and traders from all over Europe. Richard Moody, joint managing director of Catermasters, accompanied the chefs to France. He said: "Rungis is world famous and we knew that it would be the perfect place to inspire our chefs as well as ensure they remain up to date with European trends. "The range of produce is incredible – cheeses to fish to vegetables – it's a real spectacle. We want the standard of produce at Rungis to reflect the standard of our service back at home." David Naylor, the reigning Catermasters Chef of the Year, added: "It is truly an incredible experience. To see miles and miles of wonderfully fresh ingredients – it was breathtaking! A visit like this is invaluable when it comes to making sure the creative juices keep flowing. We can now bring back so much inspiration to our restaurants across the UK and it's important to keep abreast of what's going on in Europe and to talk to other chefs about the industry and learn the newest techniques." The invaluable success of this inaugural Rungis trip is likely to prompt Catermasters to take more of its staff to Paris in the future.