With the company foundations and success built on a passion for providing the finest customer service, it’s no surprise that in just ten years Hutchison Catering has become one of the country’s leading and most innovative catering businesses in the education sector. Proudly independent, the family-run business that was started a little over 10 years ago specialises in delivering bespoke, tailored catering services to the education and business sectors across the UK from its bases in Gateshead and office in York.
“It’s certainly been extremely challenging for us and our customers over the last 3 years so as a business we can take great pride, not just in the incredible business growth, but in the work we have carried out to support our customers. To celebrate 10 years is a fantastic achievement and we have been adding to our growing team of excellent operators across the country.” Says Claire Venys, who has helped spearhead this success after joining in June 2019. “We’re all very excited about what the business can achieve in the next decade and beyond.”
Driven by an ethos centred around personal relationships and honest professionalism, the company’s response to the pandemic, which saw them stepping in and providing lunch boxes to over 5,000 pupils, helped to highlight the customer-first mantra that is ingrained in the business.
Their successful concept showcases nutritious fresh food alongside fun learning in primary education and facilitates engagement with parents, especially around allergens. For secondary education, the company offers a socially engaging branded food court solution delivering freshly prepared, high-street dishes in a contemporary environment. “Being able to provide our customers with a healthy and nutritious lunch that is allergen safe is of upmost importance to me and my team. I work closely to provide the best local ingredients delivered straight to our schools. We’re also launching a new scheme to help schools measure, monitor and reduce their food waste this year called Guardians of Grub,” comments Laura Whiting, Nutritionist & Food Development
Manager. “The team at our Country Range Group wholesaler have been hugely supportive and obviously share our passion for independence, customer service and innovations. We use a vast range of the Country Range products and they never let us down from a quality and value perspective, plus they are always concise and clear when it comes to nutrition, ingredients, allergens and waste.”
For Further Education, the company embraces the best of the high street with exciting international street food concepts, constantly evolving on-trend menus, coffee shop culture offerings and the latest technology such as a dedicated student app offering deals, discounts and a range of purchasing benefits supported by their marketing partners Green Pea.
The company also works in the commercial sector catering for business and industry. Michael Streeting, Strategic Food Lead explains how they set their proposition apart, “We take a very uncomplicated approach. Our clients tell us what they want and we create bespoke solutions to meet their requirements. The options are literally endless and along with our people and the service they offer, it ensures we always exceed expectations. It could mean an al fresco food and drink service pod, cafés and grab-and-go concepts, a fully integrated restaurant service, live theatre cooking for a performance and even satellite catering or delivery vans to service large-scale commercial sites with a spread workforce.”