Press Releases
REDCLIFFE’S CHRISTMAS HAS ALREADY COME
Despite the economic back drop, a Birmingham catering company with almost a quarter of a century’s years experience is very confident for this year’s Christmas season – and they are on course to welcome over 10,000 revellers!
Redcliffe Catering based in Birmingham operates prestige venues such as the Botanical Gardens and its Centennial Conference Centre. It also provides catering at well known landmarks such as Birmingham Town Hall and Cadbury World. Redcliffe’s contract catering division has over 40 contracts in the Midlands.
CEO Clive Stone said, “Christmas is really important to us, and we are really pleased that underpinned by our quality, service standards and reputation for giving incredible value for money. We are ahead or our own forecasts, even though it is only August.
Clearly everyone is watching their budgets carefully however and we have consciously set out to provide fabulous entertainment and value, with a host of themed evenings that offer a wide range of entertainment at prices that start at under £20 for 1980’s themed nights and less than £40 at the top end for our ‘Christmas Cracker’.”
In order to give our clients an enhanced experience, Redcliffe have developed partnerships with G Casino, Itihaas as well as
The Mint Hotel who are providing discounted overnight accommodation.
Redcliffe’s has two of Birmingham’s most prestigious venues which can each cater for up to 500 guests. Redcliffe will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012 and further news is expected shortly on a major investment programme at its Botanical Gardens.
For more information, go to www.redcliffexmas.com.
CALTHORPE SCHOOL CONTRACT FOR REDCLIFFE IS ALL ABOUT THE DETAIL
A new contract with Calthorpe Specialist Sports College in Birmingham showed Redcliffe Catering’s capability to design a service around the needs of a particular school and once in situ adapt to those specific requirements. Working with the in-house team, Redcliffe had to identify the needs of the children down to each individual child so that lunchtime could remain an important communal occasion for the school.
Simon Tupper, Director of Operation at Redcliffe Catering explains the approach: “Being able to communicate with people over what you would like for lunch is taken for granted for the majority of school children everywhere in the country. Imagine therefore if you are unable to express yourself to someone over what you would like to eat and what you don’t want eat? You could therefore be left with no choice but to eat or not to eat as your only way of expressing your desires”.
The importance of communicating in different ways is therefore more important than ever when catering for students at Calthorpe where Redcliffe Catering were chosen as the preferred partner for the school for the innovative ways in which the students could convey their eating requirements to the catering staff. The means of communicating the menu is through the use of Makaton symbols supported by photographs of each dish. This system is specific for children with autism and special needs. The daily menu
is displayed as a slide show on interactive boards. Simon Tupper adds: “We have been working closely with teacher Jasdeep Singh
to ensure we get this process right and she will be piloting the scheme with her class before it is rolled out completely to the rest of
the school.”
The lunch provided to the students at Calthorpe forms a vital and integral part of their day and it was essential that Redcliffe was able to react quickly to any dietary requirements and specific food formats. Something as simple as selecting the ‘right’ yoghurt needed attention as some of the students required them to be served without any pieces of fruit.
It was down to Redcliffe’s Purchasing Manager, Denise Davis to work with key suppliers to find a suitable product to ensure there was no problem: “It means a great deal to the children that we source the right product that they enjoy and can eat so even if we need small quantities it’s worth going that extra mile because it shows Redcliffe’s commitment to the contract”.
Supporting the school in other activities is also part of the catering firm’s involvement, whether it is finding prizes for the School Prom night or sports day, Redcliffe and their suppliers are happy to help and make a real difference. At a recent Leaver’s Ceremony when describing the response of the children to Redcliffe’ contribution, Dawn Wellings, teacher and MC for the night summed it up: “It’s the smiles on the children’s faces after they have had their lunch.”
Since June, when Redcliffe took over the contract, the student uptake has increased and the students have noticed an improvement in the freshness and quality of the ingredients going into their lunch.
REDCLIFFE HOSTS ITS FIRST ASIAN WEDDING OPEN DAY
Redcliffe Catering held its first Asian Wedding Open Day to give prospective clients a glimpse of how their wedding could look at key venue, the Centennial Centre in Edgbaston which has just undergone a £100,000 refurbishment.
The substantial re-vamp included new luxury carpeting and larger dance floors and confirms the Centennial Centre as one of the top five venues for Asian weddings in Birmingham and the West Midlands because of its 600+ capacity.
Bringing the venue to life were a number of wedding suppliers setting the scene with flower displays, lighting effects, decor themes, backdrops and ice sculptures. Liz Woodward of Redcliffe Catering said: “Clients often ask for the chance to see the venue set up for a wedding to give them an idea of how everything will look so we decided to put on this event with the room set up in all its glory for clients to begin to imagine how they would like their wedding to be but in an informal and relaxed environment.”
The Centennial Centre is host to 50+ weddings a year and bookings come largely through recommendation, the open day was an opportunity to reach a wider audience and showcase some of the suppliers Redcliffe works in tandem with.
Vanda Wright, Redcliffe added: “We have worked with a brace of suppliers for a number of years and have built up a good rapport and working relationship with them and can put our clients in touch with them if they ask us to do so. Although we provide a full and extensive range of International Cuisines, we understand the need to offer more specialist menus and how important it is for a client to have the freedom to negotiate all aspects of the event as well as putting their own individual stamp on their big day.”
Part of the flexible service provided by Redcliffe, at the Centennial Centre, is the opportunity to select caterers from an authorised list, which in turn can use the onsite kitchens or bring in their own equipment, a 12 hour room hire policy so the day can proceed at its own pace and the option of client supplying their own drinks.
Suppliers who attended the Open Day were: Wedding Society, Nice Ice Co, Ad Lib flowers, Diamond Weddings decor, KSB Beers & bar Supplies, Mahirs Experience, 5 Rivers Catering Supplies, Jinder Catering, Sukdev Catering, Lo-Cost Chair Covers, Red Fort Bar Supplies and Redcliffe Catering.
REDCLIFFE ONE OF BEST PLACES TO WORK IN BIRMINGHAM
Redcliffe Catering has been recognised as one of the best companies to work for in Birmingham for helping its employees achieve a healthy work/life balance.
A finalist in the Birmingham Best Business Awards, Redcliffe only narrowly lost out to overall winners Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Hayley Davies, HR for Redcliffe comments: “We are proud to have been shortlisted as finalists because we truly believe our staff are essential to our ongoing success. As finalists we were clearly in good company and this is a great incentive to try even harder for a higher award next year!”
Established over 20 years ago, Redcliffe is a significant employer in the region and enjoys a high proportion of long serving employees, particularly at its Head Office. This is encouraged by a number of development and retention initiatives such as Investors in People and the instigation of Benefit of the Month publicised in the company’s internal newsletter.
Redcliffe was also recognised for offering staff flexible working patterns as demonstrated by the payroll department which carries out its duties remotely via a team of home workers.
Redcliffe was entered in the large business category and shortlisted from 12 other companies.
PHOTO SHOWS: Michelle Bent, HR and Louise Andrews, Payroll at Redcliffe Catering collecting the Finalist award certificate
For further information: LisaHolden, LHPR 0121 243 5034 lisa@holden-uk.com
‘WORD OF MOUTH’ BOOSTS MEMBERS OF THE PUDDING CLUB
The first rule of Pudding Club is you do talk about Pudding Club because word of mouth has led to a trebling of attendance to this quarterly event to be held in support of Help for Heroes.
Hosted by Redcliffe Catering, Pudding Club is a gourmet social evening consisting of a light main course to leave room for a selection of 8 traditional puddings and desserts. Each guest can then sample three dessert wines to complement their pudding choices.
Jason Pritchett of Redcliffe who is the host for the event says: “This is an informal gathering for the connoisseur to indulge in the finer points of the dessert course, learn something about wine and support charity at the same time. Everyone is invited to seek out the proof of the pudding.”
The next Pudding Club will have a seasonal summer theme and will be held at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens on Thursday 16th June 2011 at 7pm.
For tickets and information call 0800 389 8950.
For further information: LisaHolden, LHPR 0121 243 5034 lisa@holden-uk.com
The Big Reveal Fasion Show
Clive Stone CEO of Redcliffe organised with Redcliffe Event Management for the PRTC this Big Reveal event which raised £75,000.
The Conservatives Go Asian
One of Birmingham’s most famous landmarks played host to a prestigious dinner which key figures in the Tory party attended.
On the eve of the Conservative conference, Conservative Party Members held a banquet with an Asian theme at Birmingham Botanical Gardens in Edgbaston. Guest of Honour was the Mayor of London Boris Johnson. It’s the first time a political conference gala dinner has taken place out of the city centre, and also marks an exciting new development at the Gardens.
Redcliffe Catering at The Botanical Gardens have exclusively contracted award winning ‘Itihaas’ as its Asian Events Consultants. By joining forces it means Redcliffe Catering guests can have a more authentic experience of Asian food.
City leaders, as well as high profile members of the Tory party, enjoyed the conference dinner and live entertainment provided by Redcliffe’s consultants Itihaas on Sunday, the 3rd of October.
The new partnership is welcomed by Redcliffe Catering. Up until now it confidently used in-house catering for Indian cuisine but with a growing demand for Asian events, it was felt there was a need to introduce experts in this field of cooking – and the rest is history - which ironically is what Itihaas means.
Clive Stone of Redcliffe Catering welcomes the consultancy. He says “The Asian community is important to us and this ensures we provide them with the style and taste they expect to the very highest standard”
Itihaas founder Raj Rana commented “Itihaas and Redcliffe Catering at the Gardens have developed an approach to the Asian market which creates confidence and provides the community with authentic Asian food of the very highest quality and presentation”.
Itihaas has been established in providing Indian banquets since 2005, using its innovative creativity to provide excellence and quality, way ahead of its competitors. Its namesake restaurant in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has, over the past few years received several top awards, so little wonder it’s won this much sought after contract.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens covers fifteen acres of landscaped beauty and exotic glasshouses, right in the heart of Birmingham. These exquisite Gardens opened over a hundred years ago. With three corporate hospitality suites on offer, Redcliffe Catering can host from forty to almost four hundred guests and for anyone planning their big day, the Gardens provides a stunning backdrop for any wedding photograph.
For further information and photographs please contact Colin Cook on 0121 450 4604.
PM RECOGNISES REDCLIFFE
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has just presented Birmingham based Redcliffe Catering with their fourth consecutive accreditation for Investors in People.
During his visit to a lunch at the prestigious Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the Prime Minister took time out to make this Award presenting the company with the ‘IiP Revised Standard certification’.
Redcliffe first achieved Investors in People Award in 1996 and has successfully been re-accredited every 3 years since then.
Clive Stone, Chief Executive says “We are so very proud of this achievement, especially as it covers all areas of the company. For over twenty years I have believed that delivering high standards and quality will be the bedrock of our success and this continues to be the case especially over the last 18 months.
Since winning the first of our three National Training Awards back in 1988 the company has gone from strength to strength in developing and maintaining its commitment to high standards and has also achieved and maintained its ISO9002 certification.
Redcliffe Catering operate the Conference and Banqueting facilities at both the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and The Centennial Centre in addition to providing Contract Catering services to over 40 clients on a nationwide basis and Event Management throughout the Midlands.
For further information, please contact
Clive Stone, Chief Executive
t: 0121 452 4821
www.redcliffe.com
