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Vacherin 10 year charity bike ride

Posted: 10/05/2013
Phil Roker (Commercial Director) and Steve Farmer (Operations Manager) are doing the '100k surrey cycle' for our charity Debra, please support them and help us raise our target of £10,000 for Debra as part of Vacherin's 10 year celebrations. Donate here: www.justgiving.com/Steve-Farmer1
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Topical as ever: BIFM

Posted: 15/04/2013
Just a few days ago Vacherin hosted our first BIFM (British Institute of Facilities Management) event at one of our clients Field Fisher Waterhouse on the subject of why do companies have catering and specifically contract catering. It was a very interesting, lively and interactive event looking at the relationship between the client and the caterer with lots of emphasis on communication and structure for the most successful outcome for all parties. Our Managing Director Mark Philpott gave an insight from the caterer's point of view and also answered questions with the rest of the panel at then end. Dan Kelly, Vacherin's Director of food re-created an abundance of street food treats, and some of the tastiest popcorn (as in the picture) to take away, along with a sugar free Nutritious and Delicious banana and date bars. It was a great evening - we look forward to the next!
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Welcome Steve Farmer!

Posted: 08/03/2013
Vacherin have introduced to the team a new operations Manager, Steve Farmer. Steve joins us from Absolute taste, the McLaren Group's catering arm, where he ran operations at TAG Farnborough Airport and Mercedes Benz world. Head to the people page for more interesting stuff about Steve!
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FM Magazine Award

Posted: 22/01/2013
We are thrilled to announce that Vacherin’s healthy eating range Nutritious and Delicious has been named one of fm magazines top 50 'products to watch’ of 2013. Nutritious and Delicious is positively making its way to all areas of Vacherin business, with a continuation of launches into 2013.
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14th Jan: Vacherin open recruitment day

Posted: 04/01/2013
Happy New year everyone! If YOU or SOMEONE YOU KNOW is looking for a new challenge and would love to work for Vacherin we are holding a RECRUITMENT DAY - ITS AN OPEN DAY EVENT - if you have what it takes pop into Vacherin HQ, 16-18 Hatton garden on the 14th Jan from 10am. We are looking at filling an array of positions front and back of house. All the best for a very tasty and prosperous 2013!!
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Nick cleans up at Cake international

Posted: 12/11/2012
Truly cemented as a superstar of the cake making world, our notoriously talented chef Nick Smith took Gold and Best in Class for both of his cake entry's at Cake International at the NEC this weekend. Amazingly, and in sequence to his performance at this year's holelympia he also won over all 'Best in Show' for 'The Viking' cake. Huge congratulations going out to Nick, well done!

Committed to reducing waste

Posted: 17/10/2012
We are one of a small number of contract caterers to have signed up to the Hospitality and Food Service voluntary agreement to cut food and associated packaging waste and increase recycling....

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N & D wins Lunch! Award...

Posted: 21/09/2012
We had a great night out in Islington last night at the Lunch! Awards. Vacherin won best 'Grab and Go Concept' for Nutritious and Delicious! Well done to all the team - especially Lloyd Mann and our Nutritionalist Gary Baverstock!
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Its a wrap on BTTF!

Posted: 11/09/2012
Zoe Moulson was the final member of the Vacherin senior team to complete her 'Back to the Floor' last week. This summer has seen all Vacherin Directors go back to where it all began; in a unit in London! They put on their whites and were all based for a week in one of the Vacherin kitchens - at the heart of all the foodie action! We saw blood, sweat and tears (not really the latter) but they did all learn so much about how great Vacherin is, derived as we always say from great people, and as in life how we could improve to be even better! The overall feedback was a big recommendation for all directors of all companies that really want to know 'how it is' to do this with their business! :)
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Vacherin were the very first caterers!

Posted: 26/08/2012
Yes that's right - when we launched Nutritious and Delicious, Vacherin's branded healthy eating range, we decided to communicate the nutritionals of each dish through some very innovative technology: QR codes. Vacherin are leading the industry with new ideas, and we now learn the largest & most powerful food company in the world ALSO believes communicating nutritionals through technology is the way to go! See the link: http://www.qrworldexpo.com/news/mcdonald%E2%80%99s-qr-codes-revisited
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‘Hot Shots’ 2012!

Posted: 18/07/2012
Hot Shots is the annual Vacherin awards ceremony where we celebrate all people great and all things big and small - and also have a great time celebrating afterwards! We were so happy to announce our employee of the year – Rick Jones, among so many other deserving awards. Andy Mcfadden, one of the youngest Michelin starred chefs presented the chefs awards for our internal cooking competition ‘Hot Nosh’. The venue was hosted by our good friends ‘The Royal Academy of Science’ and some of the tastiest ‘street food’ canapés and creative ‘bowl food’ was served by our very own team. Well done to all the winners and team Vacherin as a whole!
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Nutritious and Delicious!

Posted: 16/07/2012
Today we very excitedly launched our innovative new healthy eating brand that merges delicious healthy food with technology. As the first contract caterer to use QR codes for nutritional information, our customers can now get instant detailed nutritional information on their smart phones by scanning QR codes on point of sale materials alongside the new healthy dishes. Backed up by its own website and Nutritionist Gary Baverstock, Vacherin launch with 25 products and will continue to grow this exciting and interactive range of food and information month on month. We have also treated each of our contracts to an ipad to interact with daily and learn all about the health & nutritional benefits from opting into our different categories under the N & D brand. In addition to this the development team set out on a tour round our units to introduce the brand, allow people to sample delights from the range, learn about the program and its technology and pick Gary's brains on all things nutrition!...
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Vacherin chefs visit Rungis Market

Posted: 09/07/2012
"All Vacherin heads and sous chefs are to visit the culinary capital of the world." ...
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** SPARKLE 2012 **

Posted: 06/06/2012
Check out this great picture of a Vacherin unit! We are always excited at this time of year to see the innovative and refreshing ideas that come out of sparkle! We self-audit all year round and always feel the benefits of allowing our staff to take ownership of this process, and then proudly present their best ideas to the client....everybody loves to sparkle!!

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Directors go back to the floor!

Posted: 08/05/2012
So it's well under way - Our senior team are going back to where it all began, in a unit somewhere in London! This quirky initiative sees the likes of Mark, Clive, Phil, Zoe, Debbie and Stuart donning an apron and getting stuck into the various demanding jobs that come from Vacherin's kitchens! They will experience how it is currently on the shop floor level and we believe lead to an even greater Vacherin. Watch out for further news!

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Footprint Awards 2012 Shortlist

Posted: 20/04/2012
Again we are in the running for the up and coming sustainable awards from Footprint! Vacherin are known for being the pioneers of sustainability in the catering Industry so it is very exciting news that we have been shortlisted to the final three companies for one of the main awards this year!
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Vacherin crowned the champions!

Posted: 19/03/2012
At the ACE Industry quiz night Vacherin went home the winners! Up against approximately 40 teams, we enjoyed a night of food and wine and lots of racking our brains! Our efforts paid off and we were (for the 2nd time!) crowned the most intelligent caterers!

Vacherin chefs triumph at Hotelympia..

Posted: 06/03/2012
4 Gold Medals, 2 Bronze Medals & Best in Class!...
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Our Cake Master Strikes Again...

Posted: 01/03/2012
Congratulations to Nick Smith! He wins again at Hotelympia in both the Decorated Celebration Cake Class & Novelty Cakes Class. Nick was equally awarded the higest ranking of Gold and Best in Class in both catagories, for both his cake enteries. There was tough competition with lots of detailed work to contend with - but our boy came out on top and is making quite a reputation for himself! Well done Nick - What a star!
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Hotelympia 10k run completed!

Posted: 01/03/2012
A Sunday morning early start is never pleasant but the Vacherin team of runners were out in force yesterday to take part in the 10k run at Hotelympia! It turned out to be a beautiful day down at the Excel Centre and we are now pushing hard to hit our sponsorship target. Please help us raise £1500 - Its not too late to sponsor! Follow the link above to our sponsor page.
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WOW what a cause!

Posted: 25/01/2012
We are very proud to announce that ‘Valentines for everyone’ the pop-up restaurant in Fareshare's food depot in Bermondsy was a roaring success! In association with Fareshare, Streetsmart, forgotten feast and us - £13,000 was raised to generate meals for homeles people. This pop up event marked a collaboration of food industries and charities to have fun and raise some much needed funds at the same time! We were honoured to support an amazing cause and we managed to have a jolly team night squirrel eating on the final evening! Watch out for the next one...
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Another Best in Class for Nick!!

Posted: 15/11/2011
Nick Smith, our head chef at Imagination, won another Gold medal and was given Best in Class for his Cake Corral entry at Cake International. The win was all the more impressive as there were 40 entrants, 8 of whom won Gold.

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It's Christmaaaaas!!! (almost)

Posted: 01/11/2011
The 2nd annual Vacherin Christmas Pudding competition saw entries flood in from chefs, front of house staff and head office team members all hoping to have their creation crowned as the official Vacherin Christmas Pudding 2011.

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Heard it through the grapevine

Posted: 19/10/2011
This month saw the 4th of our educational & entertaining wine region trips, hosted by our wonderful & knowledgeable wine merchants Simon & Neill. Our team of chefs & managers were treated royally on a tour of the vineyards & wineries of Umbria, tasting some spectacular wines that may well be creeping on to our wine lists soon, and learning of a whole host of previously unheard of grape varieties:
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Celebrating British Food Fortnight

Posted: 21/09/2011
We've been celebrating British Food Fortnight across all our operations making the most of our favourite local seasonal produce to create with some beautiful puddings, pies and warming dishes to fit the current weather.

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Hot Nosh Prix d'Or winners announced

Posted: 08/09/2011
The overall winners of Hot Nosh 2011 were announced yesterday, at last ending the agonising wait for the teams who were in the running. Having won the "Two number fourteens please!" round and with strong showings in the other two competition days, the winners were Soup-a-Stars, the combined team from JLT, Field Fisher Waterhouse, Cushman & Wakefield and Ince, who win a dinner at the restaurant of their choice as well as the kudos that goes with coming top of the pile. Well done to everyone who entered and good luck next year!

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Advance to Mayfair...

Posted: 30/08/2011
This month saw the opening of Kleinwort Benson's splendid new offices in Mayfair, where we have been appointed to look after the private dining and hospitality services.

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Stuart returns to the fold!

Posted: 30/06/2011
We are delighted to announce that Stuart WIlliams has joined the Vacherin head office team as operations manager, adding strength to our central support team and immediately taking charge of mobilising our newest contract.

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Vacherin goes to Brighton!

Posted: 20/06/2011
No, we're not branching out of London - but yesterday Mark, Clive and Hamish completed the London to Brighton Bike Ride in aid of the British Heart Foundation. They survived the changeable weather to arrive in Brighton in one piece in time for tea & cakes. "Surprisingly hilly" was Mark's understated comment on the route - with Ditchling Beacon a particular favourite highlight.

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NVQ Success for Mariola

Posted: 20/06/2011
Well done to Mariola Legierska, our manager at Design Council, who was awarded a "Highly Commended" award at the Annual Skills People Awards held at The Barbican.

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Hot Nosh "Sweet stitch up!"

Posted: 15/06/2011
Today's final day of Hot Nosh 2011 had something for everyone, with our teams tasked to produce a sweet souffle as well as either a classic or contemporary savoury.

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Vacherin Barista of the Year

Posted: 05/04/2011
This week saw the first ever Barista of the Year competition, hosted at illy’s Centre of Excellence and judged by illy’s Head of Quality, Marco Arrigo; our man at illy, Davide Rocchi, and our very own coffee guru, Anna Morris....

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Two number fourteens, please!

Posted: 15/06/2011
Things got very spicy on main course day of Hot Nosh when we challenged our teams to come up with an authentic Pad Thai, a fine dining Indian dish and a North African dessert. Is it a coincidence that our team from the East of the City, Soup-a-Stars, won? Their curry dish was way out in front, and combined with a strong showing in the other two classes to just edge out teams 5 Stars and Pedigree.

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Sustainable City Awards Winners!

Posted: 08/02/2011
We are delighted to say that once again we have been crowned winners of one of the most prestigious sustainability awards in London, winning the category for Environmental Management in SMEs (Small & medium-sized enterprises)....

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Nick and Mario bring home Gold at Hospitality 2011

Posted: 28/01/2011
Vacherin Chef’s Nick Smith and Mario Golm blew away competition at Hospitality 2011, bringing home a total of four gold medals and two best in class awards....

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Sustainable Fish City

Posted: 21/01/2011
Vacherin has become one of the first caterers to sign up to Sustain’s Sustainable Fish Pledge – aiming to make London the first ever Sustainable Fish City....

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Vacherin kicks off volunteering initiative with Fareshare

Posted: 05/01/2011
We recently held our first Vacherin volunteering day with Fareshare a national UK charity supporting communities to relieve food poverty....

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Hot Nosh – the Hottest Year Yet

Posted: 28/10/2010
Our annual culinary competition goes from strength to strength as we grow in size. In this year’s format 6 teams were created, with chefs and managers from smaller operations being combined with our 6 largest kitchen teams so that expertise & creativity was shared equally across the groups. The starter event Morning Glory tested omelette-making skills, as well as a fine dining breakfast dish and a staff dining offer of a combination breakfast snack....

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New Operations Director, Debbie Loxley

Posted: 30/06/2011
Debbie Loxley has joined Vacherin from Restaurant Associates in the role of operations director, alongside Zoe Moulson who has also been promoted to operations director....

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What's HotWhat's Not
New seasons British LambNew Zealand alternatives
RamenNew york being a better destination for this?
3-d Food PhotographyThe glasses that go with it!
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Mood foodStodgy food
Nutritious & DeliciousUnimaginative food
Burgers & more burgers?Horsemeat contamination
Fusion in MadridLong journeys through the night to get there!
Vacherin executive chefs teamThe fact I can't be in it!

What's cooking this month

  • Nutritious and Delicious - Our healthy new range of food is bold and backed up with some great nutritional information communicated through QR coding - we continue to tour into 2013 - well it beats being out in the cold!
  • We're going bonkers over the beetroot this month - cooking up some great classics and putting a modern twist on things - try a little beet in your brownie, it works a treat!
  • We're really looking forward to Chinese New Year - lots of creative Asian cooking is on the menu - roll on feb!li>
  • Sustainable fish is in the media again as Mackerel has been taken off the 'fish to eat' list. This is very interesting as only 6 months ago our fish suppliers were telling us it was in abundance at sea. Essential oils can be found in nuts and seeds...this maybe the future for us all if we don't listen?

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