ESS has won the Team of the Year Award at the 2023 Public Sector Catering Awards. This was in recognition of the services provided to the company's Defence and Government Services clients during the mourning period and state funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Key activities included:
- Supporting Thames Valley Police in and around Windsor
- Supporting Royal Navy personnel preparing for the funeral at HMS Excellent, HMS Collingwood and HMS Sultan
- Catering for military personnel and international guests at MOD Whitehall
- Mobilising a large-scale feeding operation for the MOD at short notice to support service personnel in Central London.
In a truly collaborative effort, ESS and Compass colleagues from across the UK worked alongside the company’s clients to deliver everything they needed to fulfil their duties at this difficult time.
- Across the Windsor locations, ESS served over 20,000 additional meals in six days, catering for up to 5,000 customers on the rehearsal and funeral days.
- Within its Royal Navy sites, the company delivered 31,000 additional meals in messes (40,000 across its wider estate), along with 8,000 packed meals, 11,000 breakfast baps and 15,000 hot drinks and chocolate bars.
- The MOD Whitehall team provided hot food, drinks and snacks for more than 2,400 military personnel acting as street liners for the event, as well as hospitality for VIPs and guests.
- From Twickenham Stadium, the ESS team produced 1,350 breakfasts, 2,300 packed lunches, 2,175 dinners and 1,175 packed dinners at short notice to support the Armed Forces.
The team members who played a part were proud and honoured to support this important moment in British history.
