As a committed workplace professional, you’re at the frontline of getting office lunches delivered. When things go wrong you see and feel the impact more than anyone. When food vendors and aggregators are unreliable, the workplace experience suffers.
Once food arrives late, cold, bland, or incorrect, it’s not long until the complaints begin. Then it starts to feel like a spiral of doom. Employee satisfaction falls. Workplace culture suffers. Even productivity can be hit if work schedules are impacted.You don’t need that!
All of this is avoidable.
Delivered-in catering is the answer to the challenges of getting quality meals delivered to your office. So, put aside any scepticism for five minutes and explore how this mode of catering can nurture a well-fed and collaborative workforce.
In this article, you’ll learn about five common misconceptions, what delivered-in catering actually is, and how the hallmarks of a reliable delivered-in catering service can bolster your workplace strategy.
What actually is delivered-in catering?
Unlike food aggregators, where a third-party collects and delivers meals prepared and packaged by a restaurant, delivered-in catering is a complete, holistic approach. With a core offer of a hot and cold buffet that caters to all different tastes and arrives ready to taste, Fooditude’s delivered-in service takes care of every detail from start to finish.
From menu planning and sourcing ingredients through to preparation, cooking, delivery, display and contract catering services, you can put your trust into one company to handle everything.
Food is prepared at an off-site kitchen, eliminating the need for costly kitchens in your office. Delivered-in catering also means you can stop worrying about hiring in-house chefs.
In short, delivered-in catering is designed to put your business at the heart of everything. The entire service is built on your needs and budget, then delivered and served to your workforce without you having to stress about something going wrong.
Debunking five common misconceptions of delivered-in catering
1. “Delivered-in catering can’t reliably provide fresh, hot, varied meals.”
Wrong!
Our menu is rotated every four weeks and specially designed hotboxes keep it sizzling from kitchen to plate.
2. “Delivered-in catering can’t meet all our different dietary requests.”
Wrong!
Whether it’s simple dietary preferences or crucial allergen information, our menus are designed to cater for everyone in your team. Clear and detailed on-site labelling is also guaranteed.
3. “Delivered-in catering can’t be relied on. It’s more stress than it’s worth.”
Wrong!
Our chefs, drivers and front-of-house staff have never missed a delivery. You tell us when you need us, and we’ll be there – without fail.
“Delivered-in catering is much more complicated than ordering from an aggregator.”
Wrong!
Instead of ordering from a range of different restaurants to keep everyone happy, the variety of dishes cooked in our central kitchen covers all tastes and preferences. All you have to do is tell us how many people to cater for.
“Delivered-in catering requires too much on-site space to work.”
Wrong!
Don’t be worried about not having the capacity, seating or facilities to host a buffet. We can work from anywhere and even bring our own tables. Our catering experts are happy to advise on the best spaces for set-up.
Considering getting your office lunch delivered? Here are the key hallmarks of a reliable delivered-in catering service
If you’re tasked with getting your office’s lunch delivery, taking time to understand what a good service looks like can be a hugely beneficial exercise. At Fooditude, these are the core elements of our business that make us trusted across London.
Timely delivery
We control the entire delivery operation. We use our own vans, our own drivers, and our own front-of-house staff. This ‘our delivered’ model is unmatched by aggregators. And the result is timely deliveries day after day after day. The chain from when the food is first prepared to when it leaves the kitchen and when it is ready for service is executed with meticulous precision (we’ve been practising since 2005!).
Our drivers only deliver to one or two offices each. They know their routes and even know your building’s security staff. All of which goes a long way to explaining why we’ve never missed a single delivery.
Fresh food
Every day, our food is locally sourced and freshly prepared at our central kitchen. Our chefs only use the highest quality ingredients, and our investment in our delivery network and state-of-the-art coolboxes and hotboxes means your food always arrives at your premises and is served at the correct temperature.
No on-site kitchens or regeneration are ever required. We’re committed to ensuring the minimal possible workplace disruption.
Tasty food
All our chefs are trained, experienced and talented professionals – giving you the best possible flavours in every dish. We have a dedicated food development and innovation team that constantly comes up with new and delicious recipes. And our seasonal weekly menus run on four-week rotations, with hundreds of recipes available in any given month.
Each menu is constructed to cater for all allergens, dietary requirements, and personal tastes.
Specialised drivers and front-of-house staff
Fooditude customers are served by the same punctual, reliable front-of-house team and drivers every day. That familiarity enables strong working relationships to develop and trust to build from both you and your wider workforce.
Each day, the front-of-house staff will organise and execute the entire food display, quickly transferring dishes from temperature-controlled boxes to hot and cold plates ready for serving.
With aggregators, we’ve heard horror stories of businesses receiving one-day-old food that’s lacking taste, freshness and is not even delivered at the right temperature. Your employees only have a limited lunch break to re-energise: we are serious about our responsibility to give diners a proper mealtime and an enjoyable experience from start to finish.
Great service
Service can be poor when you use aggregators because nobody has full ownership of your experience. The restaurant produces your food, then considers its job done. Your delivery driver is only concerned about getting your food dropped off so they can move on to their next job. The condition your food arrives in is rarely top of their priorities.
But a delivered-in service works differently, with centralised operations all planned and executed from one main hub.
Our years of experience have given us the ability to spot issues before they arise. A full labelling process, minimal waste, and a sustainable approach completes the package.
Dedicated attention
Outstanding customer service is something an aggregator simply cannot offer. The model just doesn’t allow for the personal touch that we provide daily.
In contrast, Fooditude makes bespoke hires of friendly, engaged staff specifically to suit your business.
Every day, they’re on call to help your diners and answer any questions you or your workforce may have. You’ll also have access to a dedicated operations manager, and it goes without saying that all our services comply with health and safety regulations.
Achieve your goals with delivered-in catering
Getting your workplace catering lunch delivered may seem like a relatively small consideration, but it can have a big impact on your overall business performance. Good, fresh food enhances the employee experience, increases satisfaction and engagement, and helps to foster a positive workplace culture that aligns with your brand values.
Delivered catering is a great way to optimise your workplace operations in a cost-effective and sustainable way.
Contact us today to find out what Fooditude could do for you!