Balanced Food

Placing the word service back into food service through models and engaging customers

Even as we start to re-open, everyone still has a view on what the future will hold. Some argue that offices will come back quicker than most expect; others that we will see a 3 day working week in offices. Many believe there will be many sources of tension between those who do come back and those who do not. One year on and there is still a lack of genuine clarity.

This does make it hard for many food service players as how does one plan and prepare?

It will require companies who do possess a strong service ethic, a flexible model and the ability to adapt. Enter Balanced Food which has been designed to work in B&I, in hotels, for venues and in events through a model which is able to adapt depending on the circumstances.

Most agree that food service will play a central role in every operation as the world rebuilds. That has become a given. The debate has been more about what a model will look like?

Balanced’s core message and missions is “making people’s working lives that much better”. They have developed a model where it can be a traditional offer with a team of experts working on site or where model can be delivered in from a CPU operation. They are in discussion with 3 hotel companies about creating a model where food is delivered in each day and then served to customers through an onsite team. Clients have been genuinely delighted by the pilots and food tastings which they believe were better than they possessed via traditional models.
They believe that food is more important than management hierarchies – that food is the centre of their business and that their food quality and innovation will speak for itself.

However, they are also in discussions with a number of operations in B&I and venues where there is an onsite team working to deliver a strong experience with freshly prepared food onsite.

It is an interesting business to observe as they are almost old-school in their values and yet they are breaking across boundaries which many have failed to do in the past. Talk to them and they will speak in great depth about fresh produce, nutrition, modern food styles, service delivery, partnership, openness and a progressive approach. They believe that food is more important than management hierarchies – that food is the centre of their business and that their food quality and innovation will speak for itself.

However, maybe the real differential they do bring is the creation of a hybrid model which can either be a delivered in model from a CPU or a traditional approach. They have the ability to adapt in a way few others are able.

The differential that they will rightly point to is that food is their core passion. They will not talk about area managers or head office but about how food can make a real difference to those people in an operation. They will rightly note that customers do not care about area managers or companies; they care about quality produce, sustainability, and great food styles which make their dining experience an occasion. They will argue that they want to place the word “service” back into food service and they will live this mantra through great food, great service and it is this which will define them.