Ricoh Arena Wins Prestigious Catering Award
The award-winning Ricoh Arena in Coventry, part of leading foodservice company Compass Group, has Ricoh Arena beaten Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and Scotland’s Hampden Park to win a prestigious catering award.
The £113 million venue scooped the Stadia Award at the Cost Sector Catering Awards 2007 at a glittering evening at the Hilton London Metropole in London.
Chief Executive Daniel Gidney and General Manager Kieran Gallagher from the Ricoh Arena received the Huhtamaki Food Service sponsored trophy from Sky News presenter Lucy Alexander.
FMc, a specialist caterer of Compass Group, operates and runs the conference, exhibition and banqueting facilities as well as the 71-bedroom Boutique Hotel and the Singers Bar & Bistro restaurant at the Ricoh Arena.
Kieran said the Ricoh Arena had been short-listed along with Delaware North Companies who operate the catering at the £390 million Emirates Stadium – the home of Arsenal – and the new Wembley Stadium and Sodexho Prestige Scotland who run the catering at Scotland’s national stadium Hampden Park.
“It is a massive honour to have won this award which recognises the best of the best,” he said.
“It is always a privilege to collect awards which have been voted for by your peers and within the catering industry it recognises true excellence.
“The awards night is one of the highlights of everyone who works within the industry and I think the unique nature of the Ricoh Arena played a pivotal role in our success.
“To continue to provide such high standards in catering whether we are staging a conference, concert, football match or providing dining for our guests in the hotel is a tremendous compliment to the entire team and this award reflects that.
“We are absolutely delighted to have won and to have beaten the Emirates and Hampden Park stadiums is quite a feat.”
Nigel Dunlop, Managing Director of Sport, Leisure and Hospitality for Compass Group UK and Ireland, attended the awards evening and said the success was due to the creativity and innovation shown at the Ricoh Arena.
He said: “This is a fantastic example of partnership working between Arena Coventry Ltd who manage the venue and the Compass Group who jointly promote the Ricoh Arena as a world-class venue.
“This is the highest honour that can be given by the catering industry and we are all extremely proud.”
Kieran Gallagher from the Ricoh Arena (centre) receives the award from Sky News presenter Lucy Alexander and John Young from sponsor Huhtamaki Food Service.
+ Permalink