At the Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC) in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, specialist defence support services company ESS delivers ‘best in class’ catering and cleaning services for the world's most advanced purpose-built military staff college.
A flagship PFI
The JSCSC provides Command and Staff training for officers from all three UK Armed Services, government departments and officers from 51 countries around the world. Through its ten-year contract with facilities management company Serco, specialist defence support services company ESS has been providing catering and cleaning services at the JSCSC since it opened on the Defence Academy grounds at Watchfield in August 2000. Created to provide a centre for Command and Staff training for all three services at one location, the JSCSC is a flagship Private Finance Initiative (PFI) which was delivered through a joint venture between Serco and Equion, with construction subcontracted to Laing.
World-class catering
ESS works closely with Serco to ensure catering and cleaning services live up to the high standards expected at this world-renowned centre for military training. The ESS catering team – which has 60 members in total – provides breakfast, lunch and dinner, at the Officers' Mess, serving up to 1,400 meals a day.
The three-course dinner menu features starters such as smoked chicken salad and guacamole with crostini, with main course dishes such as salmon steak with spiced cream sauce, garlic studded roast leg of lamb and steak and kidney pudding. Three main course choices, including a vegetarian option, are offered at both lunch and dinner with healthier options clearly indicated on menus.
A lighter lunch is available from the Fieldhouse café, a high street retail style coffee shop featuring comfortable sofas and chairs which is also open to non-Mess members, Serco and ESS staff. Originally open at lunchtime only, the popularity of the café has led to all-day opening, from 8am to 6pm and it has become a popular venue for informal meetings. The Fieldhouse has a breakfast menu of bacon rolls, toast and croissants and a lunchtime menu of sandwiches, baguettes, homemade soups, fruit and yoghurt while bean-to-cup coffee and other hot and cold drinks are served throughout the day. In addition, ESS runs a shop selling sandwiches, confectionery, crisps and soft drinks and operates a trolley service from the shop to office-based staff.
VIP dining
As well as providing a fine dining experience for Mess members on a day-to-day basis, ESS is also responsible for providing hospitality catering ranging from VIP lunches and dinner parties for high-profile guests such as Cabinet ministers and royalty, to full-scale military banquets for all three services. For the Royal Navy's annual Trafalgar Night celebrations, for instance, a three-course silver service dinner for up to 330 is served. The company also caters for the College's annual summer ball attended by up to 1,000 guests.
“Many of our chefs compete regularly in top international culinary contests and much of our food is of competition standard. We want all our guests to come away thinking ’wow‘!” says executive head chef Alan Baker-Green, himself a gold medallist at the Combined Services Culinary Challenge and a silver medallist in the Culinary Olympics. Recent accolades for the ESS catering team at JSCSC have included the selection of James Baker as top young chef of the year by the Craft Guild of Chefs, the UK's leading chefs' association. The prized Young Chef Award is open to chefs under the age of 23 who can demonstrate a passion for the industry, excellent technical skills, knowledge, flair and commitment.
Highlights of ESS' VIP dinner menus include starters such as foie gras, artichoke and wild mushroom terrine with spiced tomato and garlic chutney, pan-fried red mullet served with shredded mangetout and a saffron mussel sauce, while main course selections include medallions of port marinated venison loin with glazed shallots and red wine sauce, sea bass fillet served on stewed leeks with tomato cream sauce, honey glazed roast chump of lamb with redcurrant jus and seared Barbary duck breast with classic cherry sauce.
Quality cleaning services
The 35-strong ESS cleaning team provides cleaning services across the entire staff college including its 483 ensuite bedrooms, 300 offices, 67 training rooms, five lecture theatres, the library and the JSCSC's sports facilities and gymnasium.
There is a strong emphasis on performance monitoring for all facets of the JSCSC's facilities management services with a monthly meeting held between Serco and the Chief of Staff at which all aspects of the FM service are reviewed. ESS operates its own rigorous quality assurance system to ensure that it is continuously improving its performance while daily dialogue between ESS contracts manager Nick White and Serco enables any concerns or issues to be raised and dealt with immediately.
Staff retention is also a strong feature of the ESS team at the JSCSC. By encouraging staff members to stay with the company, ESS ensures that its catering and cleaning teams provide the continuity, knowledge and expertise which are the hallmarks of a truly client-focused service. In 2006, the company presented awards to more than 20 staff members to mark the fact that they have been at the College for five years. ESS also encourages employees to develop their skills by undertaking Modern Apprenticeship and NVQ training programmes which allow them to work towards nationally-recognised qualifications. During 2005, more than 50 members of staff at the JSCSC completed NVQ programmes.
Client comments
Since the opening of the College in 2000, ESS has provided a service which has steadily progressed from good, to a level of excellence that would be difficult to exceed. ESS has demonstrated that the philosophy of customer focus and the culture of continuous improvement is an ethos which they have given total commitment to. They are a positive contributory factor to the international reputation of the JSCSC and their reputation within the JSCSC community for service delivery is justifiably deserved.
Peter Keeble, director support services, for Serco at JSCSC.
The JSCSC is the premier Command and Staff Training College for the UK military and provides training for a large number of Defence force students from around the world. The JSCSC trains and caters for a total of 1,800 residential students per year, as well as providing catering for many very high-profile visitors and events – several of international repute. The support, catering and cleaning services provided by ESS have been consistently of the highest standard and we, the MOD, consider ourselves extremely well served by our ESS staff. The award-winning catering team of chefs and stewards ensure that, within budget, the provision of the highest quality food is the normal standard, and the professionalism and dedication of the support staff is highly commendable. In concert with the other support services in the JSCSC, ESS make a very valuable contribution in maintaining the world-class standards enjoyed at the JSCSC, and are key team-players in underpinning its ethos and reputation.
Captain Fred Price RN, Chief of Staff, JSCSC.
