ESS has introduced integrated catering, retail and leisure facilities for The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as part of the comprehensive support services the company delivers for the British Army's internationally-renowned officer training academy.
An integrated service
Developing lasting working relationships with defence clients allows ESS to provide continuity of service, respond to changing needs and invest long-term in new facilities. ESS has been providing support services at Sandhurst since 1998. In 2004, the company was awarded a new £25 million total turnover four-year contract to provide catering and other support services at The Royal Military Academy and at the former Army Staff College, Sandhurst.
Under the terms of the new ‘three into one’ contract, ESS helped Sandhurst become the first UK defence site to introduce integrated catering, retail and leisure facilities – giving service personnel the same high quality and choice available to them on the high street – outside of a Pay As You Dine trial environment. ESS worked closely with the Royal Military Academy to deliver a bespoke solution designed to meet the Royal Military Academy's requirement for modern, best-in-class facilities.
Brand-new leisure and retail centre
A key feature of the new facilities introduced by ESS was the transformation of an area at Sandhurst Hall previously used as a stand-by kitchen into a brand-new leisure and retail centre featuring a modern open plan shop, a lounge area and bar, and a dedicated officer cadets' lounge.
Open from 7am to 11pm, the officer cadets' lounge has been created for the sole use of the 1,000 officer cadets studying at any one time at RMA Sandhurst and is double the size of the previous tearoom facility. Included are multimedia entertainment facilities such as Sky television, internet access and interactive games machines. Used by as many as 200 officer cadets during the mid-morning and afternoon break, at lunchtime the lounge also provides a convenient alternative to the Academy's main dining rooms serving hot grab-and-go snacks, speciality coffees and other hot drinks. In the evening, the lounge serves soft drinks, coffees, hot dogs, popcorn and other treats.
The Sandhurst Hall redevelopment also included the creation of a new open-plan 100m2 amigo convenience store, selling food, drink and everyday essentials, open from 7am to 11pm. In addition, ESS introduced a purpose-built stylish lounge and bar area open to all service personnel and their families. An extra design feature of the Sandhurst Hall redevelopment was the installation of moveable screened partitions which enable the whole space to be opened up to provide a single function room accommodating up to 250 people.
Café society
One of Sandhurst's two junior ranks dining areas has also been turned into an 80-seater continental style café. Again, ESS worked closely in partnership with Sandhurst to design he new Fort Royal café which is open from 7am to 10pm to military personnel and their families. Modelled on an upmarket high street-style coffee shop, the café features plush leather sofas with an extensive menu ranging from croissants, pastries and filled baguettes and panini, to English breakfasts, pasta dishes and hand-made pizzas. Fort Royal offers a full selection of speciality coffees and other hot drinks and is licensed to serve wine and beer in the evening.
ESS is continuing to work closely with the Academy to further develop its catering, retail and leisure services with the current focus on the future provision of Pay As You Dine services for Sandhurst's Junior Ranks. Under Pay As You Dine, service personnel pay only for what they eat instead of having a standard meal charge automatically deducted from their wages.
Fine dining
Led by executive head chef Rob Kennedy – whose impressive track record in national catering competitions includes medals at the Combined Services Culinary Challenge, Hotelympia and the Contract Chef of the Year 2007 title at the Wessex Salon Culinaire – Sandhurst's 35-strong brigade of ESS chefs set themselves the highest of standards. As well as catering for the Academy's 3,000-strong defence community on a day-to-day basis, ESS also provides hospitality and banqueting services for special and high profile events such as the Sovereign's Parade, held in December, April and August, which includes lunch for 1,000 officer cadets and guests served in five locations on site. The evening sees 2,500 officer cadets and guests attend the Commissioning Ball where ESS provides a bar service and simple food such as BBQs or curries. Following on from the Ball, revellers are then served a full cooked breakfast in the early hours of the morning when around 2,000 sit down to eat.
Among other key events is the bi-annual Music on Fire! extravaganza which attracts up to 8,000 guests for each performance. The event, which is deemed to be the UK's most spectacular outdoor event, was first staged in 2004 at RMA Sandhurst, making a return to the Academy in 2006. Staged over three evenings, ESS is responsible for catering for the Royal Box, general public, military band and choir members and the stage engineers – this can equate to a total of 9,000 plus on each evening.
ESS has also successfully taken on the staging of the tri-annual Commissioning Ball for 2,500 guests. With themes such as Winter Wonderland and Secret Garden, great music and stunning food, it has once again become a ‘must attend’ event of the Sandhurst social calendar.
Total support services
ESS' multi-activity contract at Sandhurst covers a wide range of services from cleaning, domestic assistance and waste management, to dry cleaning services, tailoring, shoe repairs and a barbers and hairdressing service. Services are administered through ESS' central help desk which is open from 8.30am to 6pm on weekdays and from 8.30am to 2pm on Saturdays, with a duty manager available outside these hours. The positive relationship developed with the Academy has allowed ESS to extend the range of services provided, offering Sandhurst a ‘one-stop shop’ approach. Since September 2005, for instance, in response to a request from the Academy, ESS has taken on the role of providing a security escort service for each of the Sandhurst main gates providing escort drivers for visitor traffic.
Performance monitoring and communication are cornerstones of the client-focused service delivery provided by the Sandhurst team led by contract manager Jeanette McNaughton. Jeanette's superb management of the multi-activity contract at Sandhurst led to her being named top Contract Catering Unit Manager in the Cost Sector Catering Awards 2006. Jeanette meets with the Commandant on a monthly basis and has day-to-day contact with Sandhurst's facilities managers and contract monitoring officer. Each month, ESS issues more than 200 feedback forms asking service users to rate the performance of services available at the Academy and inviting them to suggest any changes or improvements. Customers booking functions held at the Academy are also asked to complete and return feedback forms allowing ESS to monitor standards and continuously improve the escort services offered.
