We wish you enough...

Have you seen the story that’s been widely circulated on the internet about a conversation overheard at an airport? It’s entitled “I Wish You Enough”. It’s a touching story and if you’d like to read it you can find it here 

So for this Christmas we would like to wish you enough…

Enough to eat

Enough to drink

Enough happiness

Enough laughter

Enough friends

Enough presents

Enough warmth

Enough love

Enough of everything that will make your Christmas special to you, your family and your loved ones. If everyone in the world had enough, wouldn’t that be something special?

We’d also like to thank all of our clients and friends for your business and support throughout the year. Your loyalty means a huge amount to us, and we never take that for granted. We look forward to working with you in 2014!

Top 10 reasons that people love vanvend

It’s been 4 weeks since vanvend was launched on the streets of Hertfordshire. It’s not been without the inevitable teething problems, but we’ve got through them and managed to keep smiling (most of the time!)

We’ve been keen to find out what it is that people like about vanvend, and these are the things that seem to appeal most:

• Fresh coffee (and the fresh coffee smell!)
• We’re reliable
• Our friendly service
• Fresh & exciting (not sure if they mean us or our food!!)
• Good value
• Professional image & van
• Cleanliness
• Hot meal options
• New & innovative
• 5* hygiene rating

What we think sets us apart from much of our competition is that first and foremost we’re professional caterers. We know food. We’re not talented amateurs. Our chefs have spent years at college, and in the industry, gaining all the experience and knowledge that they need to concoct tasty, fresh food, prepared safely and with love. Oh, and that happens every day in our own kitchens in Welwyn Garden City – which means that our food is as fresh as the proverbial daisy!

Re-invent lunchtimes in the office!

New moving food kiosk, vanvend.com, bring innovation to stale market

In years gone by many of us had the luxury of a full 1 hour lunch break, away from the desk; a chance to catch up with our colleagues, eat a relaxed lunch, maybe even pop out to the shops. Nowadays lunch breaks are often regarded as a luxury that we just don’t have time for, and sometimes the company culture is one where taking time away from your desk is positively frowned upon!

Unfortunately our home lives are often just as fraught! So where does that leave us in terms of lunch? Too often it’s grabbing whatever we can find, which invariably means unhealthy, high fat, high sugar, unsatisfying, virtually nutrient free tummy fillers; followed a couple of hours later with an emergency raid of the biscuit tin to top up our energy levels! It really can’t go on…

Isn’t it time we started looking after ourselves with good quality, satisfying food that will give us the energy to cope with the demands of our challenging lives? We think so, which is why we’ve done something about it! From Monday October 21st we will be delivering fresh homemade lunches and snacks to the offices of Hertfordshire!

As you would expect from eatlunch, our “green” ethos will be weaved throughout our new offering, so you can expect  recycled / recyclable packaging, and whenever possible our food will be locally sourced, organic or fair-trade and freshly made every day in our 5 star rated kitchen. 

Hertfordshire is a big county, and we want to go where the need is greatest, so if you and your work colleagues don’t have easy access to good quality food at lunchtime, or maybe its breakfast that’s your biggest problem, then please give us a shout as we’re currently planning our route.

So if you’d like us to visit your office, or would like to find out more about our services, please give us a call on 01707 331751 or email us here

The Perfect Pimms

eatlunch is just heading off out to cater for a new opening of a Toning Studio and on this perfect summers evening we are serving our perfectly made 'Pimms Original'.

Fancy one?

Its easy-peasy:

Simply take a jug or long drink glass and fill it with ice.

1. Mix 1 part PIMM'S No.1with 3 parts chilled lemonade;
2. Add some mint, cucumber, orange and strawberry                                    

When entertaining, fill a jug with 200ml of PIMM'S and top up with lemonade: 5.2 UK units of alcohol, and for a long drink glass use 50ml of PIMM'S and top up with lemonade: 1.3 UK units of alcohol. Makes 4-5 long drinks depending on the size of the glass.

Now enjoy the real taste of summer -

Or for something a little different why not try a 'Pimms Ginger'

1. Take a jug or long drink glass and fill it with ice.     
2. Mix 1 part PIMM'S* No.1with 3 parts ginger ale;
3. Add a slice of lemon and a sprig of mint - 

Come Work With Us!

 

 

Eatlunch are now recruiting for a position at our Café Site at the Business & Technology Centre in Stevenage. So if you fancy getting the opportunity to work with us (or know someone else who might), then have a look below and forward it to others that you think may be interested.

 

  

"You will need to be available Monday to Fridays starting no earlier than 8am and finishing no later than 4pm and although it will be on a rota basis we expect the role to be between 15 – 20 hours per week at a starting rate of £6.80, which will be reviewed after the successful completion of a three month probationary period.

 

Full training will be given on all duties which may include:-

 

·         Washing and cleaning of Crockery Cutlery and Equipment

·         Preparation of Salads & Fillings.

·         Re-stocking of Displays and storage areas.

·         Making of Fresh Bread Products on our Made to Order counter

·         Making Great Tasting Coffee

·         Serving customers on the Till

·         Cleaning and maintenance of our Cafe Areas

 

Genuine applicants will take the time to visit our website www.eatlunch.co.uk and write a cover letter alongside their CV demonstrating experience in at least two of the duties listed above as well as explaining why they believe they are suited to the position. Please email peter@eatlunch.co.uk."

 

 

And the winner is.....

 

Over the past year “eatlunch” have continued to develop their core recycling strategies and to seek greater innovation through their new packaging formats and a very real commitment to reducing food waste wherever possible.

 

 The company has recently completed a 6 month research campaign into new “food waste recycling technologies” and has with support from the UKTI completed and in depth field study into diverting waste from landfill and considering the benefits of “composting” and the potential for energy capture within “Anaerobic Digestion Systems”

 

The business considers the management of food waste and the association of all its associated packaging components, to be one of the most critical factors that needs to be addressed as part of any national waste minimisation project and is currently working closely with a number of national and international businesses to consider the impact of such strategies in creating a “zero waste society”.      

 

 

 When presenting the 'Federation of Small Business Footprint Green Award 2013'  The Judges said...

 

"eatlunch are always looking for new ideas and ways to integrate environmental thinking into their business."

Breaking News!

  

We’ve been incredibly busy over the last few months planning changes that will make it even easier to do business with us. If you’re reading this blog post, then those pages are now in place! Take a few minutes to look through our bright and shiny website; hopefully you’ll notice our simpler, faster and tastier changes...

• SIMPLER menu packages with fixed prices and FREE delivery
• Tracking orders, viewing your order history, easy payments and no additional charges make the whole process FASTER for you
• Our new range of menus are even TASTIER than before

And that isn’t all! We’re also developed a brand new range of environmentally friendly packaging and accessories…

• ALL packaging for our lunchtime pre-ordered and delivered buffets is now 100% recyclable
• eatlunch’s new range of sandwich and finger food platters are compostable and/or biodegradable and made from abundant and renewable resources
• Outside of the eatlunch sandwich and finger food platters, all buffet and general food presentation is created using an extensive range of fully compostable vegware products
• Take a look here for more information on our environmental policy.

And there’s more! As a thank you for your continued support, we’ve also introduced a loyalty scheme. With every 10th order we’ll treat you to a box of four tasty cupcakes. More info here.

As always if you have a special event or celebration, we’re always on hand to make your good event great with our excellent gourmet canapé, barbeque and exclusive wedding menus. Call us now and let us create the perfect menu for you 01707 331751.

Top Valentine’s Ideas from the eatlunch Team

In case you’ve been living in a bubble for the past week or two and haven’t noticed all the red hearts that have popped up in many a high street window, Valentine’s Day is almost here!

It is THE most romantic day of this year (unless you’re getting married, in which case your wedding day will trump it!), and many people are feeling the pressure to come up with ever more creative ways to spend the day and to present that perfect gift.

Well we’re in a romantic mood at eatlunch and we thought we’d give you a few ideas that really float our boats.

• Valentine’s Day is about showing that special someone exactly how much you cherish them, so what better way than to make it really personal to them. Find out what they would really like to do and then make it happen. So often when thinking about what someone else would like, we fall into the trap of thinking what we would like – OK, not overtly! Maybe a curry and a few pints is your idea of heaven, so you end up with dinner at a nice restaurant for your partner, when what they’d really love is a night at the theatre, or a romantic country walk.
• If your partner cooks for you every night, then maybe you taking the time to cook a special meal will be their idea of heaven. This is often appreciated more than being taken out for a meal as the time and thought gone into it is far greater.
• SURPRISE!! OK, now I don’t know what this could be, but it needs to be something really unexpected. I’m afraid a dozen roses, although lovely, will NOT be much of a surprise on Feb 14^th. If your budget allows, why not come home with some holiday brochures and arrange a lovely few days away whilst quaffing some quality Champagne and nibbling on some indulgent chocolates.

Maybe you have some better ideas? If you do, come and tell us about them on Facebook or Twitter. 

You can find us at
https://www.facebook.com/Eatlunch
https://twitter.com/eatlunchbuffets

New December 2012 Newsletter

Our December edition newsletter is now available to download please click on the link below.
Eat Lunch December 2012 Newsletter

eatlunch’s cakes a big hit at Macmillan Cancer Support’s Big Coffee Morning

At eatlunch we are always happy to support a good cause, and our chosen charity Macmillan Cancer Support is a great one.  Several of our clients at BioPark, Exemplas, btc and Ocado recently joined in with the world’s biggest coffee morning and naturally we were more than happy to provided coffee, tea and some of our yummy homemade cakes! We were delighted to hear that the events raised nearly £700 between them and were deemed a great success by all involved.

 

If reading this is making your mouth water, why don’t you treat yourself and put in an order for your next meeting. Wendy is currently doing a cordon bleu patisserie course which will be the perfect complement to our freshly brewed coffee.

If you visit us at the eatlunch café at the btc, let us tempt you to a mouthwatering cake with your afternoon tea or coffee for just £1 during the month of October. Pop in any weekday between 2-3pm and quote ‘cakeblog’.

A little more about Macmillan:
Cancer is the toughest fight most of us will ever face. Macmillan is here to make sure no one has to go through it alone. Whatever you raise, you will be helping to improve the lives of people affected by cancer across the UK. The world’s biggest coffee morning has raised over £5m to date. It’s not too late to donate – please visit http://coffee.macmillan.org.uk

Tell us who deserves a tasty treat

THIS week The Comet, in association with Hertfordshire corporate catering company eatlunch, has launched two initiatives – Cake for an Angel and Dinners for Winners – to celebrate good work within the community and to recognise business success in the area. 

The first Cake for an Angel goes to Stevenage foster carer Sally Churms, who has received a selection of cakes in recognition of her hard work in providing a loving and stable environment for a deaf child.

Sally, of Manor View, has been described by Louise Mahrra, a colleague at Hitchin-based fostering agency SWAN Fostering Ltd, as showing “exceptional resilience”, overcoming “the difficulties faced from everyday general communication to more emotional and developmental needs”.

The first Dinners for Winners goes to Hermitage Sheet Metal in Hitchin, with staff receiving a buffet lunch in recognition of being the first company to receive a gold award from global defence and security company BAE Systems for demonstrating sustained excellence in quality and delivery performance. The company has also helped young people through the Hertfordshire Careers Service work experience programme.

If you wish to nominate an individual or a team who deserve a treat contact the Comet newsdesk on 01438 866200 or editorial@thecomet.net

We'll be at the Harlow Business Exhibition

We're looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible on Tuesday 12th June 2012 at the Manor of Groves Hotel, High Wych, Sawbridgeworth between 10am and 4pm for the Harlow Business Exhibition.

This is one business networking event with a difference and it's back by popular demand and now in its 3rd year and we'll be there on STAND NUMBERS 24 & 25.

So if you are looking to do business and want more business from your local community, now is your chance to take part. It’s FREE to attend and there’s plenty of FREE parking too!

Unlike many exhibitions, whether you register NOW or on the day, the Harlow Business Exhibition is FREE to attend. To register in advance email sales@harlowbusinessexhibition.co.uk

2012 presents the chance to come along and meet 100 exhibitors. Visitors will be able to enjoy:
• A business breakfast - providing networking opportunities and advice (payment required for breakfast, please see our seminars list)
• FREE Seminars
• Help information, support and business advice
• An event full of fresh ideas - all under one roof and in one room!
• The chance to take a day out from your routine to plan, develop and gain new ideas for you and your business
• Entertainment
• Refreshments
• A fantastic location - with plenty of FREE parking
• Prizes - through the purchase of raffle tickets in support of our ‘Charity of Choice’ 2012 - Mike’s Den

With an expected 700 people attending, and 100 exhibitors, this is a fantastic opportunity not to be missed. So put the 12th June 2012 in your diary and register your attendance with The Sowerby Group, Event Organisers on 01279 408 669 or email sales@harlowbusinessexhibition.co.uk

We look forward to seeing you there.

Rain On Harvey Moon

With the hosepipe ban officially declared and the driest start to the first half of the year since 1929, it may take more than the avoidance of garden watering or the washing of the car to save our scarce reserves and the worst water crisis most of us have ever known! 

As a small regional catering business we rely on water across many aspects of our daily operations to ensure food hygiene as well as safe and clean working environments...indeed across the hospitality sector water usage and the reduction of this valuable resource is another part of our environmental challenge....just rinsing the fresh fruit and vegetables every morning from a large open tap can have a flow of up to 40 litres per minute!

Many hotels and restaurants that have larger kitchens often scrape food into a channel that has a constant flow of water prior to going through a commercial dishwasher system and many operators are looking at ways to ensure that this can only be activated when required and or reducing the time period for the flow of each plate that requires to be cleaned.

At eatlunch we recycle 100% of our food waste to anaerobic digestion and we ensure that are dishwasher is fully loaded at all times on the most appropriate time and heat cycles to reduce both water consumption and energy costs.

By reviewing scheduling, catering businesses can often improve staff efficiency and reduce waste and water consumption such as allowing food to defrost naturally and safely in temperature controlled environments rather than using water to rapid defrost.

Prepared food by its very nature demands higher water usage to those foods cooked from chilled, although with our growing awareness towards healthier eating and better use of fresh local ingredients, this may present a different set of challenges as we strike the balance across a range of energy and resource needs.

READ MORE ABOUT OUR ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES >

eatpure opens 2nd cafe site in Welwyn Garden City

After the successful opening and development of the first eatpure cafe, sited at the Business Technology Centre in Bessemer Road Stevenage, the company is pleased to have partnered with the management team at BIOPARK in WGC to launch the second of its in house staff café and bistro facilities.

The base of this business model is to underpin the daily supply of pre-ordered buffet lunches for external clients, meeting rooms, seminars, training and general lunchtime provisions with an on-site facility that gives everyone working within the business environment access to a wide range of quality food and beverage options, in particular where there is a lack of good facilities in the area or staff have limited time in which to have their breaks.

The new facility has already had fantastic feedback on its range of hot soups and pies, homemade cakes and the wide selection of sandwiches, rolls and speciality breads from which customers can now select their daily favourites.

Much of the ethos of eatpure has been borne out of a desire to provide foods that are a little different from those find in most high Cafes and to support this with fantastic service and the tried and tested management and organisation skills that the company has developed through its eatlunch.co.uk brand and over 15 years in delivering large formal catering events.

“The initial focus has been to provide a small selection of hot meals which change on a daily and weekly basis and to provide foods that suit every taste and budgets” said Ian White of eatpure’s management team ”we try different things all of the time and are always looking for the customers feedback and to give them a reason to come back again and again”

Other products available include a wide range of fair trade produce and lots of healthy snacks to keep you going!

Eatpure have supported both these projects with vending support operations to ensure that there are always hot beverage options to hand and prides itself on amazing coffee served with an awful lot of love.

For more information on how we can help your organisation with more great food ideas at your workplace - please visit the café & vending page on our website or call Ian White on 01707 331751

We're hiring!

We have some new vacancies at eatpure

Delivery Driver & Cafe Sales Assistant:

Job Purpose: Cost-effective delivery of business buffet lunches to our customers in a timely manner, ensuring that the quality and presentation of our products are maintained. This includes a secondary role within the allocated hours to staff our small local Sandwich Bar operation. Duties will include, Setting Up, Customer Service, Till Operation, Clear Down & Cashing Up approx one to one and a half hours each day.

Hours of Work: These will be on a weekly Rota basis. Below is an example of a typical day:-

09:30 Arrival to Welwyn Garden City Kitchens.

09:45 Departure from Kitchens on a pre agreed route with the Transport Manager delivering Premium Buffets to our clients throughout Hertfordshire in our Refrigerated Vehicles.

11:30 Return to WGC Kitchens to collect Retail Sandwiches and Hot Products.

11:45 Arrive at our On-Site Café (based in WGC) to set up the Front Counter whilst storing hot & cold products in appropriate storage equipment as laid out in the Procedures Manual.

12:00 Serve Customers that Visit the facility as appropriate.

13:00 Close down the On-Site Café, account for all cash transactions.

13:15 Return to WGC Kitchens with unsold products and returning Cash taken to the Manager.

13:30 Daily Cleaning of Vehicle alongside other appropriately related tasks where required.

14:00 Finish

Full Job Description

Job Reference: DDBP156 – You Will Need To Quote This On Your Application

In the first instance please forward a brief letter outlining any relevant experience and your contact details to: cater@eatlunch.co.uk quoting reference DDBP156

Waiting staff:

eatpure ltd. has a number of “one off” private events that we are running throughout the region in 2012 and especially through the coming summer months (May-September).

We would welcome any interest from those with any hospitality experience to help with all aspects of customer service.

In the first instance please forward a brief letter outlining any relevant experience and your contact details to: cater@eatlunch.co.uk quoting reference WS2012 

Head Chef/Kitchen Lead/Top Cook:

eatpure ltd. is currently considering an opening for a new and exciting role within the business to help steer the organisation to its next level of professional development.

This challenging role will be focused on key elements of product development, kitchen efficiencies and consistency in work practices and product presentation with full management and all creative responsibilities to deliver the right product to our growing list of blue chip customers..

This is a hands on opportunity for an ambitious individual with genuine cooking ability to get in amongst it and stir a passion for corporate and event catering at the highest standard-the role will encompass all aspects of volume daily production and some weekend work by arrangement.

The position is not yet advertised in the general press and will come to fruition in spring of this year, however we welcome initial approaches from candidates that match the enclosed criteria..

The main benefits on offer will be:

> Structured work hours Monday to Friday (No split shifts or late working).

> Minimal weekend working by arrangement.

> Good basic salary with performance bonus and profit related incentives.

> Genuine management position with ability to influence company direction.

Interested? Please send a covering letter stating your reasons for wanting to apply for the position, your personal and work objectives and 3 things that you believe you can bring to our organisation that will make a difference to what we do?!

Taking the environment seriously

eatlunch joined other like-minded Hertfordshire companies to learn how to develop their own Environmental Management System for ISO 14001, a recognised standard for environmental procedures. 

The course highlighted skills to implement environmental practices into their businesses. A series of sessions came to end this December after 6 months study and class workshops. 

Taking part in the training were Day & Night PAT Testing, BJ Builders, GTS Ventilation and eatlunch. Also in the photograph are Antony Gough, Programme Manager for Resource Efficiency East and Paul Burr of WYG who delivered the training.

Fueling the Ocado Charity Quiz Night

eatlunch was pleased to help one of our regular Customers, Ocado with some buffet food to help fuel them at their Charity Quiz Night.

We are thrilled to hear that the amount raised on the evening for Macmillan through this event was £1267.06!!!

What Ocado said:

"Thank you so very much from me and the whole Ocado Charity team for your support and immense generosity in providing the quiz with such a generous amount of food. Without your support we would not have been able to raise this figure for Macmillan and your contribution is wholly appreciated by all.

Also, I would like to add that working with you on this quiz night was a complete pleasure. You made everything look so easy, although I am sure a lot of hard work went on in the background to make everything happen to precision.

With kind regards and a big THANK YOU!"

There is such a thing as a FREE LUNCH

Well there is with eatlunch.co.uk and JACK fm!

JACK's Girls are banishing Miserable Mondays.

Every Monday, eatlunch.co.uk and Janine and JACK's Girls from 106 Jack FM could treat you and your workmates to a FREE LUNCH!

If you'd like Janine and JACK's Girls to bring you lunch with eatlunch.co.uk to wipe out the work place misery of a Monday, just fill in the form on our website (CLICK HERE >).

Get ready to eat lunch with eatlunch.co.uk - great tasting fresh business catering for everyday (not just Miserable Mondays!)

Festival fun for all the family

Get the kids out of the house for a while after school or nursery
and give them something new to see and taste!

The “Hertfordshire Lifestyle & Indulgence Festival 2011 ” will include:
Regional & Seasonal Produce, Cooking Demonstrations, Tasting Sessions & Free Samples
Pamper & Lifestyle Products with Competitions & Giveaways, Party & Family Entertainment
Local Artists & Quality Crafts

FREE ENTRY TO FESTIVAL & FREE ONSITE PARKING

Business Technology Centre, Bessemer Drive, Stevenage SG1 2DX
www.btcstevenage.co.uk

Thursday 20th October 2011- 4.00pm-7.00pm

Friends and Family Highlights:

Schools Pumpkin Carving Competition
Chocolate Fountain

Evening Hog Roast

Pampering Workshops

Wine & Cheese Tasting

See you there!

 

Event organized and run by eatlunch.co.uk & Design-a-Party.com