Month: October 2026

International Chefs Day: The People, Passion and Adaptability Behind Our Food

Posted on by Kelsie Button

Every day, across Angel Hill Food Co., chefs bring together culinary skill, creativity and practical experience to deliver food for the people and communities we serve. As our business grows, so does the range of customers, settings and expectations our teams respond to, requiring colleagues to adapt their approach while maintaining the care and attention that go into every plate.

International Chefs Day is an opportunity to recognise the people behind that work. From developing new dishes and working with seasonal ingredients to adapting menus and service to different environments, our chefs play an important role in how customers experience Angel Hill Food Co.

Their stories are different, shaped by family, culture, experience and the opportunities they have taken throughout their careers. What connects them is a shared love of food and a commitment to bringing that into their work every day.

A Love of Food, Rooted in Everyday Life

For Alex Metcalf, Chef Manager, Healthcare & Education, a love of food begins with the ingredients nature provides and the connections created around the table.

“My Love of Food comes from the seasonal foods our planet naturally gives us, eating seasonally allows us to enjoy foods when they are at their very best. I also enjoy food when eating with friends, family. Food has an ability to bring so many people together and create strong memories.”

Alex’s perspective reflects the many reasons people choose a career in food. Seasonal ingredients offer inspiration for menus, while shared meals create opportunities for people to connect. For chefs, these experiences can influence everything from the ingredients they select to the dishes they develop and the way they approach service.

Adapting as the Business Grows

As Angel Hill Food Co. continues to develop, our chefs and catering teams work across a broad range of environments, each with its own requirements. A school kitchen, a healthcare setting and a busy workplace restaurant all demand different approaches to menus, service and the people being catered for.

Responding to those differences takes culinary knowledge, teamwork and an understanding of the customer. It can mean developing new concepts, introducing different ingredients, responding to feedback or finding practical ways to deliver a consistent service as expectations change.

Our colleagues bring that adaptability to their work every day. Their experience helps translate the wider direction of the business into food and service that work for individual customers and the people they serve.

Different Journeys, Shared Commitment

There is no single route into a career in catering. Some colleagues find their inspiration at home, learning from family and the food they grew up with. Others discover their interest through training, early kitchen roles or the chance to explore new cuisines and techniques.

Those different experiences help shape the breadth of knowledge across our teams. Food carries cultural influences, personal memories and regional traditions, giving chefs a wealth of inspiration to draw on. Sharing that knowledge helps introduce customers to new flavours while keeping familiar favourites on the menu.

 

Developing Skills and Creating Opportunities

A growing catering business also creates opportunities for colleagues to learn, develop and take on new responsibilities. Building culinary confidence, sharing knowledge between teams and giving chefs the chance to test ideas all help strengthen the food offer.

That development matters at every stage of a career, from colleagues building their foundations in the kitchen to experienced chefs taking on leadership responsibilities or helping develop menus and concepts across the business.

“The dough module for culinary classroom really excited me as I’ve had little experience in doughs and baking. I learnt a lot of new skills at this session and, as always, had a great day with the group.”

Amy Holland, Chef Supervisor, Distribution & Logistics 

For the Love of Food

Behind every meal is a team bringing together ingredients, knowledge, planning and skill. The work takes place in different kitchens and service environments, but it shares a common purpose: to serve food that people enjoy and to deliver an experience that reflects the needs of the customers and communities we work with.

International Chefs Day gives us a moment to recognise the people who make that possible. Their creativity, adaptability and willingness to share their knowledge help Angel Hill Food Co. continue to grow while developing the food and service we provide.

To our chefs and catering colleagues across the business, thank you for the work you do, the experience you share and the love of food you bring to every service.

For The Love Of Food.

From Single-Use to Circular: Practical Sustainability in Catering

Posted on by Kelsie Button

Making sustainability part of everyday catering means looking across the whole operation, from the ingredients we source and the food we serve to the products used every day across our sites.

For Angel Hill Food Co., it’s about continually finding practical ways to reduce waste, use resources more effectively and make responsible choices that work in busy catering environments.

Reusable drinkware is one area we are exploring. Through our work with Circular&Co., we are looking at how reuse can become part of everyday operations, helping to reduce reliance on single-use products and supporting a more circular approach to the resources we use.

Looking Beyond the Plate

Food is central to our sustainability work, including our focus on responsible sourcing and carbon reduction. The wider catering environment also presents opportunities to make a difference, particularly where products are used frequently and can generate ongoing waste.

For contract catering, the opportunity lies in finding approaches that make sense environmentally and work within the practical demands of each site.

Making Reuse Work in Everyday Operations

Reusable drinkware can help reduce reliance on single-use alternatives, provided the system around it is designed well.

Return points need to be easy to find, processes must be straightforward, and customers and colleagues need to understand how the system works. The experience should fit naturally into the working day, with minimal disruption to service.

As we explore how reuse can work across our catering environments, it’s important to recognise that different sites have different layouts, customer needs and service routines. Any approach needs to reflect the setting in which it will operate.

Through our work with Circular&Co., including its Tap&Reuse™ approach, we are exploring the practical considerations involved in making reusable drinkware part of the catering experience.

Circular&Co. founder Dan Dicker has highlighted how return rates can exceed 95% in some environments when the process is straightforward and clearly communicated. This underlines the importance of designing the whole experience around the people using it, from the point of collection to the return of the cup.

Design, Behaviour and the Role of Technology

Successful reuse depends on products that are convenient, reliable and suitable for repeated use. It also depends on making the process clear and easy to follow.

Technology can help support this. QR codes and tracking systems, for example, can provide information about how reusable products move through a site and help make the process more transparent for users.

For our catering teams, these considerations need to be balanced with service requirements, practical routines and customer expectations. A reusable model has to work for the people delivering the service as well as those using it.

This is why collaboration with specialist partners can be valuable. It brings additional knowledge and experience to the process, helping us assess how different approaches might work in real operating environments.

Building Sustainability into Everyday Decisions

Sustainability is an ongoing part of how we develop our services. Our work on food sourcing and carbon reduction continues alongside opportunities to improve how resources are used across the wider catering operation.

Circularity offers a practical way to examine those opportunities. Reuse, repair and better resource management can help reduce waste and keep materials in use for longer. The potential impact depends on how these approaches are designed, adopted and maintained over time.

Our work with Circular&Co. is part of this wider consideration. It gives us an opportunity to explore how reusable drinkware could fit into contract catering and what needs to be in place to make it practical for customers, colleagues and site teams.

The next step is to keep the focus on workable solutions and the outcomes they can deliver. Understanding how people use a system, how it fits into service and how its environmental impact can be measured will all be important in assessing its value.

Practical Progress, Built Around People

Sustainable catering is shaped by decisions made throughout the operation. Ingredient choices, menu development, sourcing and the products used to deliver a service all have a role to play.

Progress means continuing to examine where changes can make a meaningful difference, while recognising the operational realities of the environments in which we work.

Reusable drinkware is one example of how we can approach that challenge. By working with specialist partners, listening to the needs of customers and colleagues, and focusing on practical implementation, we can continue to explore ways to reduce waste and use resources more effectively.

The aim is to make sustainable choices workable in everyday catering, supporting better outcomes for customers, colleagues and the environment.