WRITTEN BY DON CAMPBELL

It has been said that “An army marches on its stomach,” and has always been a fundamental truth of war and, today, business. Dealing with the long hours offshore or in the air, the physical and indeed psychological wellbeing of any staff member begins with a healthy and well balanced diet. There is one company in Trinidad and Tobago which has garnered this niche industry and provided a peerless level of quality and service. Don Campbell had the chance to speak with General Manager Trinidad Gillian Huggins.

With over thirty five years in business, Allied Caterers Ltd, Trinidad’s premier industrial and events caterer, has grown with their industry working at pace to keep ahead of their competition and making full use of their experienced and well trained staff, servicing the airline as well as the offshore industry.

“Our company is well known for high quality and full service catering,” Gillian tells us, “We pride ourselves on providing to our clients a culinary experience that is second to none.”

AN ARMY MARCHES ON ITS STOMACH

Quote

Approaching her work with keen strategic mind set she

has experience in three main areas of the food industry:

flavour manufacturing, snack manufacturing and catering

services.

“I have a passion for catering and event management,” she reveals,

“Over the years I’ve been blessed to be able to work in varied and

diverse scenarios and have learned a great deal.”

Holding a BSC in Industrial Management (Hons.) from the

University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Gillian, who is also a

member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

(ACCA), is a woman with a determination to lead by example.

In India she underwent intensive training at the Entrepreneurship

Development Institute in India, both on a Macro and Micro scale and

joined Allied Caterers TT in 2008 as Financial Controller but was

promoted to General Manager in 2011. She is a valuable asset with a

reputation of getting results that not only meet the high standards of

the company but also surpass them.

“I have a passion for giving back,” Gillian reveals, “If you’re going to

succeed you have to exceed the expectations.”

The state of the industry“The industry is competitive at the moment,” Gillian tells us, “But

we do have the edge. It takes a great deal of coordination, planning

and logistical activity. We ensure a high quality of service by adhering

to our strict policies and standards that permeate all sectors of our

business including the airlines and the offshore business.

“Two primary examples if we were to look at the airline industry

- the menu is cycled every three months and the food has to be of a

high standard while still falling within the load (weight/specification)

required for the aircraft. United Airlines audits us every month

to ensure strict adherence to every step of the food preparation,

through to delivery on board the aircraft.

ALLIED CATERERS

Gillian Huggins, General Manager of Trinidad comes with twenty three years-experience in progressively challenging positions in Administration, Organisational and Business Development, Finance and Accounting, in Commercial, Industrial and State Enterprise. Her specific areas of expertise are: Operations Review and Analysis, Review and Analysis of Work Flows and Procedures and Development of Business and Strategic Plans.

The company’s Restaurants and Events division provides industrial catering to offices, factories, banks and educational institutions including Nestle Trinidad Limited, The Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, BHP Billiton and Unilever Trinidad. This division also engages in full Events Management, coordinating events such as brand launches, corporate symposia, weddings, business meetings and offers in-home, fine dining, and other services.

“Offshore is a completely

different scenario, as with

offshore, we’re not catering

for passengers but for people

who live there. Their needs are

completely different. They need

healthy, well balanced meals. So

we consistently provide them

with a menu, submitted a month

in advance to be approved by the

Offshore Installation managers.”

Allied Caterers also offer

hospitality services to the

offshore industry. Keeping

the rooms, bed sheets and

furnishings clean for those

living there. Offshore work has

the reputation for involving

long gruelling hours in often

unsavoury conditions and a

price cannot be put on the

psychological impact of coming

to a clean room with fresh bed

sheets.

The continuous push to

establish footholds on applicable

areas of their industry, ie.

catering, hospitality, event

management has benefitted

Allied Caterers greatly. They

have an established monopoly

on the flights coming in to

Trinidad and are the preferred

service provider for offshore oil

production platforms in their

region. With clients including

BPTT, Repsol YPF, BHP Billiton,

British Gas Trinidad and the

National Gas Company.

StaffThe impressive and flawless

reputation of Allied Caterers and

the strength of their name would

not be possible if not for their

staff.

Of the four hundred plus

employees who work with

Gillian, at their plant in Trinidad

or in the kitchens on the offshore

rigs, each one is provided with all

the tools they need to develop

themselves professionally.

“We see employees as our

most valuable asset,” Gillian

explains, “I work with people.

meet this conundrum through business expansions and strategic

alliances that will increase not only their footprint on the market but

also their service abilities.

“Business expansion is priority for 2013,” Gillian affirms, “We have

a good position on the offshore oil production platforms but we are

aiming to get into drilling because it would be a plug and play scenario.

We believe we can offer a farther reach for this industry and would

like to have a solid a hold on it as we have on the airlines.”

Innovations within the food business is also a focus for Gillian this

year as one of the tools mechanisms for expansion.

“Whenever there is a shutdown at a platform for maintenance

we fly food in on a daily basis,” she explains, “This is refrigerated to

keep fresh and we have a particular brand of oven that we utilise to

reheat the food on the platform. This is all in aid of serving safe meals.

Development in this area would be a major factor in the upcoming

year.”

“At the core of everything is our quality and standards,” Gillian

concludes.

Meet the Executive Chef - Merrick WilmotAt the helm of the kitchen is Executive Chef Merrick Wilmot. Born in England, he has been in the industry since 1974 working within the hospitality industry. A culinary master Chef Merrick has studied at Huddersfield College, has worked in London and the Kensington Hilton in Jamaica and understands the chemistry of ingredients and has the passion needed to put them together to create something wondrous.“Our Cuisine takes its inspiration from many light and healthy international and contemporary styles of cooking and adaptations of traditional Caribbean dishes. While Our Menus are distinctive and flavourful, they are balanced with our desire to provide healthy choices to our customers.” Chef Merrick.

I’ve seen how so many people, be

them entrepreneurs or our staff,

possess the diligence, the drive

and ambition to succeed but lack

the guidance. I wanted to ensure

we provided them that.”

A training matrix has been

put in place to keep the staff

up to scratch and as Allied

Caterers is part of the Goddard

Catering Group, and by

extension, Goddard Enterprises

Ltd., employees benefit from

promotion, career development

and mobility not only within

Allied Caterers LTD but also

within the group.

“We place a high value on

experience,” Gillian Huggins.

AccountabilityEverything that Allied

Caterers LTD does is audited

and thoroughly checked over,

unlike many companies they

are entirely focused on the

quality and standard of their

products and would rather have

a reputation for that than a

reputation for omnipotence.

“Nothing is perfect,” Gillian

reminds us, “But if even little

accidents are allowed then

they can quickly accumulate

into major issues, if you’re not

accountable enough to fix it at

the start. Our quality and safety

managers work closely not only

with our customers but also with

our staff to see how things can be

improved, and if accidents have

happened how best to safeguard

against them.”

New developments 2013

Customers demand high

quality at the best rates and

Allied Caterers plans to further

ALLIED CATERERS

001 868669 4213

WWW.ALLIEDCATERERS.COM

www.littlegatepublishing.com