In the second part of our menu development series, we hear from Matt Lord, Regional Executive Chef for ESS, who speaks about how we bring our Defence culinary strategy to life through the concepts and dishes we create.
The new Defence Catering Strategy, introduced in 2024, aims to fundamentally change the food in military messes and make it a point of difference – that’s been great for us because it has enabled us to be really creative with the food we’re serving!
We begin by translating our industry insights, detailed consumer and sector knowledge and ideas and innovations from our suppliers into a framework of menu concepts. We then work with specialists from across our business to bring these to life in the most exciting ways for our customers.
Our menu cycle lasts for six months, and at each refresh we strike a balance between enhancing our popular concepts and introducing innovation to reflect emerging trends.
For our existing offers, we build on what’s working in the space – so we’ve increased the authenticity of our Mexican and Asian dishes, as well as refining our burger concept to meet the current demand for indulgent options. For new ones, we combine a range of insights and knowledge of our consumers to create exciting crowd-pleasers that will work in Defence.
Our senior culinary team, registered nutritionists, marketing teams and site colleagues all contribute their knowledge and ideas, ensuring the process draws on considerable and wide-ranging expertise.
Our suppliers play a key role. We’ve built great working relationships with partners who help us to drive our offers. It’s highly collaborative – their detailed product knowledge and innovation coupled with our understanding of the sector means we can share the development work and deliver the best possible outcomes for our customers.
Next week, we’ll hear from Nicola Harper-Bennett, Group Executive Chef for ESS, who will describe how our colleagues work together to develop exciting recipes that meet a variety of tastes and dietary requirements.
