ESS, the Defence, Energy and Government Services sector of Compass Group UK & Ireland, has been awarded a new catering services contract with Scouts Scotland at its Scout Adventures facility in Lochgoilhead, Argyll.
The residential centre offers high-quality outdoor learning in hill, forest and water environments, accommodating up to 150 guests at a time.
The three-year contract will see ESS deliver catering services at the site, serving around 70,000 meals a year to Scouts, visiting schools and staff.
Customers will enjoy three freshly cooked meals a day while taking a break from a range of outdoor activities, including abseiling, kayaking, orienteering, bushcraft and archery.
After a successful tendering exercise, Scouts Scotland awarded the contract to ESS as the company was able to demonstrate strong evidence of its capability to work in a variety of remote locations, delivering appetising, nutritious meals suitable for young, active customers.
The dishes on offer will be varied, tasty and colourful to appeal to the children dining at the camp. A focus on seasonal produce, minimising food waste and elimination of single use plastics will support the sustainability objectives for the contract.
ESS already provides high-profile contracts in the region, including the full range of Soft FM services at HMNB Clyde and catering for the MOD National Training Estate.
Graeme Luke, Chief Executive – Scouts Scotland, commented, “I am delighted to be working with ESS at our Scout Adventures Centre at Lochgoilhead, Argyllshire.
'The centre has just reopened after a two-year closure due to the impact of the pandemic and we believe that outdoor learning opportunities should be available to every young person and work alongside education to develop skills for life.
'We were particularly impressed with the synergy between our two organisations and the focus on providing excellent customer service to young people and delivering healthy and nutritious food which is necessary after taking part in outdoor and adventurous activity.”
Mark Webster,ESS Managing Director, commented, “This is an exciting new partnership for us in ESS. The contract requirements align extremely well with what we do elsewhere in our business – from feeding in remote locations to meeting the dietary requirements of young, active individuals – and we’re delighted that Scouts Scotland recognised this during the tender process.
'We’re looking forward to developing and delivering a bespoke food offer for the Scout Adventures Centre which will appeal to the residents on site, as well as providing them with healthy, filling meals to prepare them for a busy day of activities.”