Dine Contract Catering, one of the UK’s leading workplace caterers, has bolstered its senior leadership team following the appointment of Managing Director Nick Haynes.
Nick has put together an exceptional leadership team, appointing Linda McAra as Head of Operations, Gemma Evans-Hurley as Head of Culinary and Sophie Beavon as Marketing Manager.
The appointments follow a relaunch of the brand, putting food, flavour and a promise to be a force for good at the heart of the business, as the company seeks to increase its market share by 30%.
Nick brings with him a strong pedigree in contract catering, having spent the last nine years at Eurest.
His influence is already being felt with the creation of a new roles and new appointments at the top of the business.
He said: “We felt it was important to strengthen our operations team and culinary support to take the business to the next level.
“Gemma’s is a completely new role and we are delighted to have her on board. Her appointment reflects our desire to maximise our heritage in food, as well as bringing nutrition, health and wellbeing into the mix.
“Her history of championing women in food is outstanding, and I’m proud this is an exciting and diverse leadership team.
“Linda’s role, as a third head of operations, is also newly created and she brings extensive experience to the business.
“Sophie, meanwhile, has seven years of experience inside Compass Group, starting her career on the Graduate Development Programme before specialising in Marketing and most recently Digital Engagement. These are appointments that strengthen the business and put us on course to achieve our goals.”
Dine, a business and industry specialist caterer, is based in Warrington but operates nationally with contracts from Scotland to Wales and the south of England.
It focuses on food quality, with an independent approach and feel –with the ability to offer bespoke solutions to clients, creating seamless dining experiences.
Gemma Evans-Hurley, an award-winning chef with more than 20 years of experience who recently won Chef of the Year at the 2023 Foodservice Cateys, is positive about the future.
She said: “This is an incredibly exciting time not only in my own career, but for Dine Contact Catering, too. The business has recently undergone a re-brand and has ambitious growth targets for the next three years. I’m looking forward to applying my learnings from the past two decades to help support these goals.
“We’ll be introducing new dishes, as well as putting a fresh spin on existing menus to take our food offer to the next level, improving taste, nutrition and optimising ingredients from local suppliers.
“I’ll be leading a new steering group of foodie fanatics from all areas of the business, not just chefs, to collaborate and facilitate the exchange of ideas.”
As part of its rebrand, Dine, which is part of Compass Group UK & Ireland, is underlining its commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2030.
Nick said: “Our focus is on food, on doing the right thing for our clients and the right thing for the planet, too.”