Fight for Every Euro: Alexander Breuckelmann on Running 600 Restaurants with a Retail Mindset
Fifteen years ago a Lidl sold you bulk. Today it sells you a croissant and a coffee on the way in.
Alexander Breuckelmann thinks that is one of the more consequential things to happen to workplace catering in a decade, and that most of the industry is still not counting it as competition. He has been COO of Compass Group Deutschland GmbH for a year: roughly 600 restaurants, 800,000 guests a week. Before this he was at Selecta, before that he ran operations and the franchise business for Burger King Germany, and before that he grew up commercially inside Lidl, starting in logistics.
In a sector where most senior people have spent an entire career under one roof, he reads the market with retail and QSR eyes. It produces a noticeably less comfortable diagnosis.
17 Aug 2026
What Contract Catering Can Steal From the High Street with Chris Fletcher
Technology in hospitality is ten times better than it was two years ago. Satisfaction with it has barely moved.
Chris Fletcher, founder and CEO of Tech On Toast, has the numbers. His study of over 150 hospitality leaders, run with Bill's, Rosa's Thai and technology partner Square, found that 94% only adopt technology when it becomes absolutely necessary. Just 6% buy ahead of the curve. More than half are dissatisfied, and only 18% would recommend their current system to anyone else.
Toby Bonnett sat down with him to work out why. After 25 years in operations across Whitbread, Hard Rock Cafe, Carluccio's and Compass Group, Chris thinks the problem sits somewhere other than the technology.
27 Apr 2026
EP #19: The Real Cost of a School Meal: Why £2.61 Is Running Out of Room
School meal funding has always been tight in the UK, but in England it has now fallen badly behind. At £2.61 per child, per day, it lags Wales by 79p, Scotland by 69p, and Northern Ireland by 49p. The actual cost of delivering a quality school meal, according to a recent industry report, is £3.45 and climbing.
In this Served. panel talk, we sat down with two experts who work both the kitchen and the campaign trail: Luke Consiglio, CEO of The Pantry UK Ltd and a director on the national board of The School Food People, and Bryan Lygate, Chief Operating Officer of Impact Food Group (which feeds over 1,700 schools and colleges across England) and vice chair of The School Food People.
29 Jan 2026
EP #17: The Most Expensive Mistake in Contract Catering Happens Before Service
Why food waste is designed into menus, planning, and leadership decisions
Food waste in contract catering doesn’t start in the kitchen. It starts with decisions made long before service.
Menus are planned. Volumes are padded. Safety margins become the norm. The result is one of the most expensive and persistent problems in foodservice.
Each year, around 1.05 billion tonnes of food, nearly 20% of global production, is wasted (source: link (https://capacity4dev.europa.eu/library/food-waste-index-report-2024-think-eat-save-tracking-progress-halve-global-food-waste_en)). In European contract catering, foodservice operators have already achieved roughly 25% waste reduction, proving that food waste is not inevitable, but a result of how systems are designed (source: link (https://internationalfoodwastecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/IFWC-Report-final.pdf)).
In this episode of Served., Peter Baech, CEO and Co-founder of Kanpla, is joined by Vojtech Vegh, Anti-Food Waste Chef, Author, Speaker, Zero-Waste Plant-Based Chef at Surplus Food Studio, and Zero-Waste Culinary Advisor at Winnow.
Drawing on more than 15 years of experience across professional kitchens and multi-site contract catering, Vojtech explains why food waste is rarely an operational failure. It’s a leadership decision.
14 Jan 2026
EP #16: The 2026 Outlook: What Will Really Shape Foodservice & Contract Catering
Host Toby Bonnett interviews Peter Baech, Simon Elliot, and Chris Stern about the key changes in foodservice and contract catering that occurred in 2025 and what will differentiate leaders in 2026.
17 Nov 2025
EP #13: Founder Story: From Global Giant to Danish Challenger - How Christian Lunner Built SERWIZ
Christian Lunner, CEO and Partner at SERWIZ, recounts building a Danish FM and catering challenger company after a management buyout, in this interview.
28 Oct 2025
EP #12: Founder Story: Building Houston & Hawkes - Purpose, People, and a Pandemic
Simon Houston FIH recounts to Peter Baech his journey building Houston & Hawkes, emphasizing its people-first culture and B Corp certification amidst the challenges of a global pandemic in this interview.
18 Sept 2025
EP #10: M&A in Contract Catering: Behind the Deals Shaping the Industry
Graeme Smith and Ruston Toms analyze mergers and acquisitions in contract catering, exploring the forces reshaping the industry through consolidation, in this interview episode.
9 Jul 2025
EP #9: Customer Experience That Sticks: Lessons from Former Aramark CXO and 4xi’s Tony Johnson
Tony Johnson, former Aramark CXO, explores building a strong service culture within contract catering by prioritizing employees and balancing technology with human interaction in this interview with Peter Baech.
9 Jun 2025
EP #8: From Sandwiches to the C-Suite: Catharine Barras on Leadership, Global Contracts, and the Future of Food Service
Catharine Barras, Global COO for Sodexo, discusses her leadership journey and forecasts the future of food service, including technology and global catering models, in an interview.
20 May 2025
EP #7: Making ESG Pay Off: Lessons from Aramark’s 250,000-Meal-a-Day Machine
Welcome back to Served., where we dig into the ideas shaping the future of foodservice. This week, we’re talking about ESG, not as a PR exercise, but as a serious lever for performance in contract catering.
Eline Henriksen (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7330159200150405120/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#) caught up with Gina Camfield (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7330159200150405120/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#) , Head of ESG at Aramark (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7330159200150405120/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#) UK & Global Offshore, to find out what it really looks like when sustainability is part of the business model. From cutting food waste across hundreds of kitchens to turning social impact into measurable value, this is ESG with substance, not slogans.
28 Apr 2025
Served. Episode 6: More Than Just a Free Coffee: Why Contract Caterers Need Loyalty by George Gee - The Mastermind behind the Costa Loyalty Programme
Welcome back to another edition of Served., where we explore ideas shaping the future of foodservice. This week, we’re diving into a core ingredient of sustainable growth in contract catering: loyalty. Toby Bonnett (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7320374199598895104/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#) sat down with George Gee (CLMP™) (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7320374199598895104/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#) - widely known as The Loyalty Man - to unpack what truly drives customer loyalty, what most schemes get wrong, and how contract caterers can unlock meaningful, measurable engagement.
1 Apr 2025
Served. Episode 4: Behind the Bid: What Really Wins Catering Tenders in 2025
Tenders shape the future of contract catering. They determine who gets to serve food the food, and create experiences in offices, universities, and public institutions across the globe, but what actually matters when the decision of catering company is to be made?
To dive deeper into this, we spoke with three experienced consultants in the industry - people who’ve sat through hundreds of tender presentations, advised some of the world’s biggest clients across both the U.S., UK, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and know exactly why some bids stand out while others fall flat.
18 Mar 2025
Served. Episode 3: The Evolution of Contract Catering: Insights from Chis Chidley from Compass Group on the APAC market
In this episode of Served., we had the pleasure of sitting down with Chris Chidley (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7295084354735673345/#), Chief Commercial Officer for Compass Group in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. With over two decades in the industry - 17 of those years spent in the UK before moving to APAC - Chris has seen the industry change and adapt in many ways.
Asia is the fastest-growing market for Contract Catering, with expectations for continued expansion in the coming years. The demand for workplace dining solutions is increasing rapidly, driven by economic growth, urbanization, and a strong emphasis on food culture across the region.
From the growing focus on workplace dining to the role of technology and sustainability, our conversation covered the differences between Europe and Asia-Pacific, the future of catering, and what it takes to build a strong career in this business.
1 Mar 2025
Served. Episode 2: The Future of Work and Workplace Dining: Insights from Henrik Jarleskog from Sodexo
The world has developed rapidly over the last few years, where especially remote work caused by the pandemic has played a huge role in shaping how work is done.
One of the key questions to ask: How will the future of work look like? And how will this affect workplace catering?
To dive into this theme, we have had the pleasure of sitting down with Henrik Jarleskog (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7297615811450408960/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#), who is the Head of Future of Work at Sodexo A/S (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7297615811450408960/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#).
Henrik’s journey into the Future of Work began five years ago when Sodexo's CEO recognized that the pandemic would permanently alter the workplace. Rather than simply reacting, Sodexo sought to lead the conversation by researching and educating the market to better understand what was coming.
23 Feb 2025
Served. Episode 1: The story behind the £475 million Contract Catering exit by Bill Toner
The Contract Catering industry is no stranger to bold leaders, but few have tackled the challenges and opportunities of the sector quite like Bill Toner (https://www.linkedin.com/article/edit/7298727149702672384/?author=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_company%3A14814460#). As the former CEO of CH&CO, Bill led an incredible journey of growth - starting with a 12-million-pound company and turning it into a 500-million-pound industry giant through a combination of organic growth and smart acquisitions.
I recently had the chance to sit down with Bill for a conversation about leadership, growth, and what it takes to build a powerhouse in the contract catering space. His insights are gold for anyone looking to scale their business or make a name in hospitality.
Who has been a guest on Served. by Kanpla
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Simon Elliot
Chris Stern
Christian Lunner
Simon Houston FIH
Tony Johnson
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Peter Baech host the show. Published by Kanpla.
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