Harper Adams catering wins Footprint Award

Posted 25 May 2012

Harper Adams University College was last night revealed as the winner of the Community Vote at the Foodservice Footprint Awards 2012.

Harper Adams Catering was voted ahead of about 50 other British companies, including leading chef Raymond Blanc’s restaurant, Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saison, to scoop the prize, for sustainability in foodservice, at the awards ceremony in London last night.

David Nuttall, Catering Manager, said: “We are delighted to have received this recognition for our efforts to deliver sustainable catering at Harper Adams. The catering team has been working very hard to make sure everything we do has the smallest possible impact on the environment and this recognition shows we are making a difference where it matters most, because our customers and other stakeholders have made the effort to vote and helped us to win another national award. My thanks go to everyone in the team at the University College and everyone who voted.” 

The finalists for the award were Harper Adams Catering, Bite Catering, Eversheds London, La Moinerie Hotel, Restaurant Associates - Clifford Chance, Squid & Pear, The Bay Fish & Chips, The Montagu Arms Hotel, Union of Genius and Wadworth Brewery. 

The catering at London law firm Eversheds, supplied by Elior, was the runner-up, with Squid & Pear, street food and event caterers, highly commended.

The Footprint Awards aim to recognise the many innovative ways businesses and individuals are making a difference to sustainability in the foodservice industry.  

Harper Adams University College puts sustainability at the core of everything it does, and the catering department is no exception. Since 2007, the department has reduced food miles by sourcing the majority of ingredients from the University College farm or from suppliers within 20 miles of the campus. Where products are not available in the UK they are sourced from Fairtrade suppliers overseas.

Ninety per cent of waste from the department is recycled – with waste food being fed into the University College’s anaerobic digester, which converts it into heat and power for use on the campus. Cooking oils have been converted into vehicle fuel and packaging is recycled at every opportunity.