Sodexo has announced a collaboration between acclaimed chef Kate Austen and its contemporary workplace dining offer, Modern Recipe.
Earlier this year Austen, recognised as one of the industry’s rising stars, appeared on the BBC’s Great British Menu and became the first female chef in the show’s 19-year history to win the main course dish.
Her experience includes Restaurant AOC in Copenhagen where she was the world’s youngest female head chef of a two Michelin star restaurant.
Kate has also worked as a sous chef at the three Michelin star Restaurant Frantzen in Sweden and as a senior development chef for Gordon Ramsay.
The new partnership will see Austen work closely with Sodexo's culinary team to co-develop exciting new dishes, conduct seminars and demonstrations; sharing her style, skills, and techniques on how to create delicious and healthy dishes.
In her role Austen will engage and inspire Sodexo’s customers on how contemporary food and dining environments can fuel the body, increase productivity and be sustainably minded.
This is the core of Modern Recipe, Sodexo’s contemporary food brand that elevates workplace dining.
Food brings people together, and Sodexo’s Modern Recipe brings together the ingredients that feed our best selves.
Built around today’s professionals, Modern Recipe brings the high-street feel into work, transforming under-used corporate restaurants into buzzing, multi-purpose social spaces where colleagues can meet, work and relax over food and drink throughout the day.
It uses food that’s in tune with our bodies and in consideration of our planet, with menus evolving as the seasons change.
Austen says: “I am incredibly excited to collaborate with Sodexo as its ambassador for Modern Recipe in the UK.
Modern Recipe embodies a contemporary, healthy, and sustainable approach to workplace dining, and I am eager to work alongside Sodexo's talented chefs and showcase this exciting and compelling brand.”
Modern Recipe is a key driver in helping companies deliver a positive workplace experience for their employees.
Half of the people polled for Sodexo’s Sustainable Food Barometer said they wanted to eat more sustainably at a work restaurant - with 58 per cent indicating they have, or could, stop eating animal proteins in favour of plant proteins, and 73 per cent believing adopting a more sustainable way of eating has become a priority.
Currently at more than 30 selected client sites in the UK, Sodexo's Modern Recipe outlets range from large restaurants, cafés and coffee shops to kitchenettes, micro-markets and smart fridges.
Inna Lim, Director of Marketing & Strategy in Sodexo UK&I Corporate Services, added: “Kate is the perfect fit for Modern Recipe’s overall mission to bring employees healthy and delicious food that provides a moment of human connection.
We are passionate about making every moment and every occasion an opportunity for hospitality and with Kate’s talent we look forward to her helping us elevate our goal even further.
Her culinary vision and dedication to her art perfectly aligns with our business ethos and brand values and represents a significant step forward in redefining the standards of workplace dining.”
From July 2024, Modern Recipe customers will have the chance to enjoy dishes endorsed by Kate, these include:
