Peter’s Food Service, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of pies, pasties and sausage rolls, has teamed up with award winning celebrity chef, John Benson-Smith, in a move to ‘upgrade’ its food service menu and transform the culinary experience for sports fans on match days.
John Benson-Smith held the title of Northern Chef of the Year, was a former BBC Masterchef judge and was chosen by Tony Blair to help lead the Better Hospital Food Initiative. Now, the Consultant Executive Chef to Manchester City Football Club has agreed to work with Peter’s in a ‘far reaching and mouth-watering’ collaboration.
Neil Court-Johnston, Managing Director of Peter’s Food Service Division explains:
“Peter’s are hugely passionate about the food they serve, be it at football grounds, forecourts, leisure or retail and we want to develop the very best products that will appeal to all age groups and tastes.
That’s why, over the next few months, John and I will be visiting our key suppliers and carrying out rigorous product checks, before embarking on a programme of transformational recipe development and improvement.
“An obvious priority is football. We have rapidly developed as a market leader in sports stadia with some 40 professional clubs and we’re absolutely determined to revolutionise the match day food experience wherever we are.
As a starting point, John will develop a football pie in the coming weeks that will be a true game-changer.
“The important thing is that Peter’s Food Service is heading upstream and we are working with the best chefs out there to ensure that nothing is left to chance.”
John Benson-Smith, who finalised plans with Peter’s staff at the company’s south Wales HQ late last week, is thrilled at the prospect:
“This is such an exciting proposition. Originally, Neil and I discussed ways in which we could pioneer a new stadia food experience, but the remit has become greater still. We now have an opportunity to critique Peter’s entire food service provision, which comprises over 900 products, with a view to improving quality, increasing innovation and developing new service menus.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean champagne and caviar. It’s simply about doing things right with real, well sourced quality ingredients that taste great.”
Peter’s Food Service began life as a small pie manufacturer in South Wales. Today it’s one of Britain’s best-loved brands of pies, pasties and sausage rolls. The business, which is based in Bedwas, South Wales, produces over 3 million delicious pastries every week and employs 700 people with an annual turnover of £65 million.
With 10 distribution depots throughout the UK, Peter’s has more than 50 years’ experience in supplying sports stadia, fast food outlets, fish bars, restaurants, cafes, independent retailers, schools, hospitals and hotels with a range of over 900 separate product lines.