Campbell describes the growing interest in being involved in Expo 2020 as “a few badgers wanting to take a chunk out of the tree”, which represents some competition for the “six or seven” big players in bulk-catering. However, he notes Abela has “a solid foundation” that will stand it in good stead.
Undoubtedly, Campbell has seen competitors come and go, having joined Abela as executive chef eight years ago, and he concedes that “there is always going to be someone cheaper”, adding that compromise can lead to diluting your core offering.
“Everyone remembers 2008; it was a watershed moment and since then the market has become a lot more competitive. There are more players; the number of big players has remained fairly constant but there are all of the smaller players now.
“Abela has continued to consolidate and we are more committed than ever to quality, CSR, hygiene and the environment. We are actively engaged, rather than just being a caterer,” he continues, confident that Abela's position won't be compromised by increased competition.
In this vein, the company started Abela Learning and Development Academy (ALDA), which Campbell says covers topics such as marketing, finance, IT and English, and Chef’s Academy.
He tells me the latter was founded to help Abela’s junior chefs learn different cooking techniques across various types of cuisines.
“We wanted to give people a base foundation about sauces, ingredients, cooking and different cuisines, and eventually, we developed a book of study material. It’s not about trying to make people into master chefs but, as a company, it’s important to us to make people understand processes; to teach people about food and traceability, and the history [of cooking], explaining why tenderloin is so expensive, for example.
“We want them to understand what cut of meat is best suited to what kind of cooking and about all the different cooking methods. It’s a seven-month course of practical and theory. We invite everyone in the company to do it; we’re a food industry, so why shouldn’t our receptionist know about the industry she works in? The choice is there. People talk about from farm to table and the same applies here, from front to back,” he explains.
Asked about the future of Abela and how the landscape of F&B in the region, as well as bulk catering, could develop, Campbell concludes: “Mass catering and contract corporate catering is not going away anytime soon, especially as more and more people come to the region, leading up to Expo 2020. The model works, so we’re not going to be trying to reinvent the wheel — we’ll be looking to strengthen that wheel and the company as a whole.”
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