Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Saw a union circular saying the Rail Gourmet contract with Cakedonian Sleeper is transfering to Newrest.
Could this affect/improve things?
Given the specialist nature of CS I'm really surprised it's not in-house.
Saw a union circular saying the Rail Gourmet contract with Cakedonian Sleeper is transfering to Newrest.
Could this affect/improve things?
Are you hoping for better cakes on it?Saw a union circular saying the Rail Gourmet contract with Cakedonian Sleeper is transfering to Newrest.
Could this affect/improve things?
The Muffins are very good at presentAre you hoping for better cakes on it?
I might just get Deliveroo to meet me at Preston station (I would if there weren't ticket barriers!).
Considering that Swiss Railways (SBB) have done exactly that, this would actually make a good new thread for discussion.I've said before that people like Pret and Leon do really decent food from really small kitchens. Far better than anything you get on a train these days with the possible exception of GWR Pullman dining and the Cardiff Holyhead Gerald.
It's amazing to me that none of the long distance TOCs have partnered with the likes of these companies to do their on board catering.
I don’t think any of the assertions you make on this post are correct or based on fact though.It's truly a failure of customer service and management and imagination to run out of anything in a catering environment in a known set of circumstances. You board a long haul flight with very limited space for catering but they do it day in day out. No excuse not to have ice as I often found in the bar. If new rolling stock has been designed with insufficient capacity to store and prepare enough food of every offer from start to finish then the design is a failure . Catering should be a highlight of rail travel if not essential on a long journey by train. It's such a token effort to have a lottery of choice. If it's not properly staffed and stocked it's a failure . This is not rocket science to be able to consistently deliver a catering offer. Can't say reading any of this thread would tempt me back on the sleeper now. Once again in the rail industry fails to clear the lowest of hurdles after delays and hype of better things to come. Makes you wonder if anyone in Serco or TS has any idea how to run or procure any rail service. To think Serco are trusted to run prisons! Perhaps passengers should just be locked in their cabins at the start of their journey and released at the end. Catering could be some gruel passed thru a hatch in the cell door by the on board warden . "Lights out " .
Here's what to do: Stop pretending it's the Raffles hotel, when it's really an Ibis Budget on wheels.
They were back in the Bargain Berths days. Sigh!It's not really that, it's a bit more one of those millennial-aimed small-room, high-service type hotels like the Premier Inn Hub or something. The prices aren't in line with the Ibis Budget end other than the seats.
well, there is vegetarian (vegan even?) haggis for the people who don't like haggis.[...]
Here's what to do: Stop pretending it's the Raffles hotel, when it's really an Ibis Budget on wheels. Accordingly, cut the food offering down to Haggis, vegetarian Haggis, and something for people who don't like Haggis.
Yes they could team up with another retailer and get more stock enroute. The principal stations that CS call at/originate at are Inverness, Aberdeen, Fort William, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, London Euston. The only retailer that all these stations have in common with each other AFAIK is WH Smith which hardly the retailer of choice unless you want bag of Haribo and a packet of salt & vinegar. The four most likely restocking stations are Edinburgh, Carlisle, Preston and Crewe. With the exception of Edinburgh none of the other three exactly have and enticing range of eateries that CS could team up with. It's simply not as easy as ringing up the next station and saying chuck us another half dozen portions of X, Y and Z.
Saw a union circular saying the Rail Gourmet contract with Cakedonian Sleeper is transfering to Newrest.
Could this affect/improve things?
Newrest United Kingdom has started a new contract with Caledonian Sleeper
In November, teams of Newrest United Kingdom have started providing main menu items for Caledonian Sleeper night trains.
This new collaboration with Newrest United Kingdom is a big step forward for Serco (one of the world’s largest public service providers for governments) as it marks the departure of the long-standing supplier. The Caledonian Sleepers are night trains that connect Scotland to London. The menu and solution teams are currently working on makes it possible to switch from a frozen product to a fresh product. This is a decisive step for the service, and once the teams are installed, the production will be about 800 meals a day.
They don't need to team up with another retailer - they could have their own provision.
Yes, it is.
The only place you'll get it for under a hundred quid is in the seats.
Preston station does not have ticket barriers.
Er...my berth cost me £92.40. If my calculations are correct, that's under £100...
Indeed!That's extremely poor. What's the point in booking and paying for a meal in advance where you don't know if you'll get it?
Precisely. It can be done, there just isn’t the will. Back when I lived in Ireland I had many an excellent breakfast or dinner on the Citygold service between Cork and Heuston, with a large queue for the dining car, everything cooked from scratch in a galley kitchen on Mark 3 stock, a steward – employed in-house – who memorised 32 orders and delivered everything precisely correctly, a laden tray on each hand on the 90mph train, without spilling as much as a drop of tea. We will overlook that adding a lamb chop and a bowl of chips to the Irish breakfast gave the mixed grill at dinnertime.It is marketed as a hotel type experience. It has a buffet car. They get a golden opportunity to design a catering facility in a new train. If you don’t design a buffet car that can deliver a quick reliable consistent food and drink offer then it’s a staggering failure
Planes can do it in a more confined space. Trains have being doing it for years. With new food packaging and heating technology and the ability to re stock en route there is zero excuse other than incompetence or just indifference by management. There are plenty of operators like Pret who operate from confined spaces in stations and produce quality fresh food. Hook up with them and you are half way there . They are on site in stations almost 24 hours a day in food prep if not actually trading.
This boils down to not caring about the passenger in the main . Serco need brought to heel!
AIRC CS were claiming to use local 'artisan' suppliers around Inverness to supply the Highlander.
At the start of the Serco franchise, they did indeed boast of local suppliers. The supplier gave CS the elbow last October (+/-) because, as I understand from local sources, they couldn't cope with being messed about so much,despite the loss of the contract almost killing the company. It looks like the replacement lasted not long!6Z09 said:Saw a union circular saying the Rail Gourmet contract with Cakedonian Sleeper is transfering to Newrest.
Could this affect/improve things?
I'm sure that what say about the contract is true, but there are still some local suppliers though - if you download the Highlander menu there's quite a few mentioned.At the start of the Serco franchise, they did indeed boast of local suppliers. The supplier gave CS the elbow last October (+/-) because, as I understand from local sources, they couldn't cope with being messed about so much,despite the loss of the contract almost killing the company. It looks like the replacement lasted not long!
GZ
Is there widespread reports of there being chronic stock shortages and/or poor quality food on Caledonian Sleeper? Or are we just getting whipped up into a frenzy because someone said you might not get haggis if you board at Crewe at midnight one night?
We are well on our way to 4,000 posts in this thread and there hasn't been much mention, if any of stocks continually being exhausted or the quality being poor nor are there many posts about poor quality food. The Highland Breakfast seems to draw the most criticism and having tried it I understand why, however most of the posts on here have been quite complementary about CS's food offering and they certainly seem to get fairly regular compliments about the food on social media whilst there certainly isn't widespread complaints about it being rubbish.
Signing up high street names and partnering with celebrity chefs etc comes at serious expense and there is no guarantee that it will be a success (James Martin only helped VTEC/LNERs complaints go through the roof from what I understand) furthermore high street and station retailers are as likely to run out of stuff as CS are. High street retailers may be able to make good stuff in small places but they usually have decent sized storage places to keep all the ingredients etc until they are needed in the kitchen. It is simply unfair on CS to compare the two.
Yes they could team up with another retailer and get more stock enroute. The principal stations that CS call at/originate at are Inverness, Aberdeen, Fort William, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, London Euston. The only retailer that all these stations have in common with each other AFAIK is WH Smith which hardly the retailer of choice unless you want bag of Haribo and a packet of salt & vinegar. The four most likely restocking stations are Edinburgh, Carlisle, Preston and Crewe. With the exception of Edinburgh none of the other three exactly have and enticing range of eateries that CS could team up with. It's simply not as easy as ringing up the next station and saying chuck us another half dozen portions of X, Y and Z.
I just had a look at the Caledonian menu, talk about an explosion in an adjective factory! No wonder they can't cope, there's just too many different things to carry.
Here's what to do: Stop pretending it's the Raffles hotel, when it's really an Ibis Budget on wheels. Accordingly, cut the food offering down to Haggis, vegetarian Haggis, and something for people who don't like Haggis.