Olympics catering contracts finalised

14 April 2011

London Olympics organisers have finalised the major catering contracts for next year’s games, with Aramark, Compass and BaxterStorey among the winners.

Aramark, a “veteran catering provider”, is earmarked to feed athletes in the Olympic Village in London and service the sailing venue in Weymouth, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said.

Compass will be working at a number of stadia and event venues, including ExCeL, Earls Court, Millennium Stadium, Wembley Arena and the City of Coventry Stadium.

The UK's largest independent caterer BaxterStorey has been chosen to provide the foodservice at the main Olympic media centre.

Catering at the Olympic Park in Stratford, east London, is divided into north and south. Amadeus, a division of the NEC Group, will provide services in the northern part of the park.

Sodexo is to work in the south, plus at other venues including Hampden Park, St James Park Royal Artillery Barracks and Lords. Sodexo's corporate hospitality package arm Prestige Ticketing will be responsible for looking after visitors to the Olympic Hospitality Centre.

LOCOG said it expects upwards of 14 million meals to be served during the games’ 19 days of competition across 34, as well as during the
11 days of competition across 21 venues for the Paralympic Games.

"Our tier-one catering partners will work with a number of smaller caterers to help deliver key parts of their catering offer, and work with a multitude of large, medium and small food producers to showcase the best of British food,” LOCOG chief executive Paul Deighton said.

"The work done by our catering contractors will be largely unsung by many, but is vital and everyone in the organising committee recognise their vital role in delivering the games.”