Contract Catering Awards interview

We may have held, believe it or not, the 12^th edition of the Contract Catering Awards this year – but we refuse to rest on our laurels. The categories continue to change and new for this year was the Unit Hero Award, which was won by Charlotte Becke of BaxterStorey.

Becke is the caterer’s culinary lead at Portsmouth Historic Quarter. Aside from the more obvious, she also leads launch parties for local press, crafts supper clubs with the company’s chef partners and co-founded RISE, its Women in Hospitality Network

'A voice in the industry'
“The network has been incredible because it has given women a voice in the industry,” Becke explains. “We can openly talk about the challenges we face. The group has been fantastic as we were instrumental in changing the parental leave policy, and introducing menopause help guides and champions.”

Refusing to rest on their impressive laurels, the team is currently working on a manifesto for kitchen culture, with the aim of improving the working environment for everyone to feel accepted and comfortable. “Our group has been incredibly inspiring and shows that, together, we can make a real difference to people in our business,” Becke adds. “Our company ethos is geared around fuelling our individuality – and these forums help people to do this brilliantly.”

All this and we haven’t even gotten to the work behind her aforementioned victory – one that Becke believes was due to her long-standing commitment to the industry, along with her recent work at Portsmouth Historic Quarter. 

'Flagship location'
“It’s one of our flagship locations in the south east and the role was a real step up for me in terms of responsibilities,” she says. “I now oversee menu development for retail, fine dining and large hospitality bookings, dish development, food costings and nutrition, and allergen logistics, all while training my brilliant team of five. We’re also seeing great success at this site, with sales forecast to be £200k better than budget at year-end.”

Despite all of these impressive achievements, Becke modestly says that she really didn’t expect to hear her name read out on the night. “It was a complete surprise! There were lots of other worthy chefs in the room and on the shortlist, so it was really very humbling to have been named the winner.

“It was such a fun night, and it was great to be able to share the evening with my colleagues. To have their support was a great feeling and it makes you realise that you are a really valued member of the team.”

And their well-wishes just keep coming all these months later, as Becke says: “The recognition from peers has been amazing, I’ve had so many colleagues from within BaxterStorey get in touch to wish me congratulations. It’s given me such a sense of achievement after 30 years in the industry, and it shows that you never stop learning and developing and making a difference in this sector. It’s been a great motivation.”

A clearly worthy winner, Becke just wants to keep helping others, as she concludes: “I hope that being recognised in my field of work will inspire others and show what a great industry hospitality is to work in, especially for other female chefs. In the future, I would love to be able to share my knowledge and experience with the next generation.”

You may also be interested in…