Sodexo Scores at Official Football Hospitality Awards

Sodexo Prestige Press releases

external stadium 05Events and catering experts at Hampden Park have brought prestigious silverware to the stadium, after being named Scotland’s best match day hospitality experience.

Sodexo Prestige, exclusive caterer at the national stadium, claimed top prize in the category and accolades in five others, at the Official Football Hospitality Awards 2013.

Now in its ninth year, the awards recognise the outstanding performance of staff working within the stadium hospitality industry and 43 stadia across the UK entered the 18 categories.

Excellent Standards

David Trotter, catering services director with Sodexo Prestige at Hampden Park, said: “Our team works behind the scenes to ensure a consistently excellent standard of hospitality for major matches which attract up to 52,000 visitors.

“When teams play well on the pitch they are rewarded with trophies and public recognition. We are delighted our team has now been recognised and rewarded for the professionalism and excellence they demonstrate off the pitch at Hampden on a daily basis.

“Of course, we work beyond the big match day occasions, and we also help bring a host of events, functions, conferences and exhibitions to the national stadium, as well as handling the hospitality for some huge concerts.

“So we were also extremely pleased to be recognised in a number of other categories to show our real strength in depth that helps make Hampden Park an outstanding venue for a wide range of events  from wedding parties to dental conferences.”

Variety of Nominations

The awards were held at Reading FC’s Madejski Stadium with stadia represented from across the UK from the Premier League to League Division Two, with nominations from fans, media and club directors.

As well as taking top prize in the Match day Hospitality Experience Award in the Scottish Premier League and National Stadia, Hampden Park also claimed silver in the overall, Match Day Hospitality Experience Award, narrowly losing out to Aston Villa.

Hampden Park’s catering and hospitality team were also recognised in the following categories:

Conference & Events Sales & Marketing Award – Certificate of Achievement

Star for the Future Award – Laura Hepburn, Certificate of Achievement

Special Achievement award – Simon Sandher, Certificate of Achievement

Chef Team of the Year award – Merit

Dedicated Teams

Stadium Experience chairperson Lisette Maas, from Notts County, said: “These awards recognise those dedicated teams who work tirelessly off the pitch at football stadia across the UK to make hospitality, conferences and events run seamlessly for their customers.

“These often invisible teams continually raise standards across the industry, working both matchdays and non-matchdays to ensure that in some instances up to 90,000 visitors are catered for to an exceptional standard each and every time.”

Proud of the expertise it offers, Sodexo Prestige’s constant push for innovation has seen it win numerous awards and accolades over the years for green and sustainable practices, staff training and development, nutrition and diet planning and for supporting the local supply chain in all areas where it operates.

Sodexo Prestige is the corporate dining hospitality and events division of Sodexo and it partners with 17 outstanding venues across Scotland and more than 50 across the UK.

Other partners include the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and both Hamilton Park and Perth Racecourses. Sodexo Prestige also provides catering for The Open Championship, one of the world’s biggest golfing events.

Public relations in Scotland for Sodexo Prestige is handled by the expert PR team at Holyrood PR, providing strategic communication advice and media relations.