When we started Harbour & Jones, part of our strategy was to develop a commercial concession side to the business and to this end we were delighted to be successful in gaining the contract at St Paul’s Cathedral, our first public restaurant, in January 2009.
Key factors in securing this contract were our passion for food, for sustainable local sourcing and for environmental issues, and we wanted to create a dining experience which mirrored the cultural one for both tourists and locals alike and to focus on the ‘Best of British’ food. This concept; to source fabulous seasonal British produce and cook it simply, is at the heart of our business, but at St Paul’s we wanted to reflect the historical significance of the building and so went to great lengths to track down old British baking recipes and introduced traditional favourites such as Richmond Maids of Honour, Yorkshire Parkin, Wiltshire Lardy Cake and Singin' Hinny.
To differentiate ourselves from the previous caterer, as well as offering homemade, seasonal food, we also wanted to reduce prices to offer better value for customers and to drive sales. This strategy worked well and in less than two years we had doubled turnover. We also score very highly in independent surveys carried out on behalf of the Cathedral with customer satisfaction with the food and service showing a significant increase since H&J has taken over the contract.
The Restaurant at St Paul’s has become known for its superb yet simple, seasonal menus that change on a four weekly basis. An important part of our strategy here has been to become a destination venue and to encourage people who originally came to see the cathedral to come back for the food. Obviously in the tourist industry there are seasonal peaks and troughs and a destination restaurant which attracts people who live and work locally helps us to balance the revenue stream through the year. We have the typical Pareto split of 80 – 20 in favour of tourists in our café in the Crypt, but in the restaurant that trend is reversed, as we appeal to a local market looking for well-cooked and reasonably priced food.
We also look after many corporate and social events within the Cathedral. Although we compete with a number of external caterers to bid for the business, our commitment to growing this side of the business combined with our mantra of using the best and most seasonal produce within innovative menus has meant we are now the caterer of choice for most events. Over the past year we have catered for several large baptisms, wedding receptions and gala dinners and continue to plan many more events in this superb building.
