Providing a quality service for Residential Homes
When Independent Age, (formally the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association – RUKBA), reviewed their catering arrangements for Abercorn House and Randall House, their two homes in Camberley, they were keen to ensure their residents received the best food possible.

“Pride have a refreshing approach which ensures their customers get the best food and service” says Nick Tuck, Care Director for Independent Age.

“Staffing was a major concern for us as we had experienced significant problems attracting quality staff with our previous contractor and we know we are in an employment hot spot area. Pride took a different approach – putting more of the budget into salaries and by using excellent value fresh foods to the maximum, Pride were able to provide a better quality product at a reduced overall cost. They were prepared to invest time and effort in building a quality focused team. We also found their supplier arrangements very attractive - they use local suppliers extensively and whilst we wanted to ensure good value, we were also keen to further develop our links within the local community as well”.

In addition to improving the quality of food at Abercorn House, Pride Catering also wanted to enhance the food offer at Randall House.

Roger Aldridge, Director at Pride explains “When we took over the contract, all food was being prepared at Abercorn House. We refurbished the kitchen at Randall House and we now have a chef dedicated to the production of fresh food on site. Residents are delighted with the changes – it is vital to get freshly prepared food, particularly vegetables as quickly as possible from cooking to consumption. We invested in the new cooking facilities so we could launch the new service quickly and in return we agreed an extended contract period. Everyone came out winning”.

Independent Age is one of a significant and growing portfolio of healthcare clients serviced by Pride Catering throughout the South.