Hospitality & Food Service Advisory Services

The world of catering and hospitality is changing constantly and it can be challenging to determine the best way to manage, develop and control these services.

We can help in several areas – whether you’re looking for a straightforward solution to cater for employees; need to find the right contractor; review the latest trends in dining  or simply would like a fresh perspective to review your current arrangements.

Our consultants bring a wealth of information of all aspects of hospitality and catering gained in both Board and senior management roles across a range of commercial and public sector organisations. By combining our consultancy experience with hands on expertise of senior hospitality management and an ability to think creatively, we always bring clients a fresh perspective

 

Strategic reviews

The right solutions for a business can generally result from a comprehensive review of the current state of play. We can help you objectively and thoroughly review what you are currently doing and taking into account our market insight, sector expertise and appropriate research, we can help identify appropriate options that meet your budget.

Brand/concept development

Do you have an idea that you would like developed into a working concept or brand, or are you looking for a new concept for one of your operations? Litmus can help you.

Our team has in-depth experience of developing new ideas from conception through to serving customers, including menu development, concept design and branding, operations manuals, equipment and service specifications, and supplier sourcing.

In-house support and advice

Not all companies outsource their catering services to external contractors. In some cases it can be advantageous for economical or service reasons to manage these services in-house. For some organisations however, there may not be an in-house infrastructure to support all elements of the foodservice operations and specialist assistance may be required from time to time.

We can help organisations manage their services themselves by providing additional support to the existing team where necessary – for example, providing market and trends insight, updating key managers on legislative changes, assisting with the preparation of stretching but achievable budgets, reviewing staffing levels or advising on service changes.

Service Audits

We provides service audit services to many organisations and they take a number of different formats:

Financial contractor audit and operational review – independent verification to reassure you that your contract is performing as well as it should be, while identifying areas for improvement.

Value for money review – whether you have recently appointed a contractor or are midterm in a contract, the Litmus Test will ensure you are being charged the correct price for the services you receive, and that those services represent true value for money.

Financial audit – To identify overcharging, labour irregularities, erroneous charges, purchasing discount retention and the true level of service provider earnings.

Operational audit – in conjunction with the financial audit, a full service review can be undertaken to examine the quality of service, service delivery, systems and processes and the potential opportunities to improve the service to the end user.

And the end result? After an audit has been completed you can expect improvements in the quality and cost effectiveness of your service, either via a renegotiated arrangement with your existing provider or via a market-testing project.