Tender: Ourea Events catering 2018

WE ARE INVITING TENDERS FOR PROVIDING CATERING SERVICES AT OUR 2018 EVENTS. COULD THIS BE AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU?

For the last three years, the catering at all Ourea Events races has been provided by a small catering team of freelance staff, with Wilfs Café in Staveley providing frozen/chilled pre-cooked main meals. Ourea Events have provided all the catering equipment (tents, burners, ladles etc.) and the catering team have taken charge of feeding the participants and event staff. 

We are looking for a person or organisation to take charge of our event catering requirements in 2018. We have a blank piece of paper, we are open to new ideas, and will consider proposal from individuals who wish to carry on in a similar fashion (i.e. using all the current Ourea Events equipment and using food provided by Wilfs Café), or from an organisation that has their own equipment and can offer a complete solution (cooking all the food themselves either at the event or pre-event). We remain open minded and invite proposals covering both options.
 
All the food we provide is vegetation and/or vegan and this is something we will not change.
 
The degree of catering required changes with each event, with the most complex being our two biannual expedition races (one each year), where breakfast, lunch and dinner is provided in substantial quantities for all.

Our current team will provide the catering at Marmot Dark Mountains™ in January 2018, and we looking for the new team to be in place for the Silva Great Lakeland 3Day™ at the beginning of May 2018. 

Most importantly, we are looking for a person or organisation that really gets event catering and can take responsibility for delivering great food to hungry participants and event staff in often challenging environments (it is not unheard of, to be catering in a damp tent, as the rain water rises up your wellies!). This is not 9-5 work and we need someone who is going to share in our passion for excellence, and be a steady hand on the provision of food, which counts so much for participant’s overall enjoyment.   

The catering role also includes organising and providing the food for the support points on selected events. Typically, this includes, soup, coke, sandwiches and cakes etc., which is prepared at race HQ, and packaged up for the Event Team to hand out at the Support Supports.
 
We will support the catering team with additional volunteer staff during short periods of intense activity, but other than that, we want the catering team to staff each event accordingly.
 
Staffing levels at this year’s events have varied from two at some of our smaller events where we just provided a finishers meal and event team meals (Marmot Dark Mountains™), to a catering team of five at our larger events where breakfast, snacks and an evening meal were provided for participants and breakfast, lunch, snacks and an evening meal were provided for the event team (Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race®).
 
Please have a look at the menu for the 2017 Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race® to get a sense of what we have provided

Whilst sometimes the participants are buying food in advance (like a breakfast before the start of the ROC) from Ourea Events, usually the food is included in the cost of entry i.e. the caterer gets paid by Ourea Events, and the participant just eats the food.

Status Quo Solution

Caterer:

• Detailed planning of catering requirements prior to each event

• Compilation of shopping lists (food, disposables, catering/cleaning etc.)

• Collection of shopping, collection of meals & cakes from Wilfs Café

• Attendance at event, driving a hire vehicle with the event food/catering equipment

• Preparation and serving of main meals at events

• Preparation and serving of snacks, tea and coffee etc. to event staff at events

• Provision of sufficient staff (varies with each event)

 
Wilfs Café:

• Supply of pre-cooked main meals then frozen or chilled before collection

• Supply of tray bake cakes

 
Ourea Events:

• Direct payment of shopping lists with suppliers

• Direct payment of Wilfs Café

• Organisation and payment of any hire vehicles required (including fridge/freezer vans occasionally)

• Provision of all catering equipment: tables, utensils, pans, burners, tent, chip fryers etc.

• Provision of services: water, electricity, lighting, gas etc. at remote campsites

 
As the business has grown and we have seen an increase in numbers of participants entering our events and we anticipate our catering costs rising in 2018. Below is an outline of the catering service we are looking for in 2018:

Silva Great Lakeland 3Day™

Approximately x30 staff, x300 participants

• Friday 4th May = Event Staff x30: Lunch and dinner. Participants x100: Dinner (they purchase this in advance)

• Saturday 5th May = Event Staff x30: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Sunday 6th May = Event Staff x30: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

• Monday 7th May: = Event Staff x30: Breakfast and lunch (same as the finisher meal). Participants x300 finishers meal

Please note that at this event we are intending to offer meals for participants to purchase on the Saturday and Sunday evenings, and have quotes from external caterers about this service (mobile pizza, mobile fish and chips etc.). It is entirely possible that this work could also fall to our new catering team. 

Cape Wrath Ultra®

Approximately x50 staff, x200 participants

• Saturday 19th May = Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch. Buffet meal by external caterer already agreed for Saturday night for all staff and participants.

• Sunday 20th May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Monday 21st May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Tuesday 22nd May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Wednesday 23rd May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Thursday 24th May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Friday 25th May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Saturday 26th May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*, dinner

• Sunday 27th May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast and lunch. Participants x200: Breakfast, afternoon snacks*. Buffet meal by external caterer already agreed for Saturday night for all staff and participants.

• Monday 28th May: Event Staff x50: Breakfast. Participants x200: Breakfast.

*Afternoon snacks is typically soup, chips, cake, and the event staff also eat this!

10Peaks™ – Lakes

Approximately x30 staff, x200 participants

• Friday 22nd June: Event Staff x30: Lunch and dinner

• Saturday 23rd June: Event Staff x30: Breakfast, lunch and dinner (same as the finisher meal). Participants x200: finishers meal

• Note that the finishers are spread over a large time frame of approximately 13:00 on Saturday through to 06:00 on Sunday morning. We have helped with the staffing from the Event Team for the quiet through the night period.

• Saturday 23rd June: Participants x200: Food, drinks etc. at x4 separate support points.

• Sunday 24th June: Event Staff x30: Breakfast

10Peaks™ – Brecon

Approximately x30 staff, x200 participants

• Friday 13th July: Event Staff x30: Lunch and dinner

• Saturday 14th July: Event Staff x30: Breakfast, lunch and dinner (same as the finisher meal). Participants x200: finishers meal

• Note that the finishers are spread over a large time frame of approximately 13:00 on Saturday through to 06:00 on Sunday morning. We have helped with the staffing from the Event Team for the quiet through the night period.

• Saturday 14th July: Participants x200: Food, drinks etc. at x4 separate support points.

• Sunday 15th July: Event Staff x30: Breakfast

Please note that this event is based at a YHA, and the YHA are currently bidding to provide our catering service at this event. 

Salomon Skyline Scotland®

Approximately x100 staff, x1500 participants

• Wednesday 12th September: Event Staff x60: Lunch and Dinner

• Thursday 13th September: Event Staff x100: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

• Friday 14th September: Event Staff x100: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

• Friday 14th September: Participants x300: Food, drinks etc. at x1 support point.

• Saturday 15th September: Event Staff x100: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

• Saturday 15th September: Participants x600: Food, drinks etc. at x1 support point.

• Sunday 16th September: Event Staff x100: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

• Sunday 16th September: Participants x300: Food, drinks etc. at x1 support point.

• Monday 17th September: Event Staff x50: Breakfast

Please note that the finishers meals are provided by an onsite caterer at this event.

ROC Mountain Marathon™

Approximately x30 staff, x600 participants

• Friday 28th September: Event Staff x30: Lunch and Dinner. Participants x150: Dinner (they purchase this in advance)

• Saturday 29th September: Event Staff x30: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Participants x150: Breakfast (they purchase this in advance)

• Sunday 30th September: Event Staff x30: Breakfast, Lunch (finishers meal). Participants x600: Finishers Meal