Barista Academy is launched

06 June 2018

Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK’s largest food and support services firm, has launched its inaugural Barista Academy, revealing the five baristas who will make up the company’s elite group of coffee experts.

Selection for the Academy was conducted through a rigorous trial process, which stretched over three days, with an emphasis on technical skill, consistency and quality. Starting with over 30 entrants, Compass whittled the applicants down to ten for the final heat.

Compass will now progress the skills of these baristas by enrolling them onto the Speciality Coffee Association (SCA) Coffee Skills Program. The baristas will have the opportunity to work towards a Diploma in Coffee and potentially working towards becoming an Accredited SCA Trainer, enabling them to spread their expert knowledge across the business’ barista community by leading SCA training courses themselves.

Stephen Lovegrove, Head of Format (Café and Foodvenience), said: "The standard of the Barista Academy entrants has been outstanding. They have demonstrated creativity, knowledge and expertise during this process and they are testament to the quality and skills of our baristas."

Louise Pilkington, Marketing Director – Compass Group UK & Ireland said: "Over the last two years we’ve been raising the bar in our hot beverage offers. By launching our Barista Academy, we have empowered our baristas to enhance our brands and create fantastic tasting coffee for our clients and the public."

The launch event for the new academy was held at Somerset House in London on 30th May where the final five Baristas were presented. Each sponsor received an official certification of their sponsorship along with a commemorative plaque.

Sponsors included: UCC Coffee, Nuova Simonelli, Victoria Arduino, & West Country Milk.

A New BariSTAR! is crowned

27 April 2018

Lexington Catering, one of the leading contract caterers in London, gave the team the chance to battle it out at their fifth annual BariStar competition. Nine finalists went head to head in a competitive final at Coca Cola on 19thApril 2018, where Alice Innocenti, General Assistant at Lexington Catering, was crowned BariStar of the Year 2018.

With a Twin Peaks theme, lead character, Dale Cooper provided the inspiration for Alice’s signature coffee. Alice named it Cooper and created a cherry latte. Mike Sunley, CEO of Lexington and Elior’s B&I City Business says"A huge congratulations to Alice. She had some fun with her Twin Peaks inspired Café Latte but managed to keep things simple – producing a cup of coffee that is perfect in both taste and visually."

Commenting on her win, Alice Innocenti, General Assistant says, "I put all of my effort into making a great cup of coffee for my customers and I am very competitive so absolutely delighted to win this award. For me, I really wanted to show my creative side and do something a bit different. I love Twin Peaks so used this as the inspiration for my signature drink and the judges seemed to like it!"

The 2018 Lexington BariStar competition was open to anyone who works in Lexington and the Elior City B&I business. Almost 100 individuals attended the training and nine baristas went head to head at the live final where they had to show the judges they not only have the technical capabilities to make fabulous coffee but also creativity. The winners are:

– 2018 BariStar of the Year: Alice Innocenti, General Assistant

– Second Place: Khaled Rachedi, Team Leader

– Joint Third Place: Andre Perim, Barista, and Valentina Mucaria, Club Manager

West Country Milk was thrilled to support the event and to donate a state of the art iPad Pro to the selection of winning prizes. General Manager, Danny Raleigh commented after attending the event "The level of passion and creativity shown by these finalists was mind-blowing! Every finalist produced a really exciting, high-quality product and it shows just how versatile coffee can be. It was interesting to talk to some of the finalists and hear from them how much value they place upon receiving great quality milk that’s as fresh as possible. The freshest of milk works to compliment the coffee that’s at the heart of so many of the drinks they prepare every day"

Mike Sunley said, "Year on year the standard of the competition just keeps increasing. All of the finalists showed outstanding skill, creativity and true professionalism, giving the judges some very hard decisions to make! We’re immensely grateful to all of our judges and to our coffee partners"

West Country Milk have sponsored the Heavtitree Youth Under 8’s team

13 April 2018

West Country Milk are proud to announce their sponsorship of local Youth Football Team, Heavitree Youth.  The team are associated with Heavitree United who are a well established team in the Exeter and District Leagues, established way back in 1885.  The club is a well known sight to anyone regularly travelling into Exeter from the M5 Motorway.

Specifically, West Country Milk have sponsored the Heavtitree Youth Under 8’s team.  On Wednesday 12^th April at Heavitree United’s Home Ground Wingfield Park, the fantastic new Hummel Kits were presented to Coach Derek Reilly and the team.

Derek explained “Myself and the boys are absolutely thrilled with our new kits.  We can’t wait to wear them at the upcoming summer tournaments and I am convinced it will give the boys that little extra boost in confidence to go out and play their best.  Thanks to West Country Milk for providing these top quality kits”

Danny Raleigh, General Manager for West Country Milk presented the kits on the night.  He stated “We are a local company employing local people.  However, given we trade all over the UK & Ireland it’s great for us to be in a position to support the local community in some small way.  We wish the boys all the best in their upcoming tournaments and the new season”

West Country Milk Attends Foodbuy Conference and Expo

26 March 2018

West Country Milk were delighted to attend the Foodbuy Conference which took place at ExCel London last month. For the past three years we have seen the evolution and growth of the Compass Group Supplier Conference which in 2018, evolved to become the Foodbuy Conference.

With £1bn of managed spend, Foodbuy brings together the widest range of foodservice and hospitality clients to buy food, and everything associated with it. The Foodbuy Conference provided suppliers and clients with insight into the business and what Foodbuy has planned for the year ahead. As well as hearing from the organisation’s Executive Team, the Foodbuy Conference enabled attendees to further understand the journey Foodbuy is on as a business.

Across the two days the busy programme, hosted by Louise Minchin, included presentations, workshop sessions, valuable networking opportunities and the popular Supplier Expo.

Naomi Crocker, Customer Service Manager for West Country Milk explained “It was really exciting to see the development of the Foodbuy business over the two days.  We met lots of people from various businesses and were able to showcase how we can support their business.  Our oversized deck chair proved a great hit and added a little fun! 

West Country Milk Sponsors New Compass Barista Academy!

13 March 2018

Compass Group UK & Ireland, the UK's largest food and support services firm, is to launch its first Barista Academy – a group consisting of the most highly skilled baristas in the business.

The creation of the Academy continues Compass' investment in developing a top range of quality coffee offers. The application process is now open to all baristas in the company and will give them the opportunity to prove their coffee credentials.

A focus on technical skill, consistency and quality will help decide which baristas make it through the testing trials. Those that make it to the last stage will undergo judging by a panel of esteemed external experts, who will decide who makes the final cut to earn the title of Master Barista.

Stephen Lovegrove, Head of Business Excellence – Central Marketing, Compass Group UK & Ireland said: "We have some fantastic baristas in this business, who complement the quality of our coffee offers. The launch of our Barista Academy brings this work together and celebrates this talent - we can't wait for the trials to begin to decide our Master Baristas".

The market for hot beverages is in sustained growth, both in size and breadth of range, with the UK coffee shop market generating £8.9b in revenue annually, according to the Allegra World Coffee Portal Project Café 2017 report.

Danny Raleigh, General Manager at West Country Milk explained "We are really pleased to sponsor this exciting new Academy. Fresh Milk is such an integral part of making a great coffee and that is sometimes overlooked. It's great to see milk being recognised as a key ingredient to support great Baristas!"

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Importance of milk

West Country Milk and The Brend Hotel Group

20 July 2017

At West Country Milk we are extremely proud to offer a quality personal service often associated with a family owned business. Although our history only goes back to the turn of the century, we are pleased to have recently increased our association with The Brend Hotel Group, owned by the Brend family, who have played a prominent role in the hospitality sector of the West Country for nearly a century.

There are many similarities between the businesses, with generations of the founding families now employed within both businesses. A passion for providing a quality personal service and a commitment to operating at the highest possible standard are key values for both businesses. Alan Bartlett Business Development Manager at WCM stated, “on joining the company in April 2016, the synergy between the two businesses became clear. As a local ‘lad’ I have known of the outstanding reputation of The Brend Group for many years, so I was delighted to play a part in launching our supplies to them and look forward to a long term relationship”.

The Brend Group operate a collection of 11 luxury hotels across Devon and Cornwall including 18 restaurants. West Country Milk first supplied the Devon Hotel, based in Exeter in February 2017, adding the Belmont and Victoria Hotels in Sidmouth in May 2017, before commencing supplies to the Group’s hotels in North Devon over the last month.

David Roden, Food Buyer, for The Brend Group said that “we have a history of building and maintaining long term relationships with our suppliers. To switch the supply of such key products was not an easy decision. West Country Milk have proved that they provide a first class personal service and high quality products, encouraging us to grow our business with them”.

West Country Milk Shortlisted for Supplier Awards

21 September 2016

Compass UK, the largest Contract Caterer in the World, has announced the finalists for their Supplier Awards 2016. West Country Milk has been short-listed in two categories, Supply Chain and Implementation.

Danny Raleigh, General Manager for WCM stated, “It’s really exciting to be short-listed in not one but two categories. Given the scale of the Compass Organization we are up against some very large suppliers when competing for honours and so as an SME we are all really thrilled to be recognized in this way”.

In support of West Country Milk’s entry Compass Category Buyer, Emily commented “West Country Milk are a key supplier within Compass and have always been incredibly supportive and efficient when mobilising new sites and transitioning them over from alternative Suppliers. This was made even more apparent during the recent introduction of Foodbuy, they look well set to continue to play a key role in our upcoming strategies.”

The award winners will be announced at the Compass Gala Dinner to be held at London Excel on Wednesday 21st September.

West Country Milk Exhibits at Compass Expo

01 September 2016

With thousands of sites all over the UK Compass has a strong demand for daily delivery of Dairy Products to support its units. Whether within schools, workplaces or Michelin Start restaurants, Compass units demand Fresh, Regional produce.

West Country Milk took ‘Daisy’ (a suspiciously Land Rover shaped Cow) to the Compass exhibition held at Excel London and met with Managers and Site Operatives across all sectors of the Compass business, from Chartwells to Restaurant Associates.

Emily Armitage, Category Manger for Compass Foodbuy, stated “This is only the second year for the annual Compass Expo and already it’s well and truly up and running with 150 suppliers exhibiting. It’s a really fantastic opportunity to meet with so many key stake-holders in our business”.

West Country Milk and Bristol Schools

01 June 2016

West Country milk visited a selection of Primary and Secondary Schools in the Bristol area to engage with students and educate them regarding where milk comes from and the health benefits of drinking milk. Tasting sessions of whole, semi and skimmed milk were carried out along with group discussion based around educational cartoon flyers.

“The clients felt this was a great way to engage with the students, encouraging them to taste the milk and information through the print outs was great, showing the health benefits of drinking milk. I sent feedback from Daniel to our nutritionist who was delighted with the support we received. Our students become a lot more engaged when suppliers showcase their products and our clients like this support especially when local suppliers are involved. Thank you for your support!”

Karen Roberts – Regional Manager, Chartwells

West Country Milk to Supply Key Schools Contract

01 May 2016

Entrust work in partnership with schools, academy trusts and local authorities to provide specialist expertise, ensuring every child and young person receives a good education, is in a safe and healthy environment, and is given expert guidance to realise their full potential.

In May, the Compass Chartwells business unit requested assistance from West Country Milk to support nearly 300 Entrust School sites with daily delivery of a range of fresh dairy and morning goods. With Local Provence being key for both Compass and Entrust WCM were able to source a range of produce, including Organic Milk, from their local partner Wells Farm Dairy in Staffordshire.

Ian Elsbury, Operational Excellence Manager at Compass explained “I have been very impressed with the flexibility and support provided by West Country Milk in approaching the challenge of switching the Milk provider to a core supplier within Compass without any impact on the operators and clients. Strong local provenance is one of the key requirements of the supply chain for Entrust, Danny from WCM provided 3 different options outlining not only the financial impact but the provenance of the product and packaged to allow us to present to the client and provide a very quick turnaround and seamless transition”