Catering Committee Report
Catering Report – Penwortham Golf Cub
31st January 2022
Objective – At the AGM a resolution was brought forward by a selection of members to terminate the catering contract with The Mill, with a 75% majority required for this resolution to be passed. The initial part of the resolution that “The current catering service provided by The Mill St Catherine’s is not fit for purpose” was felt by almost everyone in the room.
The Board outlined they have had extensive discussions with The Mill on a regular basis to review the current offer / service being provided to the members of PGC, and getting a quality catering provision is a priority objective.
A vote was held and the split was 55% v 45% in favour of The Mill being served notice. The club was due to be entering a busy pre-arranged booking period (Christmas and a wedding) and the Board felt the best course of action for the club (as a business) was to give The Mill a three-month period to get things right. It was agreed that a Food Committee would be set up to canvas all sections of the club to gain feedback on The Mill’s performance.
Refer to Terms of Reference below for the Food Committee’s objectives -The dates have slightly varied but the committee will respond back to the club at the Management meeting to be held on Monday 31st January 2022.
PGC Catering Evaluation Panel Terms of Reference (ToR)
The following is a term of reference for evaluation of the catering provision at PGC. It is proposed that this evaluation period is from 25th Oct to 14th January 2022 (approx. 80 days). Final report out to the Board of Directors to be w/c 23rd January 2022. This time period will allow for the evaluation of many events which will have taken place at PGC. (Gents and Ladies Trophy Night, Sunday Roasts, Children’s Christmas Party, Club Christmas Party and finally New Year’s Eve), plus the usual day to day catering offer.
Evaluation Panel
The evaluation panel consisted of.
Liz Pace – Panel Chairperson
Rob Turner – Bar Manager / Club Manager
Jean Myers - Member
Thomas Stirrup - Member
Richard Kay – Member
Sean Fisher – House Director – Will receive feedback on meetings held
ToR Scope
The scope of the evaluation panel will cover the following.
Opening hours
Value for money.
o Food quality
o Portion size
o Cost of meals
Range of offering (menu – does it meets the requirements of the golf club day to day, social and special functions)
Customer services and staffing levels (people – Chef, Waiters, Front of House etc.)
Complaint resolution (e.g., complaints book as in other restraints)
Social functions (private and public)
An essential part of the panel’s role will be the engagement of members, (in the form of a questionnaire).
Evaluation scoring
It is proposed that at various times customers are asked to complete a short survey regarding the above, using the following criteria.
o Unsatisfactory
o Satisfactory
o Good
o Excellent
Reporting
The panel shall report to the board of directors (house pod) + management on a monthly basis. Report shall consist of.
Feedback evaluation of on the scope of the ToR
Continuous improvement throughout the evaluation period
Final evaluation of the catering provision throughout the evaluation period as to whether our catering provider will meet the needs of the members of PGC going forward.
Panel Meeting Dates
· 10th November
· 29th November
· 20th December
· 17th January
· 26th January
At the initial meeting the committee reviewed the ToR and a questionnaire was generated and given to the bar staff to circulate. This questionnaire considered the ToR scope (as outlined above)
Further discussions took place and we highlighted the key areas of focus which the Food Committee were keen for The Mill to significantly improve on, following talks with the various sections
The Contract - what had been agreed?
Opening hours?
All profits statement (which sits at the bottom of the menu)
Staff Cleanliness
Do we have Food Hygiene Certificates?
What is The Mill paying us?
The Menu – specifically the price of sandwiches and the thickness of the bread
Flexibility to accommodate the various groups at PGC
Waiting Times
Review of each section
The Contract - what had been agreed?
o A copy of the contract was reviewed by the Food Committee and the key concerns were that the menu and prices were to be agreed by the House Committee. Due to Covid the House Committee had not met and had received no copies of the menu to agree the products and the prices. So who did agree the menu and prices?
o They were only going to be open for 5 days. The committee fully appreciated the challenges faced at the time within the hospitality industry but serving the ladies (both day and night players) should have been a key priority. Eventually food was made available on Tuesday (days) but it was some time before the night players, along with the Tuesday night lads were accommodated. Still The Mill closed early so not all the night players could get something to eat
Opening hours
o The opening hours have been challenged by the Board, and the Committee felt that we could amend them further. This was fed back to SF and revised opening hours were agreed and the committee felt these were now much better and had seen an improvement
All profits statement (which sits at the bottom of the menu)
o Whilst the panel were gathering feedback the profits statement at the bottom on the menu, was causing some members an issue. Some members were questioning that the price of £6.50 for a sandwich was going to help their profits. SF did raise this with The Mill and they confirmed they were not willing to remove this statement. So not an improvement
Staff Cleanliness
o It was reported that some chef’s whites were not very white, and they looked quite dirty. SF did raise this and some of the Committee panel still feel that staff cleanliness has not been fully addressed
Do we have Food Hygiene Certificates?
o Questions raised around The Mills Food Hygiene Certificates. RT has confirmed that all certificates have been supplied and The Mill recently had an inspection and they passed at a 5-star grade. So all areas had improved.
What is The Mill paying us?
o No-one has ever been able to inform the Committee on what The Mill will be paying to PGC, as they are using all our heating, lighting, water etc. What are their outgoings?
The Menu – in particular the price of sandwiches and the thickness of the bread
o It has been identified that £6.50 for a sandwich is very expensive, especially when it is Egg & Cress. All the sandwiches are the same price, which again is very strange and we have asked for a tiered pricing structure. This has still not been achieved. We have suggested to make the sandwiches cheaper by using less bread. Many members have fed back on the questionnaire that bread thickness and price is wrong. At the start there was very little for vegetarians, however this has since been addressed and more vegetarian products have been added to the menu. A light bite offer has been included now into the menu, but the Committee have since made further suggestions for a reduction in the current main courses (12) and more lighter options – Wraps, Paninis. Products which fit more into the requirements of the members of PGC, The Main dishes all priced at £8.50 again we feel a tiered pricing structure would make more sense. The Breakfast baps have proved popular on the questionnaires, but we feel at £3.50 represents good value for money.
Flexibility to accommodate the various groups at PGC
o This has been one of the biggest areas of concern as we have many groups at the golf club who all want something different and at a different price. As most groups had been organising Christmas functions, they approached The Mill to agree menus etc. The Mill were just offering a generic Christmas meal for any party. The various groups wanted more choice and when they contacted The Mill, they were unable to change. This meant that quite a few groups went elsewhere for their Christmas meals, meaning loss of bar sales. The group organisers also felt it was very challenging to get hold of someone from The Mill to discuss their requirements. The Social Committee were also planning on a Christmas and NYE menu and were given the same menu for Christmas as everybody else. The social committee did manage to get an alternative menu for NYE, but it wasn’t without its challenges (no veg options). Going forward the Food Committee are not able to say if The Mill will listen to the various groups as SF has raised this with them and we are still awaiting an update. The golf club has many events for the dignitaries, and they need to be able to have open communication with The Mill.
Waiting Times
o Due to the lack of staff there is a considerable wait times to be served and for your food to be prepared. Many members are of the opinion that the food comes from St Catherine’s and is just warmed up. The Mill have introduced more staff, but wait times are still very long. We appreciate it is difficult to judge staffing levels, but Saturdays appear to have been the most problematic and the situation has still not been resolved / improved.
Questionnaire
The questionnaire suggested there had been an improvement but with only 64 completed questions have been raised about the small sample size. Many members reported that the Breakfast sandwiches/barms were great value along with the main course of Fish & Chips at £8.50. The Mill had introduced a Sunday Carvery and initial feedback was very positive, although on the next carvery there was some varied comments around the quality. These comments were fed back to SF and were raised with The Mill. The final carvery was of a similar standard to the first one. Not all members completed a questionnaire (as they didn’t want to), some members were not aware that a questionnaire should be filled in after you had eaten. The price of sandwiches along with the bread thickness was raised on numerous occasions. Some members were keen to offer suggestions for future menus. RT very kindly analyzed all the responses and the report is detailed below. All questionnaires are still available for review should anybody wish to see them
Quantitative Data from Catering Questionnaire Jan 22
Total of 64 questionnaire responses. Responses generally graded on an Unsatisfactory / Satisfactory / Good / Excellent rating scheme.
*The number of questionnaires returned (64) represents only approximately 6% of the playing and social membership (RK)
Dividing up the questionnaire into the various sections, starting with the broadest themes, and then going more and more specific.
Broadest being Overall Satisfaction, which in turn leads to would you dine again?
Overall Satisfaction responses were 88% positive (Satisfied<), and 63% rated Good or Excellent. Unsatisfactory responses to this were at 12% (7/64 Questionnaires). Reasons for these negative votes: Poor Sunday roast x3; fatty bacon barms x2; long wait for food due to VP/function x2.
Which begs the question: Would you dine again?... 83% said yes, with 6 non-votes, and 5 nos.
Moving through the different sections of the questionnaire…
Opening times: 64% responded as Fine, with 13% not answering (RT observation: arguably also fine, as no opinion suggests not a problem in this case). 16% (10) thought earlier is better (5/5/5 votes across days), and 13% (5) suggested later opening times (3/3/3 votes across days).
Menu Choice: 8 of the Questionnaires didn’t answer this. Of the responses, 78% were Satisfied<, with 6 responses unsatisfied with the menu offering.
Value for Money: 62/64 Questionnaires answered this section. Across all the questions in this section, there are a possible 992 responses (62 Questionnaires, 4 questions, 4 possible responses). Out of all those possible ticks, 10 were marked unsatisfactory (1%).
Customer Service 63/64 answered this section. Using the same approach there were 756 possible ticks, with 7 Unsatisfactory (<1%), and 50 Excellent responses (6%).
TS made some comments about the questionnaire’s results and that he did not agree with the way they had been calculated; particularly the %ages on the Value for Money and Customer Service sections.
However, the data has been summarised in its most raw form and members can draw their own conclusions.
Qualitative Answers: Sorted the written answers into general themes and sorted into most-least common.
Most common: Not properly staffed, longer wait times, and unable to service member demands when VP/function being attended to.
2nd: Coffee not up to standard. Too expensive, especially for kept-warm filter coffee. (RT observation: not 100% a bad thing for PGC, as pushes sales of bean-to-cup machine, where monies go to PGC, not The Mill)
3rd: Sandwich choice – Mill-style sandwiches aren’t as popular particularly with Lady members (too over-facing).
4th: Vegetarian options. This was one response who just used the Questionnaire to provide this feedback. Whilst not necessarily a ‘popular’ theme, 2022 somewhat demands a decent option in this regard.
To Summarize
The Food Committee have worked very hard in getting this information together and have had some confrontational conversations with some of our members. We are fully aware that you can’t please everyone but opinions do need to be listened to. SF & LP have met with The Mill to lay out the challenge and the Food Committee believe the overall response from The Mill is that they don’t care.
Still Outstanding actions – so can’t say if they have been improved or not. The Mill have been given sufficient time to respond
· Staff Cleanliness
· What is The Mill paying us?
· Flexibility on menus – very key as we enter the start of the golfing calendar. Lots of groups to keep happy
· Price of sandwiches, menu choice, bread thickness
The Food Committee acknowledge The Mill have improved on
· Opening Hours
· Menu Choice
· Provided the appropriate Food Credentials
The Mill have not improved on
· Waiting times
· Removal of the profits statement at the bottom on the menu
Our Recommendations
The Food Committee acknowledges that we do not want to enter the new golfing season without a caterer, but we feel there are still many outstanding actions from The Mill to make a firm decision. The outcome of these actions would then need to lead to a significant change to the current offer and would have to satisfy the members of PGC. Should we not get these outstanding actions completed then we suggest that The House Committee actively pursue an alternative caterer who can satisfy the members of PGC. The newly formed House Committee could then convey to the members, the menus, the prices, the opening times, the flexibilities of what this new caterer brings to PGC.
If The Mill were to remain at PGC they would have to undertake a full rebrand and relaunch so the members can buy in to this and we believe this would take some very serious convincing and would be very challenging. A section has already said that if The Mill are still in-situ then they will not be attending the function this season
We the food committee request that club members are informed of the director’s decision no later than the 14th February 2022.
