Previous magazine articles 
Glasgow 2014: A Recipe for Commercial Success?
Being a world-class athlete requires talent, ambition, dedication, training and world-class catering. At the Beijing Olympics this summer it emerged that swimmer Michael Phelps consumed up to 12,000 calories a day during the competition, while sprinter Usain Bolt confessed a penchant for chicken nuggets. As the public discovered more of the athletes' sustenance secrets, the attention in catering circles switched from the competitors' innate talents to their unique diets.
With the Commonwealth Games Glasgow just six years away, Beth Pearson asks Fergus Chambers, Executive Director of Direct & Care Services at Glasgow City Council, about his vision to provide world-class catering to thousands of athletes and broadcasters from across the globe…
Eager to learn more about the challenges ahead of 2014 and having recently returned from a fact-finding mission to China, Fergus has come back with a unique insight into how the most populated country on the planet staged the biggest show the world has ever seen. Having worked on Glasgow's successful bid to host the 'Games in 2014, he was keen to discover how the organisers of international sporting events cope with the myriad nutritional requirements of the athletes and their support teams.
'It was an invaluable opportunity to get behind the scenes and see the intricacies of the operation,' he says. 'Undoubtedly the biggest thing that impressed me was the scale. I've been in the hospitality business for 30 years and it's by far the largest operation I've ever had the privilege to witness.'
The Chinese statistics are certainly impressive: Over 12,000 competitors stayed in the athletes' village in Beijing and the 5,000-capacity on-site dining room served up to 100,000 meals a day. The same operation provided up to 16,000 meals a day in the dining room for broadcasters, and served meals in an adjacent 1,000-seat dining room for volunteers and staff.
'In anybody's language that is a huge operation, and I have to say that ARAMARK [the catering contractor for the athletes' village and broadcast centre, and Chambers' host during his visit] were superb,' continues Fergus. 'They had brought together more than 250 international managers and supplemented that with 7,000 locally recruited staff.
'The standard and presentation of food was outstanding. The range was very well researched and developed over many years' experience to suit people from different ethnic backgrounds and to cope with the various demands of all the athletes. When they published the menu for the day, which was on an eight- or nine-day cycle, they also published all the nutritional aspects of it.
'The 24-hour athletes' dining room was also home to a nutritional desk staffed by three full-time dieticians. If an athlete was unsure what to eat for their stage of competition, they could ask a dietician to devise an eating plan for them.'
However, contrary to popular belief that an athlete's diet is strictly regulated and monitored 24/7, there are times when they can relax and indulge themselves a bit:
'When the competitors had finished their respective events, many could be observed heading straight for the full-size McDonald's restaurant and new McCafe, which served coffee and pastries. It was like a treat, and good on them.'
Back in Glasgow, the countdown is on to the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It will be the biggest multi-sports event that Glasgow has ever hosted, with 6,000 sportsmen and women competing in 17 events over 11 days. With a budget of £375 million, the games will be funded 80/20 by the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council.
The budget for foodservice is £8 million, which Chambers believes is sufficient to realise his ambitions: 'I think we have the same challenges as Beijing and therefore we have to aspire to achieve the same standards,' he says. 'It will be on a different scale, of course, but still a very large operation. We will expect to peak at 26-27,000 meals a day in the athletes' village in Dalmarnock, while the broadcast service, which will be based at the SECC, will be in addition to that.
'We'll have to be able to meet all the dietary demands of ethnic backgrounds and religion, like with halal meat, for example. 'I also think nutritionists will be essential and we'll be building that into our plans.'
However, there is one area where Chambers may depart from the Beijing example: 'The stadium catering wasn't as commercial as you would find in a westernised venue of that nature, with regards to choice or price,' he says. 'When I was in the Bird's Nest, it was a hot and sticky night so I despatched myself to get some water. For this bottle of water, I expected to pay between £2-3, and that's what I'll expect in the London Olympics, but it cost me 25p. 'I don't know if that was a lack of a commercial approach or a decision by the Chinese organising committee to practice what I would call social inclusion for the domestic market.'
Chambers believes that the catering operation at Glasgow 2014 will follow a mixed economy model, as some of the venues already have contract caterers in place:
'The catering will be coordinated to ensure consistency of service,' he explains. 'I believe the Games will be a great opportunity for local companies to do business, and a number of conferences are being held to enable potential suppliers to engage with the organising committee.'
Whatever decision is made about how catering will be managed, Chambers is certain that if any Phelps-like 12,000-calorie-per-day contenders approach the dining room at Glasgow's athletes' village, they won't be left wanting.
'We have budgeted for a cafeteria-style service, so athletes can have as much as they want and revisit as often as they want, at no cost.'
This article has been edited from its original version. For the complete feature, please see Catering in Scotland magazine September/October 2009.
To join our database, go to
Media Pack on this website and click on
Subscribe.
