ceda has today published its long-awaited guidance paper on re-opening a commercial kitchen whilst effectively applying COVID-19 safety measures.

Whilst there is a plethora of guidance on the internet about front-of-house, the catering equipment trade association has taken its time to carefully put together the document to help operators ensure they have considered everything relating to back-of-house and service, ahead of the hospitality re-opening date of 4th July.

With a huge amount of information to wade through, head figures at ceda, together with its Board members (themselves experts from across the industry), have consolidated the best and most relevant factors.

With Government guidance seemingly changing all the time, ceda has carefully selected the timing of its publication to be as accurate as possible in assisting the hospitality industry, and its supply chain, on specific guidance that foodservice establishments will have to adhere to. There has been much toing and froing with regards to the two meter distancing rule, with multiple industry trade bodies lobbying Number 10 for this to be reduced to one meter. There was even speculation of an earlier reopening date of 22nd June. Following the announcement by PM Boris Johnson on 23rd June that the hospitality industry can re-open from 4th July with a one meter-plus distance, ceda has pressed ‘Go’ on its Minimising risk from COVID-19 when re-opening a commercial kitchen guidance document.

Intended to be read in conjunction with the latest Government guidance (which is regularly updated at www.gov.uk/workingsafely), the document is provided to help operators of commercial kitchens determine what actions they can take to minimise risk to staff, customers and suppliers, from the COVID-19 virus and provides suggestions for each area of the back-of-house operation. The 12-section document covers; Social Distancing, Hygiene and Cleaning, Personal Protection Equipment, Receiving Deliveries, Storage, Preparation, Cooking, Service, Potwash, Dishwash, Waste Disposal and Ventilation.

ceda’s Technical Support Advisor, Peter Kay, has painstakingly been through every Government update and review paper and circulated his findings amongst ceda Board members to ensure the document is as precise and reliable as it can be. He said,

“Whilst ceda has worked with the Government on the drafting of its guidance for re-opening pubs and restaurants, our document understandably follows the same format of the guidance documents for other premises which provide sound advice but are limited in details of possible considerations.

“We felt it was important that we use the kitchen design expertise of our members to provide more detailed suggestions of actions that operators might consider when planning their re-opening. We therefore set up a working group of ceda Board members to develop our own document, to be read in conjunction with the Government advice.”

Adam Mason, ceda’s Director General added,

“We were keen to utilise the pool of expert knowledge that our Board members, and their respective companies, possess when compiling the document. We strongly believe that their opinion, guidance, expertise and advice is best placed to offer the assurances that operators will seek when preparing their premises for re-opening. We’re really proud of the work that has gone into this document and we hope it provides our membership with an opportunity to support their existing customers (and perhaps generate some new enquiries for them) as they circulate the guidance.”

The document can be obtained, free of charge, from any ceda member. Visit https://ceda.co.uk/ask-a-specialist/ to find a find a member.

ceda Members; the full document can be found in both the ceda Resources and COVID-19 pages in the Members Area of the ceda website.

ceda’s weekly webinar schedule is continuing to hit the right note amongst members.

The programme, now in its 8th week, is serving up topical and insightful presentations to the membership including; ventilation and DW172, disposal and reuse services, hygiene and sanitation solutions, refrigeration, ventilation, health & safety advice, product presentations, mental health awareness in the workplace and discussions about The Future of Foodservice and Operator Confidence.

If you’re yet to join any of the webinars, here is a link to a product presentation from ceda Platinum Partner Welbilt about Artificial Intelligence in Convotherm Ovens, to give you a taste of what’s on offer.

Presentation password: 9V#8$=bG

ceda’s latest endeavour to support the industry through the COVID-19 pandemic is cedaRetain.

Already, some companies in the sector have announced the starting of redundancy processes which will lead to many good people with great experience, skills and talent looking for employment opportunities.

ceda hopes to connect those that may find themselves out of work, through no fault of their own, with potential employers.

The process is simple. Those wishing to register should visit ceda.co.uk/cedaretain/ and complete a short form detailing location, expertise and a short write-up/bio about themselves and what they are looking for. ceda will then share their profile amongst more than 110 ceda member companies, all of whom provide services such as design, project management and equipment supply and support services to the food service, catering and hospitality industries.

Once the form is submitted, ceda will confirm authenticity, contacting individuals for clarity where necessary. Once ceda are satisfied, the details will be published to a members-only page.

ceda members will have access to the profile and will simply click a button to retrieve the email address and contact telephone number of the individual and then take it from there. ceda will not get involved any further and will leave it to the member company to initiate any contact, interview or further actions. There is no cost to the individual or the member company.

In addition to providing a shop window for people, ceda are also encouraging them to continue their professional development whilst looking for employment opportunities. As such, all those that register will be invited to take part in ceda’s weekly webinar schedule where they can see product and topical presentations from leading catering equipment suppliers and manufacturers.

All registrants will also be given free of charge, unlimited access to ceda’s E-learning platform which contains over 100 generic CPD accredited and certificated business modules.

Discussing the initiative, ceda Director General Adam Mason says, “During these difficult times, a number of highly skilled people with good experience and significant talent will find themselves without a job and could be lost to the Industry. We need to retain as much talent and experience in order to make recovery as swift and efficient as possible. If we can help prevent just one person being lost from the Industry it will be worthwhile. By engaging with those seeking opportunity, giving them a platform to be seen by the best companies in the sector and providing learning and development opportunities, we believe that we are providing positive support to people in difficult times.”

The scheme is now live. Anyone who has been made redundant, or feels they may be at risk of losing their job, can register themselves at ceda.co.uk/cedaretain/ or contact Adam Mason for further information – adam@ceda.co.uk.

The new series of ceda Learning and Development Webinars, put together to support ceda Members during the COVID-19 crisis, is experiencing extraordinary success.

Providing an eclectic mix of topics, including ventilation and DW172, disposal and reuse services, hygiene and sanitation solutions, refrigeration, ventilation, health & safety advice, product presentations, mental health awareness in the workplace and discussions about The Future of Foodservice and Operator Confidence, the webinars are proving a hit for the ceda Membership. Since the program launched in the middle of April, the uptake has surpassed expectation with some sessions receiving in excess of 90 participants, forcing ceda to up its Zoom account capabilities.

The variation of what’s on offer has also grown. A number of ceda’s valued Partner companies have taken up the opportunity to present, and some have returned to deliver new topics and presentations. Expert speakers from across the industry have jumped at the chance to directly engage with so many eager attendees. Simon Stenning, expert market intelligence for the UK foodservice sector believes these webinars are really useful. He said, “Bringing the industry together at this time is crucial, even if through a Zoom call. I believe it really helps to share information, thoughts and ideas, and to have a platform to raise queries and get discussion flowing. There are no clear-cut answers to the challenges we all face, and so open discussions with our peers provides food for thought and inspiration.”

The topics on offer appear to be hitting the right tone. Two Health & Safety sessions are taking place each week, with an average of 30 attendees per session. This week’s webinar, dedicated to COVID-19: ‘Returning to the workplace safely’, had 50 attendees and a substantial Q&A section, all keen to understand and digest the Government guidelines and how to apply them to their own workplace.

ceda’s Director General Adam Mason is delighted with the uptake, as well as the variety of topics being covered. He said, “Since we launched our weekly webinar schedule 5 weeks ago, we have seen over 800 attendees across the 27 sessions that we have hosted and we now have up to 8 sessions every week. It’s great to see Members and Partners engaging and pleasing that we are getting the subject matter right.”

An important part of the webinar schedule is the weekly Members Connected session which allows ceda Members a platform to discuss issues, share best practice and ideas and support one another. Numbers grow week-on-week as more members look to ceda for guidance during these unusual working conditions.

Full details of the ceda Webinar program can be found on the ceda website. 

Don’t miss out on this fantastic webinar we’re hosting next week!

10am, Tuesday 5th May
Simon Stenning
The Future of Food Service: the impact on front and back of house operations in the short, medium and long terms, as a result of COVID-19

With 30+ years’ experience of working in, developing, analysing and commenting on the UK foodservice industry, Simon is acknowledged as a leading analyst of the market today, and recognised as an expert in making sense out of all the data and insight available. This deep understanding of current insight means that Simon is expertly placed to make sense of the Future.

Simon’s career has included working with hospitality and foodservice brands including Forte, Hilton, Albert Roux, Pret A Manger, and Compass Group, in a range of operational, marketing and development roles.

A move into market intelligence started with Allegra Strategies in 2007, before creating Allegra Foodservice within William Reed Business Media in 2013, and then creating and running leading market intelligence business, MCA, from 2014 to 2018.

Simon launched the Future of Foodservice 2030 report in March 2019 analysing all the key trends, macro-factors and drivers of change that will impact the industry over the long term. He now acts as a Strategic Advisor supporting client businesses with foresight from the report, across the whole spectrum of the hospitality and foodservice market.

Given the current situation with Covid-19, Simon is writing a report on ‘The Immediate Future’ covering the next 12-18 months, which will be released at the end of May 2020.

Please do share with your teams.

The attached pdf was sent to the Prime Minister on Friday and further copies sent to BEIS and the Chancellor.

A Word document version is also attached for you to amend accordingly and send to your local MP. Many of you who used the last letter got immediate responses supporting our position – let’s keep the momentum going!

If there are other points that you feel we should be requesting on behalf of our industry, please do let me know via adam@ceda.co.uk

We will keep you updated on developments.

Click here to download a copy of the letter.

Click here to download a copy of the editable Word document.

We are launching a series of Health & Safety Webinars over the coming weeks to continue the Learning, Education and Development of you and your staff at this time.

The topics listed below will take the form of a one hour, live and interactive webinar with Health & Safety Consultant Tim Knowles – all free of charge to ceda Members and Partners.

Tim has presented at ceda Conferences in the past and has worked with a number of companies in our sector.

Please contact the ceda office indicating in the subject line which topic you would like to participate in, then we will arrange accordingly and send out invitations to you.

Please share with your teams, even if furloughed, so that we can maximise uptake.

Up-coming Health & Safety Webinar topics:

• Health and Safety Law in Court – Trends In Regulation
• Practical Risk Mitigation in Catering Facilities Design
• Accident Reporting – What NOT to do
• Work at Height – Common Mistakes
• Vibration and Noise – The Basics
• Risk Assessment – The Basics
• Asbestos – A Retail Experience
• Fire Considerations In Design
• Safety Culture – How to create and maintain one
• Young People in the Workplace
• Accident Investigation – Legal Privilege
• CDM and how it affects you

Thursday 23rd April should have been Day 1 of the ceda Conference 2020, but fear not, we’ll still be providing some industry fun with the ceda Quarantine Quiz!

Hosted via Zoom by Peter Callaghan of CHR Equipment LTD, the quiz is general knowledge, not ceda related and just a bit of fun.

It’s a chance for ceda Members, Associates and Partners, and others in the industry to socialise virtually even if we can’t be together at the Conference. Extra points for black-tie but not essential!

Quiz starts at 8pm.

Email peter@chrequipment.co.uk for more info or to be added to the Zoom meeting.

We are in the process of putting together a Partners and Associates Webinar schedule for ceda Members to access and participate in.

The topics are both generic and industry specific and we are hoping to offer a variety of sessions from as many different ceda Partners and Associates as possible. Typically, this can be a 30-60 minute sales or technical training piece or a session about the business and how they are currently operating.

So far we have:

• Thurs 23rd April, 10am: Hobart UK – an overview of the current Cooking, Warewashing and Food Preparation Equipment, plus Service support available
• Weds 29th April, 10am: Liebherr – Food Service, Wine Cabinets, Food Retail & Lab Refrigeration
• Thurs 30th April, 10am: Ramco – Compliant Disposal & Reuse Equipment Service

ceda Members who would like to participate should contact the ceda office and we will issue invitations.

Remember, even members of staff who have been furloughed can take part in learning, education and development activities, so do share this email with your teams.

If you have any questions, or require any further information, do not hesitate to contact us.

We will be announcing details of new Webinars each week.

In an exclusive video interview with Clare Nicholls at Catering Insight, ceda’s Director General Adam Mason discusses how the cross-sector working group also encompassing FEA, Cedabond and ENSE is fighting the UK catering equipment industry’s corner in the face of the coronavirus crisis…