The space includes a kitchen, BBQ area, culinary library and a breakout area for customers.
The Lounge, which is a similar size to a hotel kitchen, is to be used by the company for food innovation and development. This will include innovation across the spectrum of the Moy Park customer base, which encompasses sectors such as retail and foodservice.
Products tested in the facility include primary added-value, coated chicken and snacking. The customer area will allow the company to hold innovation sessions with customers and showcase the creativity of its team and pipeline work.
Culinary Academy
The opening comes as Moy Park launches its latest ‘Culinary Academy’, a training programme aimed at upskilling both its food innovation team and the wider business.
The learning and development scheme, which is now approaching its second year, includes a series of interactive workshops and learning sessions designed to foster a culture of culinary knowledge and innovation across the company. Workshops include training on butchery techniques, training the taste buds, growing benchmarking skills and reviewing the latest on-trend flavour combinations, which will then be brought to life in product development.
“Moy Park has a dynamic and creative product development team, and, as a leading food business, we want to ensure we’re fostering a culture of food innovation right across the business,” said Moy Park’s head of culinary Aaron Dixon.
“We’re pleased to unveil our new Food Lounge, which will be the culinary centre at Grantham. We look forward to rolling out our Culinary Academy sessions across the business, which will help team members not only as they interact with customers, but as they shop and cook meals in their daily lives.”
In September, Moy Park reported operating profit up 10% in the 12 months to 31 December 2018 on sales up 8% to £1.5bn.
