Five Wins For Elior At The Contract Catering Awards Including CSR And Lifetime Achievement Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award  awarded to Julia Edmonds, corporate business development director for Elior Leading contract caterer, Elior, was thrilled to win the CSR award and that four of its employees were recognised at the Contract Catering Awards, including the winner of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

The annual Contract Catering Awards, formerly the FSM awards, recognises outstanding individuals who have made a significant contribution to the industry – the exceptional talent of the contract catering world. The awards are judged by peers and the winners received their awards at a dinner at the Leonardo Royal Hotel, Tower Bridge in London, on 29th March 2022.

Elior and its employees received the following awards:

  • CSR – Elior
  • Lifetime Achievement – Julia Edmonds, corporate business development director
  • B&I – Alan Fordred, general manager, Lexington Catering
  • Education – Michelle Perry, catering manager, Taylor Shaw
  • People Development – Wendy Elliott, learning & development manager

The CSR award is testament to how Elior is encompassing social, economic, environmental and sustainability factors across all its business and ensuring that its initiatives are backed by measurable data and results.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Julia Edmonds, previously sales and marketing director and then managing director of Lexington and recently appointed as corporate business development director for Elior.



Alan Fordred and Michelle Perry were recognised for their contributions to the B&I and education sectors respectively. As general manager at Schroders, Alan has overseen the move to new premises and was pivotal in the re-development of its catering proposition. During the pandemic Alan was on site every day and introduced innovative and successful initiatives to support employees at work and home, boost hospitality sales and drive CSR activity.

Michelle Perry, catering manager at Wren Academy Trust in Finchley, has been instrumental in providing nutritious meals to 1,400 children for many years. During lockdown, she and one other member of her team continued to operate a service to support 50 children of key workers and provided food for NHS workers and the Police Force. She is a key part of the Academy’s team who listens to the children, parents and staff to ensure that they are receiving an excellent service.

Wendy Elliott was recognised for the impressive progress she has made in developing a perfect team. Wendy created a new learning and development strategy and a range of initiatives including a coaching and mentoring programme for senior managers, and the launch of the learning experience platform, Thrive@elior which have helped to create an engaged and supported workforce.

Catherine Roe, CEO of Elior, said: “This is an outstanding achievement to have won five awards in recognition of the achievements of Elior and specific colleagues across so many fields. It highlights the positive impact made by some exceptional colleagues as well as our commitment to CSR. I was especially delighted that Julia Edmonds was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award – a well-deserved accolade for her commitment and contribution to the industry over the last 30 years.

“People development and CSR are critical aspects of how we do business and we strive to excel in these areas. Congratulations to all our winners who are making such a difference where they operate.”