High end catering firm Company of Cooks has extended its contract with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) with a new multi-million-pound deal at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey.
Worth £70m in turnover, the new contract will run for 10 years and will commence on the 1 January 2013. It will see joint investment in the redevelopment of all its restaurant and cafes at the RHS flagship garden which attracts around a million visitors each year. The venue will now also host tasting sessions, cookery and preserving workshops and events, with all dining and associated activities presented under the ‘Taste of Wisley’ banner.
Company of Cooks and RHS will each invest in excess of £1m over the next five to six years in the redevelopment programme. Part of this investment will see both company’s transform the existing conservatory café into a new British food hall and create a new café at the entrance to the garden that will sell on-site baked goods, seasonal produce and plants. New outdoor facilities will also in installed and set neat the fruit and vegetable gardens and feature a menu pairing grills with Wisley produce, the Tasting Room will be a brand new purpose-built restaurant, featuring more unusual ingredients such as edible flowers, roots, stems and leaves.
Claire Clark, former head pastry chef at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in California and culinary director at Company of Cooks, will lead a team of cooks to develop menus inspired by the seasons and RHS Garden Wisley’s growing calendar.