Bartel Dewulf, the top chef from Aalst who also provides culinary delights to our Red Devils, will start a new assignment for Compass Group Belgium. The Belgian branch of the eponymous British food services multinational will hire Dewulf as a culinary advisor.
In a joint announcement, Compass Group and Bartel Dewulf today announced their new collaboration. The top chef and a hand-picked team of his collaborators will provide practical advice and guidance to Compass Group.
Bart Matthijs, Managing Director of Compass Group Belgium: "We already worked and work with top chefs, especially in terms of internal training for our own chefs. This is the first time that we have entered into a wider partnership with a top chef. As a food services company, we see the catering landscape change by the day. At Compass Group in Belgium we are currently running a series of projects which will allow us to take the lead in these new market developments. We thought it appropriate to acquire extra knowledge to help us track and run these programmes. Bartel, after all, is no stranger to the world of corporate catering.”
The classic corporate canteen will look very different in the near future
In 1993, Bartel Dewulf started VTM’s company canteen as an independent contractor, as a run-up to the launch of his own catering company six years later. In 2016 he sold his stake in that company and went solo, often working as an advisor, popping up in the VTM television show “My Pop-up Restaurant”, and working as a culinary advisor for RSC Anderlecht. And of course, he is also the chef for our Red Devils.
Bartel Dewulf: “The world of corporate catering is facing some major changes in the short term. Eating patterns are changing, and so are people’s expectations about the variety of foods on offer. The classic corporate canteen will look very different in the near future. I was very surprised by Compass’ approach and by the projects they are already working on. From mad to genius. And, together with my staff, I’ll add a touch of creative craziness to that. But of course, with the benefit of the experience I already have in the field, and always with respect for the craft.”
Bart Matthijs: “Last year we acquired top caterer Gourmet Invent and started a purchasing platform for hospitality professionals, called Xandrion. We’ve also been talking to a lot of people in- and outside of our business. As a company, we’ve brought in a lot of fresh talent over the last few years and quietly worked to shape our future. As from now, we’ll start rolling out our new projects to give form and function to the corporate catering of the future.”
