Amadeus’ events team have just finished catering for their last major event of the year – the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Liz Mallinson, Logistics and Planning Manager, talks us through Amadeus’ role in the world-renowned event.
We work with the organisers to try and source the very best local food – and by local we mean absolutely on the doorstep.Liz Mallinson, Logistics and Planning Manager
What does the team do every year to prepare for the event?
The Alfred Dunhill Links is like no other golf tournament. We arrange for 47 staff to work at the event – nine flown from Birmingham and accommodated in St Andrews, the rest recruited locally. We also train the staff, work with food and safety support to ensure we are sourcing and serving safe food. We also work with organisers to plan electrical, power, water and waste requirements, work with Amadeus finance to create a full forecast and post event accounts, organise mobile catering units to feed the public at all three golf courses.
How many years has Amadeus catered for the event?
Since 1997!
Who does Amadeus cater for at the event?
Players are the main stakeholders for us– we serve lots of different options at a variety of points across the courses to keep them fueled up! We also provide a three-course plated lunch for the media, we serve deliver over 1,000 picnic bags to marshals and volunteers, and provide catering for the TV crews.
What type of food was on the menu/s?
Players can choose from a selection of sliders, mini burgers, hot pots including chicken tikka masala and chillis, chunky soups, sandwiches, and an array of cakes, bags of sweets made just up the road in the town. The media had a more traditional hearty lunch, homemade soups, a substantial main course and traditional hot autumn desserts – sticky toffee pudding or crumble
Where was the food sourced from?
We work with the organisers to try and source the very best local food – and by local we mean absolutely on the doorstep. Our main supplier is Balgove Larder, less than a mile from the Old Course. These guys rear the cows that become our burgers, grow the vegetables that become our soup and bake the shortbread we serve. Our other key supplier is a Fife baker called Fisher and Donaldson – their fudge doughnut is such cult confectionery they have their own Facebook page, devoted blog entries, and a place on the menu of some Burns’ Suppers (as a traditional dessert)! We serve a mini version of their doughnut in the players’ catering areas and they go down a treat.
What are the biggest challenges of the event?
The biggest challenge is coordinating over three golf courses 50 miles apart. We need to make sure service and delivery is seamless so that wherever the players are they get the same experience. That’s complicated by the fact that the outlets are in the middle of the course and some have tricky vehicle access – golf buggy is the best form of transport which is not ideal to move food and staff around!
