Medal winning performance for global caterer GIG at Baku 2017

Global Infusion Group (GIG) has successfully crossed the finish line at the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku 2017, having overseen the catering for more than 3,400 athletes from 53 countries across the two-week sporting event.

GIG partnered with Azerbaijani company Fresh Catering MMC for the latest high profile sporting event, after GIG’s huge success at the London 2012 and Rio Olympic Games.

It was the second-time GIG and Fresh Catering worked together following a successful partnership for the 2015 European Games, where they ensured delivery of meals for several of the large stadiums.

The 2017 challenge was to manage the entire food and beverage operation for the Games, in Baku, Azerbaijan, from May 12 — 22. This multinational, multi-sport event required menus to be built around the varying athletes needs and home tastes, including Asian, Middle Eastern and African cuisines, as well as those of the event’s workforce.

Seventeen members of the GIG team were seconded to the project, resulting in more than 180,000 meals being served across the athletes’ village and 16 competition venues around Baku, in Azerbaijan.

GIG was able to source 70% of its produce locally — including seven tonnes of lamb, five tonnes of beef and four tonnes of fish - as well as employing and training 535 local people to work as chefs, service staff and back of house.

Bonnie May, GIG’s Global Operations Director, said: “Our performance at the Games has underpinned our growing reputation for providing high quality catering for huge numbers of competitors and support staff at major international sporting events. To manage the highly complex logistics involved in the process, the GIG team spent many weeks in Baku ahead of the Games meticulously planning the catering and staffing requirements, working alongside our colleagues at Fresh.”

David Mories, Senior Manager of the Azerbaijan Islamic Solidarity Games Operations Committee, thanked the GIG team and support staff. He said: “You played a significant part in the delivery of the catering services, and your team were immense. Putting in long hours, lots of last minute changes were dealt with professionally and the work ethic was well received by myself and my team. I wish you all the best for future events.”

GIG also took on a full audit of food safety across the supply chain, training staff to Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 Food Safety standards.
The success of their consultancy and support of Fresh has led to them being appointed to project manage their Formula 1 contract to deliver in excess of 100,000 meals for the grand prix at Baku City Circuit later this month.

About Global Infusion Group
Originally launched in 1984 as Eat to the Beat – an artist, production and crew catering business specialising in backstage catering services for music, entertainment, film and TV industries – the company has catered many of the biggest names in the entertainment world.Eat to the Beat provides backstage catering support for international tours, major festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading, concert venues and TV and film locations. Additional divisions were added to the Eat to the Beat brand as the business evolved and diversified and now includes a bespoke corporate & private party planning, catering and event design division (GIG…fyi)since 1988; global sport and automotive event catering (GIG SPORT) since 2002 and a logistics and brand support division to promote predominantly food and drink products (e2B Logistics) since 1997. All divisions trade under the umbrella of Global Infusion Group which has its UK headquarters in Chesham, Bucks. The company has catered functions at iconic locations such as Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street to the Great Wall of China and the more remote; the Ice Fields of Inner Mongolia. GIG were also on site providing catering at London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.GIG has established international offices in California, United States, Qatar, Middle East and Shanghai, China catering across Asia and the Far East. It is soon to open a branch in Brazil to service the South American market. The group employs around 170 full-time staff world-wide supported by up to 3,000 freelance professional specialists to support the hundreds of global events and functions it works at each year.

For more information, please see:
www.globalinfusiongroup.com

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
14th June 2017