Colin Talbot appointmented Catering Director at Alpha LSG

The appointment of Colin Talbot as Catering Director underpins Alpha LSG's reputation as the UK's 'go-to caterer' for many of the world's leading airlines, according to UK Sales and Marketing Director Richard Wood.

Alpha LSG currently caters seven of the world’s top ten airlines flying out of London-Heathrow and Wood says the Inflight food experience is a critical factor to enable an airline to stand out from the crowd.

“This is why so many of the world’s leading carriers have turned to the renowned culinary expertise of Alpha LSG. Colin Talbot’s appointment as our Catering Director will help us to maintain and enhance our position as the ‘go-to’ premium caterer in the UK as we put even greater focus on our culinary excellence in the future,” says Wood.

Talbot (pictured right) is based at Alpha LSG’s Premium Kitchen at Heston where he is responsible for a team of highly experienced Culinary Development Chefs led by Michelin Star Chef Kevin Love, Alpha LSG’s Head of Culinary.

Talbot says: “Our Culinary Development chefs are among the best in the business with an obsession and love for producing exceptional dishes. They are constantly pushing the boundaries to set new standards of excellence.
“The way in which the airline market is evolving at the moment, particularly at Heathrow but also across the country, means there is increasing demand for cuisine that is more premium, creative and innovative. Alpha LSG already has a superb reputation for culinary excellence and I hope that my experience and the knowledge I’ve gained from working with airline customers over many years will be invaluable to enhance and further improve the services we offer.”
Talbot joined Alpha LSG from British Airways where he was the airline’s Global Head of Catering for the past three and a half years. He worked for BA for 31 years in total, including 10 years overseas, having joined as a Graduate Operations Trainee before taking on various senior roles in operations, sales and marketing before moving across to catering. He worked for BA in Sweden, The Netherlands and France as well as the UK.

He adds: “I have greatly enjoyed the catering aspect of the airline world and was delighted when offered the opportunity to join Alpha LSG who are highly regarded as the UK’s leading inflight caterer.

Talbot is also responsible for overseeing Alpha LSG’s state-of-the-art customer suite where menu presentations are conducted with airlines, and to coordinate training and support for the UK production team of more than 120 chefs.

“Naturally a business such as this has a huge production operation and it is essential that all the chefs in the production team are constantly kept appraised on culinary developments and new catering equipment that we introduce into the kitchens,” says Talbot.
Wood adds: “Colin’s appointment underpins our commitment to our customers to be constantly pushing the culinary boundaries through creativity and innovation. Our culinary expertise is a key element of our business where we can help all the airlines we work with to make a real impact with a memorable Inflight Service for their discerning customers.”
In the 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards league table Alpha LSG caters all of the top five airlines. Singapore Airlines leads the field followed by Qatar Airways, All Nippon Airways (ANA) of Japan, Emirates and Eva Air of Taiwan. The company also caters Hainan and Garuda who are also in the top 10 and Alpha LSG provide Inflight meals to 12 of the top 25 airlines.
The Skytrax World Airline Awards are acknowledged as the world’s largest annual airline passenger satisfaction survey. The results are based on information gleaned from 24 million survey entries from travellers across the globe and covering more than 300 airlines. The Skytrax survey covered the period from August 2017 to May 2018.

About Alpha LSG Ltd
Alpha LSG Ltd was created on October 1, 2012 as a UK-only joint venture by Alpha Flight Group and LSG Sky Chefs. The business has combined revenues of more than £300 million and employs around 3,600 people who provide catering services from facilities located at 16 airports through the United Kingdom: London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Midlands, London-Stansted, Newcastle, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster, Luton, Leeds-Bradford, Aberdeen and Belfast.

For more information, please see:
www.alphalsg.co.uk

PAUL SMITH ASSOCIATES
4th February 2019