Catering for your greatest asset

Food is not only essential for life, but is also one of life’s greatest pleasures. Almost every event of significance involves catering: weddings, christenings, birthdays, Christmas and New Year’s Eve just for starters. The food can often be the most memorable parts of these occasions and the memories created by these events stick with us forever, and bind all those involved for pretty much the rest of our lives.

Given that we spend over half our waking life at work - and that without humans businesses cannot exist - why is it that we don’t at least once a week cater for our whole work force?

Why don’t we regularly bring everyone together on an otherwise dull Monday lunchtime? or celebrate the end of the week with a team lunch on Friday? Or have a breakfast club to develop camaraderie and to share understanding?

It seems such a shame that up and down the country people go off in ones and twos for lunch but don’t use the time to “break bread” with one another: something that is certain to deepen connections and build loyalty within an organisation.

It doesn’t have to be gimmicky, it doesn’t even have to be for any particular reason, but we can guarantee that if you announce that once a week, you will be catering for all your employees or colleagues, you would see an immediate uplift in energy and enthusiasm.

We know you value your staff, so try catering for them and watch what happens: see how much more fun the workplace becomes, how deeper team relationships are created and how staff loyalty increases when you celebrate your staff through food within your business.

Why healthy people always eat breakfast and do not diet

According to new research, not dieting gives your body the best chance of maintaining a healthy weight.

A study by a team at Cornell University, New York, set out to discover the habits of healthy people. To do this, they developed a Global Weight Registry online, and then surveyed a selection of healthy adults on such topics as diet, exercise, and typical daily routine.

The researchers then looked at the results across the 147 participants, enabling them to figure out the common habits of those with a healthy weight.

One of the most surprising statistics is that a whopping 96% of these healthy people never skip breakfast, a possible wake up call to those who leave it too late in the mornings.

Of those surveyed, 42% exercise at least 5 times a week, and just under three-quarters said that they either rarely dieted or never did, whilst an affirming 92% confirmed that they were “conscious of what they ate”.

Scientists then sought reasons for the participants’ healthy achievement. A total of 44% had taken on a non-restrictive strategy to keep their weight at a satisfactory level, including cooking at home and eating non-processed foods of a high quality.

Dr Brian Wansink, co-author of the study, said the most startling findings are that “most slim people don’t employ restrictive diets or intense health regimes to stay at a healthy weight. Instead, they practice healthy habits like not skipping breakfast and listening to inner cues.”

Those in offices who miss breakfast should make the most of the healthy offerings available from catering agencies within their workplaces. A solution for some of Jasper’s customers is to set up a breakfast club at work. This encourages employees to leave home early and miss the stressful morning traffic, but get the nutritious start to the day they need to be productive and full of energy. Contact your local Jasper’s for details.