20 years and counting...

April 1999 holds quite a special moment in time for me as it was the beginning of my journey as a foodservice consultant. After years of hard graft at the hospitality management 'coal face', and a revisit back to University to complete an MA, I applied for a position of Research Manager with @JonathanDoughty the then Managing Director of Coverpoint.

Putting 2 decades into context, The Matrix (yes the original) had just been released, Eminem's 'My Name Is' had just entered the charts at number 2, the Trafford Centre in Manchester had been trading for 6 months and Bluewater a mere 3 weeks! Google was in its first year of existence and my beloved Leeds United were on course to finish 4th in the Premiership! Yes, that's how long ago 20 years was!

The foodservice landscape was very different back in the late 20th Century - Starbucks was a new kid on the block in the UK, gourmet burgers were but a pipe dream and Street Food was epitomised by a late night Doner Kebab from a dubious roadside van. Even Jamie Oliver was a fresh face on the TV with his first series of the Naked Chef!

Fast forward 20 years, and multiple 100's of projects, flights, client meetings, restaurant openings, conferences and events later, how the landscape has changed - all for the better. I look back at the projects my colleagues and I have completed with a huge amount of pride, championing the benefits of great foodservice, sourcing the 'local heroes', creating the strategies and seeing the finished products.

To all my colleagues and clients, past, present and future at Coverpoint and, for the last 4 years here at JLL, here's to the next 20 (ish) years - really looking forward to shaping the next iterations of the global foodservice landscape!