Whenever there is a big awards presentation there will always be winners and losers, and very often there is little in the way of explanation as to why some people win and others don’t.

In a wider sense, of course, all finalists are winners by virtue of the fact that they have made it to the final event and can celebrate their success and the success of their peers in the rarified atmosphere of a gala dinner.

The club mirror Awards are no exception to the rule and there are a lot of clubs who come back year after year as finalists. For some, being a finalist is as far as it goes, while for others it is just the beginning.

The National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull in the West Midlands was the venue for this year’s knees up and in a way it was spookily relevant for this year’s winner of the Catering Club of the Year category. Relevant is probably the wrong word, convenient is more appropriate as Peter Hunt and his team from the King’s Heath Cricket and Sports Club are literally down the road in one of Brum’s suburbs.

For Peter Hunt, the club mirror Awards 2001 marked a memorable and victorious moment in his career. As he and his team filed into the main ballroom for dinner they had little idea what was waiting for them as the evening progressed.

Peter Hunt Club & Catering Manager

Peter told me afterwards that it came out of the blue and that he was not expecting it; he thought he might win Promotion of the Year for his Australian food theme night back in April this year. And why not? It was easily one of the best theme nights I had attended and I edited Pub Food magazine for six years, a magazine serving an industry where theme nights are common place.

But no, it was not to be; that title went to Sheffield University Student Union and, much to Peter Hunt’s surprise, he took Catering Club of the Year for the third time, beating last year’s winner, Walsall Football Club, the Vauxhall Recreation Club and the Rochdale Masonic Buildings in Rochdale, Lancashire.

It was an interesting year for the carting category as all four finalists, except for Vauxhall Recreation Club, had won the title before and any one of them could win it again. It goes without saying that all four clubs were excellent.

As a judge of the catering category, I have to visit all the finalists and sample the food as well as conduct a brief interview for club mirror to keep the readers informed about the finalists concerned. I suppose the only real ‘loose cannon’ this year was Vauxhall – recently profiled in club mirror– simply because it was an unknown quantity.
But Peter Hunt shone through for the third time and no doubt will want to know why. It is important to point out that the catering club category is judged by a panel of people. One judge – yours truly – visits each club, eats the food and conducts an informal interview with the contestant and the others, armed with clubs entry material, then assess all the finalists on their merits and grill the on-site judge for his or her views and observations.

So why did Kings Heath win again? For me, the clubs success can be put down to one word: innovation. Well, make those two words: constant innovation. In fact, you’d better add a few more words. How about ‘high quality, imaginative food’ and ‘friendly and efficient service’?

While a lot of catering clubs rely predominantly on attracting functions in the shape of official luncheons, annual dinners, weddings and funerals – and there’s nowt wrong with that, by the way – King’s Heath tends to operate in a similar fashion to a community pub, and, therefore, has to innovate constantly to keep its members attention.

Traditional function catering represents ‘good business’ for King’s Heath too and ranges from simple buffets to full-blown four-course meals.
But don’t forget, this is a sports club first and foremost and while there is a social membership (for those who prefer to socialise rather than compete in the numerous sports offered by King’s Heath) a lot of people probably turn up to compete in a cricket match or a game of bowls or a hockey tournament and then go home and watch the telly.

It’s Peter’s job to inspire these people to eat, drink and be merry and, judging by the amount of people doing just that whenever I pop my head around the door, he is succeeding.

Imaginative
Whereas other clubs promote their facilities to all corners and then hope and pray that the local steel works might use them for its annual Christmas party, King’s Heath is very much an impulse purchase based on whether Peter and his team are being imaginative enough with both the food offering and the party ideas.
The impulsive nature of the club means that King’s Heath is not static. It operates in the here and now which puts added stress on all concerned.

While it is a club and not a pub, members can walk in off the street in the same way that anyone can walk into a pub. This year, my judging schedule, combined with other travel-related business, meant that I judged three of the four finalists over a weekend. I remember thinking that if push came to shove, at least with King’s Heath I could, if desperate, simply walk in off the street and order a meal. I didn’t have to in the end as Peter was around, but this does illustrate the impulse purchase element of the business.

Marketing
Members who do walk in off the street will find promotional material on the tables advertising forthcoming events. A lot of the events are food-related. There are, for instance, 10 Diners Clubs in a year which focus on a particular type of food be it Caribbean, Indian, Chinese, Thai or Cajun, plus theme nights like the recent Australian food theme event which was outrageously successful and tremendous fun in the bargain.

Events like theses are advertised to members inside the club and this is where Peter and his team have to be innovative – if they’re not they won’t attract business; it’s as simple as that.

King’s Heath is a three-pronged business: the impulse purchase events like the Australian food theme nights; function business (such as weddings and christenings at weekends); and official sports club business (team lunches and dinners).
In addition to good marketing, imagination and innovation, another key to the club’s success is the quality of the food. King’s Heath relies predominantly on home-made food but does buy in ice-cream, desserts, chilled chips and chicken nuggets. The small blackboard just inside the door and to the left of the lounge bar offers little warning of the culinary treats in store for hungry members, but once they have tasted the food, experienced the quality and, or course, the presentation, then they know what to expect next time.

A recent £40,000 kitchen refurbishment has made life a lot easier for King’s Heath’s chefs and a dramatic refurbishment of the main function suite has improved the experience tenfold for members attending functions.

And now, with the 2001 club mirror Awards behind him, no doubt Peter and his team at King’s Heath are considering how to win for a fourth time in the 2002 Awards – which are under 12 months away.