Behind The Scenes - Le Marché and The Coronation

Want to know how Le Marché helps to feed The Coronation? ”A huge amount of our work is in the zone that is being blocked off,” explains Marcus Rowlerson, Managing Director. This means chefs cannot get restocked at the weekend, which in turn means all the extra orders and deliveries must be compressed into the week before.

“There is a good month of planning that goes into this,” adds Marcus. “I’m asking the team to step up and they are all up for it. I’m really proud of them. We just want to be part of it.”

From left: Transport Manager Kevin Dodds, Buyer Robert King, Warehouse Manager Robert Fry and Buyer Darren Farragher.

Organising the deliveries on the Friday before the event will involve some complex planning. “It’s going to be difficult but everyone likes a challenge,” says Transport Manager Kevin Doods. “We always flourish under pressure.”

For example, he is organising extra rotas so that the team can “double van” - making twice the normal runs on the key routes into central London. Some customers will receive a whole van load of produce to fill the gap. Kevin states: “Normally the same van might do 13 or 14 deliveries.“

For Buyer Darren Farragher, there is huge demand for produce such as berries and asparagus. “Lots of strawberries and cream,” says Darren. “Asparagus is a daily buy. Our customers have a very precise spec.”

Paul Ryan, Operations Directors, concludes: “We’re excited for the extra business and trying to feed the celebrations. It’s a one-off event. It’s rare and it’s exciting.”