Gordon Rigby
GORDON RIGBY of CEC-CATERING
When did you start your business & what prompted you to do it?
On leaving school, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, according to my Dad, sitting around doing nothing until I figured it out wasn’t an option, so I applied for jobs within Financial Services, ended up securing a position as a Bank Clerk with RBS. After two years, I decided to change path and went to Napier University to study accountancy. On graduating, I took a summer job with a small accountancy firm whose main client was Cost Effective Catering…I ended up being taken on by CEC-Catering full time as their Financial Controller after about 4 weeks work and 23 years later ended up buying the business from the original retiring Owner/Director’s with my business partner Chris Davidson.
When did you start your business & what prompted you to do it?
In 2007, I went part time with CEC-Catering and took on a management accounting franchise, 80:20 Financial Management. I remained as Financial Controller with CEC-Catering,but built up a business with approx. 30 clients. It gave me a good work/life balance and I enjoyed working with lots of different businesses. When the original owners of CEC decided to retire in 2018, I decided that CEC-Catering, which was founded in 1989, was worth taking a chance on and enlisted Chris Davidson, who had been a client of my accountancy business until he sold his business, Haggis Hostels to join me. Chris started out as a Chef, so he could cover the food service side of the business whilst I could look after everything else. In 2021, I sold my accountancy business to a former employee to concentrate full time on CEC-Catering.
What have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced to date?
There have been a couple of big challenges. When we took over CEC-Catering, we wanted to move away from purely being a Contract Caterer, providing managed catering services to businesses, like staff restaurants and expand into other aspects, such as outside catering, events and the ultimate goal was to have a Café/Restaurant as part of our portfolio, where we could showcase what we can do. It is easy to want to do this, harder to actually get the opportunities. We managed to find a couple of opportunities to move us in this direction, taking over www.cafealbacatering.com in Livingston, becoming a nominated caterer at venues used for weddings and events and then winning the tender to create and run www.thegardenbistro.co.uk in the redeveloped Saughton Park in Edinburgh. We won the tender in March 2019, catered for Princess Anne performing the Grand Opening in June 2019 via marquees whilst we waited on the keys to the building so we could install the kitchen and servery counter that Chris had planned & designed. We finally received the keys on 2nd February 2020, started work the next day, took 7 weeks to build, organised our Grand Opening party for 26th March 2020 and all was going fine until Covid came along…
How did you overcome them?
Covid affected all aspects of the business in different ways, thankfully the decision we made to diversify away from contract catering now seems inspired, it is a very different environment in the workplace now compared to where it was pre-pandemic, the contracts we operate have all looked for changes to service specifications and it has been challenging to get them back up to the level they once were, more and more employees are returning to offices but not on the same patterns as before. We have now started to provide catering and bars at the wedding venue we operate from, 2 years after we thought we would, but www.thegardenbistro.co.uk has been key to our success. We were fortunate to be situated in a 34-acre park, with a takeaway window, with outdoor seating and also being fully licensed. This allowed us to get trading in June 2020, which now seems a lifetime ago!
What would you do differently now looking back?
I guess the main difference would be in the design of the Garden Bistro…it was designed with one style of service in mind, however, this needed to be adapted throughout the pandemic to meet with legislation and whilst we now have created something we are very proud of, we have a long servery counter which was going to be used for a self service style service, which will never now be used that way…cost a lot of money for the counter, but you need to be adaptable.
What or who has helped you to grow your business the most?
It has been very much a team effort to get us to where we are today, we are lucky to have employed and engaged with some very good people to help create the vision of what we wanted. To be honest, the biggest thing we had over the last few years was a positive mindset, it was tough, but it was also an opportunity to come through the other side of the pandemic in a stronger position than when we entered it.
What achievement are you most proud of?
Without doubt, what we have created at www.thegardenbistro.co.uk and the doors and opportunities it has opened and created for us on the back of it.
What are the future plans for your business?
To continue to grow and to look for the right opportunities to do this. We are excited to be opening a new contract catering operation towards the end of June, we are receiving more and more enquiries for events and outside catering and getting to deal with some new and great businesses in Edinburgh.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to set up their own business?
To go for it, be aware that it is not easy, it isn’t Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, but the rewards, not just financially of creating and growing something is very special. Work with good people. Listen to what they say, be open to their ideas…but have belief in what you want to do.
Tell us something about you that isn’t commonly known.
I’ve spent 34 years of my life being educated or working on Queensferry Road, Edinburgh…
And finally, why did you join WeDO?
I have been aware of WeDO for many years, I like what it stands for and how it supports its members and having once again had it recommended to me, decided the time is right to join.
About CEC-Catering
CEC-Catering is a trusted, reputable and well established catering company with 30 years experience in hospitality.
CEC Catering use innovative technique in tandem with traditional values to deliver a high level of quality and service that you can trust. Click on the logo below to find out more.
If you’re interested in finding out more about WeDO Scotland membership, click HERE.
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