Catering for Success

After seven years away, Roy Duncan returned to the catering industry with a resurrected enthusiasm and more than a hint of familiarity. In fact, this proved to be the inspiration behind the naming of his Aberdeen based sandwich bar, DEJAVU, which opened in September last year. In half a year DEJAVU has built up a healthy group of loyal customers and secured several major catering contracts thanks to the high quality of fare on offer and Roy's passion for and commitment to the enterprise.

The former head chef of many of Aberdeen's top hotels explains the inspiration behind his return to catering: "After spending most of the eighties and nineties in the catering industry, I worked in the care sector for seven years. It was during this time that I became disillusioned at the poor quality of sandwich bars in Aberdeen. To put it bluntly, I was shocked that some sandwich bars had the cheek to serve sandwiches made with ready-made fillings that had been bought in bulk and served from a tub. I felt that I could offer something that Aberdeen didn't have - something slightly more 21^st Century. The sandwich fillings at DEJAVU are made from healthy, natural ingredients, with freshly marinated meats and served in baguettes baked daily."

Today things are flourishing for DEJAVU – thanks to Roy adopting an unusual approach to marketing. "When I initially had the idea for DEJAVU, the first thing I did was visit as many city centre offices as possible to ask if my concept of a healthier, quality alternative to the usual sandwich bars was something that interested them. The feedback was excellent and I am happy to say that those I spoke to were true to their word. From this, I managed to secure a number of corporate contracts with local businesses to provide catering for meetings and training events."

It is not only the people of Aberdeen that share Roy's enthusiasm for healthier, tastier fare. DEJAVU's promotion of healthy eating has been recognised by the Scottish Executive and Scottish Consumer Council's Healthy Living Awards scheme.

"A friend suggested to me that the Healthy Living Awards recognised the promotion and serving of healthier foods – which is obviously one of the things I am striving to achieve with DEJAVU. I investigated the scheme, contacted them and have now received the award. I must say that we are in quite an exclusive group of only nine public eateries that have been awarded so far, and one of only two in Aberdeen."

If things are running smoothly for Roy now, the business start-up was a little rougher, so Roy sought the help of the Business Gateway service, delivered by Enterprise North East Trust (ENET).

"This was my first foray into running a business and in the early days there were two or three times that I felt down with worry and stress. I had approached the Business Gateway service for assistance and was allocated an advisor, Adam Watson. The help offered by Adam was invaluable, I have nothing but praise for him. When I was low, and felt like giving up on the enterprise, Adam dragged me back up, and gave me the focus and encouragement that I needed.

"While there were courses available to me, most of my work with Business Gateway was on a one-on-one basis with Adam. This included my business plan – which had to be completed at rather short notice. When I initially tried to source premises, I tried to find somewhere that I could get the first three months rent-free. I was surprised to manage to do this straight away, so quickly in fact, that I had not yet completed the business plan!

"Unsurprisingly, writing a business plan was not something that I had completed before but with Adam's help I managed to create a rock solid plan. There were times that I would think that I was finished and send it through to Adam, who would return what looked like a schoolboy's not-quite-up-to-scratch homework, covered in red crosses and suggestions. I thought there was no pleasing him, but when the plan eventually came back with no crosses, I knew that it was strong. My thoughts were confirmed when I brought my business plan to the Royal Bank of Scotland to apply for a business account with an overdraft. I expected my application to be passed to the Edinburgh office for approval, instead it was approved instantly."

A view that was shared by Adam: "I recognised the potential in Roy's idea from the moment he told me his plans. I told him that if he could bring to fruition what he had just told me, then he would succeed with his enterprise. It was not all easy going, and I'm sure that there were times that Roy felt I was driving him too hard, but we got there and I'm just as proud as Roy at how things are going for DEJAVU now."

A fantastic start for DEJAVU then may not have come as a surprise for everyone. Roy tasted success and found his way to the top the first time round. Fired on by a passion, and with the help of Business Gateway, he was always a dead cert to succeed the second time round too.

DEJAVU sandwich bar is located on Rose Street in Aberdeen; it offers a healthy and quality lunch alternative to take away or sit in. It also provides an outside catering service. For more information telephone 01224 624488.

The Business Gateway service in Grampian is delivered by Enterprise North East Trust. For more information telephone 01224 289725 or visit www.bgateway.com.

ENDS

For further information, contact:

John McIntosh
Tricker PR
Office 01224 646491
Mobile 07780 680751