Addressing new sanitary challenges in corporate restaurants

Ensuring that employees in companies are served their meals in optimal sanitary conditions is essential for contract catering players, in order to preserve the continuity of economic activity in certain sectors.

The national protocol for companies now provides for the following:

• The provision of packed lunches, particularly for employees who can lunch alone in their office or in a space fitted out in compliance with sanitary rules, as specified in the decree of February 13, 2021.
• When recourse to packed lunches is not possible, employees must lunch on their own, leave an empty place in front of them and strictly respect the two-meter distancing rule between each person.
• Corporate canteens must continue to set up time slots so as to limit as much as possible the number of people present at the same time.

Elior teams are reinforcing sanitary measures designed to protect Group staff members and company employees eating lunch in the canteen, notably by:
 

• Adapting dining time slots and implementing a staggered service system to reduce the number of guests present at any given moment.
• Implementing Time Chef My Presence to smooth diner flows and ensure control of the number of canteen guests present at the same time
• Reorganizing catering areas in order to respect barrier gestures in particular the one-meter distancing rule between all persons in all situations: queues, check out, etc.
• Arranging chairs so as to prevent guests from sitting opposite each other and to ensure strict compliance with the two-meter distancing rule if there is no fixed or removable wall to provide physical separation.
• Maximum gauge of one person per 8m2.
• Adapting diner-flow plans to prevent guests from crossing paths: floor markings, separate entry and exit points if possible.
• Providing hydroalcoholic gel at canteen entrance and check-out
• Removing all objects that could be touched by several consumers (cutlery containers, salt and pepper shakers, water jugs, etc.) as well as bulk food offers (salad bar, food baskets, etc.).
• Ensuring that catering staff prepare trays before-hand with cutlery and bread.
• Providing a pre-prepared packed lunch offer which gives menu information and promotes the implementation of an early reservation system.
• Ventilating enclosed areas while ensuring that air flows are not directed towards guests.
• Disinfecting floors at least once a day, and surfaces the most frequently touched by people at regular intervals with a virucidal disinfectant. 

In France, Elior drew up a prevention guide specific to COVID19 with the collaboration of Doctor François-Henri Bolnot, who is a veterinary doctor and doctor in microbiology, as well as a professor of food safety. The content of this guide has also been validated by the occupational doctor.

Thanks to an increase in innovations developed in corporate catering in recent months, Elior teams have demonstrated their high level of responsiveness in dealing with changes in sanitary protocols, which have become even more stringent over the past week. In addition, to respect barrier gestures and social distancing, Elior has developed several quality take-out catering solutions, such as packed lunches, which are enjoying considerable success and becoming increasingly more popular.

Elior has also introduced several solutions enabling guests to enjoy a tasty lunch break, while complying strictly with sanitary measures. For example, with Chefs & Go A Dispo, employees can order their meal online, and either pick it up at a chosen time or have it delivered directly to their office. In addition, the 2.0 Chefs & Go Illico au Frigo and Petite Brigade solutions give employees access to a connected fridge where they can pick up fresh, seasonal dishes.