Freemans Event Partners continues culinary expansion with two high-level hires

Freemans Event Partners has strengthened its catering division with the appointment of Mark Bodley as Head of Catering and Lee Nicholls as Menu Development Manager.

The duo brings a wealth of experience in hospitality, contract catering and catering logistics. They join the Gloucester-based event specialists following a hugely successful 2022.

Mark’s experience across the hospitality and events landscape is hugely varied, having worked in fine dining and Michelin Star restaurants, contract catering and as an independent hospitality consultant and event manager. Mark was also involved with Team GB at their national sports centres, developing menus for the nation’s athletes around the Tokyo Olympics. Mark is a regular on food experts group panels that input on legislation around food safety, food hygiene, allergens, acrylamide, food enforcement and compliance issues. In his spare time, he also runs pop-up restaurant that focus on bringing fine dining into less accessible communities.

Mark’s remit as Head of Catering will see him work on diversifying the culinary offering within Freemans Event Partners as well as developing the value proposition around employee catering at events, ensuring that levels of customer experience are exceptional across the board and that products and practices are in keeping with the businesses’ sustainability goals.

Lee’s experience as a former serviceman spans over 20 years working as NATO’s senior global catering deployment manager and direct food safety advisor. During his time in the military, Lee also acted as a mentor for the combined services culinary arts team, assisting with the training and development of young talent within the Armed Forces.

As Menu Development Manager, Lee will focus on creating bespoke menus for Freemans Event Partners’ wide-ranging portfolio of clients, matching the spectator demographic. Lee’s remit will also cover how the business can further develop provenance and sustainability practices, by building out menus using suppliers and produce local to any given event.

Speaking of these appointments, Stephen Freeman; Chief Executive Officer at Freemans Event Partners, says: “Mark and Lee have a wealth of experience both across hospitality and within high volume catering environments.

“What they can bring to the business to enhance our culinary offering, is hugely exciting as it will lead to an even better visitor experience for our clients and their customers.

“Beyond their roles, each will be given the scope to explore different focuses and passions. Lee will be using his military background to explore how veterans can be supported in corporate catering roles, post-military. Mark will establish how we can approach recruitment on a far more hyper-local level, ensuring our operations are more strategic and greener.”

ENDS

Editor Contacts

Simon Boddy: Simon@ambitiouspr.co.uk

Freemans Event Partners is a family-owned business, established in 1975 by Stephen Freeman Senior. The company has grown from a single fish and chips outlet at Silverstone to now operating across a wide range of iconic events and venues, from sporting events and tournaments to music festivals and immersive experiences.

Freemans Event Partners provides a multi-service offering bespoke to each event and venue. From building food and beverage villages to deploying payment solutions and brand activations, covering every aspect of the event delivery to enhance the customer’s experience.

Over the past 45 years, the business has grown to reach over 15 million people at more than 400 events each year across the UK and Europe