Meet the team Say hello to Meat Category Manager Alan Brett-Pitt.

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ALAN BRETT-PITT

HOW DID YOU FIRST ENTER THE CATERING TRADE?

As a youngster I wanted to be a professional footballer but that didn’t work out! I was eventually convinced to consider a role in sales when an opportunity for a trainee salesman came up and that’s how my journey in the catering trade began. Within fi ve years I joined Booker – that was 25 years ago and I’ve never looked back! The meat industry is a passion for me. No other industry faces so many daily changes and challenges. No two days are the same, there’s always something new and different happening. I enjoy everything about it: the daily challenges, the changing trends and especially the people. The people in this trade are genuine, hard-working and so passionate.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

There’s no such thing as a typical day! However, most days do tend to start out the same way with a daily 8.15am call with my supply chain colleagues for a briefi ng. Meat is a short-life product so it rolls every day. A whole host of things can impact on the supply chain. That fi rst early morning call will quite often shape the rest of my day, so no two days are ever the same.

WHAT IS THE MAIN FOCUS OF ACTIVITY FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM AT THE MOMENT?

Availability, availability, availability! Covid-19 and Brexit delivered a real double-whammy of challenges and had a huge impact on the labour force globally. Trying to maintain availability has become a great hurdle but it’s one we successfully manage with an unrelenting focus and fast, effi cient action.

TELL US ABOUT BOOKER’S PROVENANCE CREDENTIALS?

At Booker the safety of our customers is paramount. Whatever we sell at Booker: it does what it says on the tin. Provenance and traceability are so important for our

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ABOUTALAN

BOOKER MEAT CATEGORY MANAGER

Alan Brett-Pitt started out in his young adult life dreaming of being a professional footballer, as so many people do. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t quite take off but after 30 years in the catering trade, the last 25 of which have been spent working for Booker, he’s certainly scored his fair share of goals and continues to win big with customers. He has worked his way up through the business over that quarter of a century and is now Meat Category Manager for Booker and uses his long experience to help and support his customers make the most of meat to drive footfall, sales and profi ts.

The premiumisation of traditionally cheaper cuts of meat is definitely one I expect to see growing in 2022.

customers and if you shop with Booker you can be confident that if you want Aberdeen Angus that is precisely what you will be sold. Equally, if you are looking for imported products for specific dishes, that is what you will be sold too. We deliver what we say and that is really, really important to us and our customers.

BOOKER’S RANGE INCLUDES OPTIONS TO SUIT ALL BUSINESS TYPES AND BUDGETS, DOESN’T IT?

We operate on a ‘good, better, best’ policy but even from our entry level products we have the best out there. Our good quality entry level range is Chefs Essential, then we have Chefs Larder in the better category and at the top end we have the best: Chefs Larder Premium and Blackgate Signature. We are so confident on our quality even on our entry level products that we offer a ‘100% Money Back Guarantee.’ I think that highlights the confidence we have in our offer.

HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN THOSE VERY HIGH STANDARDS?

We have a great team that supports us and more importantly we have great relationships with suppliers who we have worked with for many years, who know our KPIs and what we expect. It’s our brand, our product, our name: that’s what we pay for and that’s what we expect to receive.

BOOKER’S MEAT INDUSTRY EXPERTISE IS SECOND TO NONE. TELL US ABOUT THAT.

Booker is the largest catering butcher in the UK. We employ around 400 butchers and we have the largest number of Master Butchers in the UK also working for us. All Booker butchers are also qualified to Craft Butcher Standard. We have won countless awards for our training programmes, and we regularly put anywhere between 60 and 80 branch staff through our apprenticeship programme. Everything we do is also endorsed by the Company of Butchers and fully accredited. Customers will find the same high standard of qualified skilled butchers in all branches, and they can get expert advice from them on cuts, menu ideas and money-saving suggestions. I’m incredibly proud of that.

WHAT’S ALAN HEARING...

AMERICAN STYLE CUTS AND PREMIUMISATION

We are seeing a growing amount of American-style smoke houses coming up so there is a groundswell of interest in cuts that traditionally would have been more used for braising such as brisket and things like that.

That premiumisation of traditionally cheaper cuts of meat is definitely becoming an increasingly strong trend and one I expect to see growing in 2022.

When it comes to meat, don’t penny pinch, especially with products such as steak. Booker has a good, better, best proposition to suit all business types and budgets from our good-quality entrylevel range Chefs Essential, to Chefs Larder, Chefs Larder Premium and BlackGate.

Our branch butchers are all qualified to Craft Butcher Standard and have a wealth of knowledge about products, trends and recipes – talk to them to help drive positive changes in your business.