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Advisory for clients in the public and private sector

Procurement of Catering and Food Services
expertly prepared

We relieve your specialist department of the preparatory burden, prevent the typical pitfalls in the specification document, and bring sound market knowledge to your procurement.

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What makes a sound catering tender — and what can go wrong

When commissioning food services, quality issues become apparent quickly and visibly: acceptance of meals among pupils, employees or patients declines, dietary requirements are not reliably met, menus become repetitive over the course of the contract, mandated organic content remains formal on paper. Such problems are rarely accidental — they almost always have their root in the tender.

On top of this: the procurement procedure itself must be structured and documented — from needs analysis through specification to bid evaluation and award decision. Each of these phases ties up capacity in the procurement department and the building management, which still has to handle day-to-day business in parallel.

All of this can be avoided.

Three reasons why we are commissioned

01

Relieving the specialist department

Preparing a catering and food services tender — including needs analysis, definition of the supply model, bill of quantities, menu and dietary requirement schedule, suitability and quality requirements as well as procurement documentation — typically requires several hundred hours of specialist capacity. We take on this preparatory work in modular form, tailored to your needs. The decisions remain with you; we handle the demanding detail work.

02

Quality assurance in the specification

The most common problems during ongoing catering contracts — declining acceptance among diners, repetitive menus, unreliable adherence to dietary requirements, incomplete allergen labelling, disputes over volume calculations and meal returns — do not arise at contract signing, but later, because the specification had gaps or the quality requirements were drafted too generically. Our specifications are structured so that it is clear which meals must be offered in which quality at which frequency, how menu variety and organic content are anchored as binding requirements, and how poor performance is sanctioned. We close these gaps consistently, because we know them from many procedures.

03

Market knowledge and pricing insight

For years we have been supporting tenders in building services, and we understand how caterers price their bids: which food cost and personnel ratios are realistic, where organic content, regionality and fresh produce are correctly priced, which volume fluctuations are calculably manageable, which bidder calculations are sustainable and which fail in operations. We bring this knowledge into the bid evaluation — without recommendations for or against individual bidders, but with a technical assessment of which bids are sustainable.

Our services — modular and individually bookable

You decide which part of the process you keep in-house and where you bring us in. The following modules can be commissioned individually or in combination.

01

Needs analysis and concept development

Systematic recording of the supply situation: how many diners in which target group (school, nursery, mensa, agency canteen, care home/hospital), what supply times, what structural and technical conditions are in place. Definition of the appropriate supply model (in-house production, hot delivery, cook & chill, external operation). Assessment of the existing food service situation and identification of optimisation potential.

02

Specification and bill of quantities

Preparation of a differentiated specification with a clear separation of midday catering (main meal, variety of components, dietary requirements), breakfast and snack catering (nursery, school, care), special-occasion catering (events, conferences, special functions) as well as vending and kiosk operations (where applicable). The bill of quantities is structured so that bidders submit comparable price calculations — including food costs, staff hours, equipment and crockery use.

03

Procurement documents and procedure support

Support in compiling the complete procurement documentation, technical input on the development of suitability and award criteria as well as the evaluation matrix. Technical support of the procedure through to the award decision — including communication with bidders, bid evaluation and technical assessment. In catering, particular attention is paid to qualitative award criteria: menu concepts, organic-content concepts, allergen management and hygiene concepts cannot be evaluated on price alone.

04

Contract input with quality assurance mechanisms

Technical input to the contract document — so that topics such as binding menu plans, dietary requirement guarantees, organic and regionality quotas, allergen labelling, sanctions for poor performance, adjustment mechanisms for volume fluctuations and clear responsibilities for points of contact are addressed in a practice-oriented way. Consideration of the standard sectoral collective bargaining landscape and the resulting pricing basis.

05

Quality measurement and acceptance

Definition of measurable quality criteria: meal quality under DGE standards (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung — German Nutrition Society), variety of menus, adherence to dietary requirements, organic-content evidence, HACCP documentation, acceptance surveys among diners. Establishment of control routines that work in practice during contract operations and do not turn the day-to-day acceptance process into an excessive burden.

06

Social and environmental criteria

Integration of environmental standards into the specification: organic content, regional sourcing, climate-conscious meal planning, reduction of food waste. Social standards — collective-agreement remuneration, working conditions in food production, language requirements for serving staff — are likewise weighted as award criteria or formulated as binding minimum requirements, depending on your priorities.

07
Beyond contract award

Quality assurance and ongoing contract management

Our involvement does not end with the award. We support meal quality controls during the contract, the analysis of menu compliance, the handling of defect notices and acceptance surveys, as well as the structured escalation in cases of recurring poor performance. This keeps the contract sustainable over its full term, and remediation happens in a planned rather than reactive manner.

Advisory path

Restructuring mandates — when existing contracts no longer hold

A frequent reason for being engaged is not new tenders, but existing contracts that no longer hold: meal quality declines over time and acceptance loss becomes visible, menus repeat themselves and become monotonous, the caterer experiences frequent staff turnover or communication issues at the meal counter.

In such cases we conduct a contract analysis, identify the root causes of the difficulties and develop an approach — which can range from remediation within the existing contract through to a full new tender. The aim is a baseline that will hold for the years ahead.

Restructuring existing contracts is a distinct advisory path — for public sector and private sector clients alike.

Specialist insights

Technical specifics of catering and food service tenders

A catering and food services tender differs from other service tenders in several technical respects, which we address in the specification and the contract:

HACCP and food hygiene

The requirements of EU Regulation 852/2004 and national hygiene regulations are not a bonus, but a mandatory baseline. We draft the suitability requirements so that the contractor must demonstrate a HACCP concept, hygiene training and regular self-monitoring in a procedurally sound manner — and so that these remain verifiable during contract operations.

Dietary diversity and DGE standards

Vegetarian, vegan, religiously motivated, allergy-free and medically indicated dietary forms must be reliably available — and in school and nursery catering additionally aligned with DGE quality standards. We anchor the binding dietary catalogue in the specification so that it is not gradually reduced over the contract term.

Menu plans as a contractual element

Menu plans are not a nice-to-have, but a contractually binding element. We govern lead times, variety requirements, seasonal emphases and repetition limits so that there is clarity during contract operations — and so that menu plans do not become repetitive after the first few months.

Allergen labelling under LMIV

The LMIV (Lebensmittelinformationsverordnung — EU Food Information Regulation) requires labelling of the 14 main allergens — also in mass catering. We draft requirements for labelling, training of serving staff and tolerance for errors so that the LMIV obligation is met in practice without slowing down day-to-day operations.

Organic content and regionality

Many tenders impose binding organic content requirements (often 20–30%, with rising tendency in the public sector) and regionality requirements. We anchor these requirements so that they are not merely formal on paper, but become verifiable through procurement evidence and organic certificates.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Is school catering a service contract or a concession?

This depends on the contract structure. If the contractor bears the economic risk (e.g. through meal numbers), it is a concession. If a fixed fee is paid, it is a standard service contract. The correct classification determines which procurement law applies.

What quality criteria make sense in catering tenders?

Nutritional standards (e.g. DGE school catering standards), organic content, regionality, menu variety and allergen labelling. These criteria must be verifiable and evidence-based — vague formulations lead to challenges and renegotiation.

How can meal participation be increased through a well-structured tender?

By weighting quality criteria and menu design as award criteria. Procedures that use price as the sole criterion consistently result in providers delivering minimum quality — with correspondingly low uptake.

From what scale is external support for catering tenders worthwhile?

From two or more sites, or when specific requirements such as allergen management, organic certification or sustainability evidence are to be required. External support is also advisable for first-time concession awards.

Further reading

Related content

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Procurement Advisory: The Questions Most People Have — But Rarely Ask

What does procurement advisory cost? When does it make sense? How does the collaboration work in practice? This article answers the questions that public and private contracting authorities most commonly face before a procurement procedure — directly, honestly and without evasion.

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