Foodservice Equipment Journal – August 2019

PERFECT TEN

When Radford Chancellor began his own consultancy he had no contracts in place

and zero employees on the books, just an instinct that the market was crying out for

a wide array of specialist catering services. A decade on and the business is eyeing up

expansion as it extends support to a raft of prestigious clients in the UK and abroad.

I

t is easy to forget that when

Radford Chancellor decided

to launch his own independent

catering consultancy in May 2009,

the economy was only just

recovering from the

worst financial crisis

since the Great

Depression.

But amidst the

turmoil of falling

house prices and

sharp increases

in unemployment, Chancellor always

remained convinced that there was a gap

in the market for the type of consultancy

he planned. 10 years on, that belief has

been vindicated, with the firm offering

a raft of services, including catering

equipment safety and efficiency

audits, competitive tendering and

kitchen design, that have become

the backbone of its business.

Chancellor had accumulated

more than 20 years’ experience

in the catering industry when he

set up the business, but that never

meant it was going to be easy.

Like a lot of start-ups, he

began with no clients and

no business reputation.

“The first three years

were a time of building,” he explains.

“Initially, the main aim was to get the

business up and running, creating

revenue and becoming a well-known

and successful consultant, gaining an

excellent reputation in the process.”

Chancellor worked solo in the

business for the first five years before

employing his first apprentice.

A year after that, James Bailey

joined the consultancy as project co-

ordinator and earlier this year he took

on the post of key account manager.

“James looks after some high value

clients and client training within the

consultancy,” says Chancellor. “He has

been rewarded for his hard work and is

also now a shareholder in the company.”

Further manpower was added to the

28 | Foodservice Equipment Journal | August 2019 http://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com

RADFORD CHANCELLOR LTD