Since 2008, Constellation Culinary has brought quality, sustainably sourced meal options to corporate dining cafeterias in offices across the country, keeping clients and their employees productive and healthy.
Originally known as Starr Catering Group, the corporate dining business established partnerships primarily on the East Coast before it was acquired by the Paris-based Elior Group. In 2018, it rebranded, officially becoming Constellation Culinary, and now, it’s on a mission to further its impact on the West Coast, providing thoughtful food in various locations from museums to tech start-ups.
According to the American Heart Association, 90% of employees believe that the quality of food offered at their workplace is important to their overall health and would make them more productive at work, reduce stress, and increase mental health. This fact is one that Constellation Culinary takes seriously, explained Felipe Jimenez, the company’s Regional Operations Manager of the West Coast.
“We’ve done a great job in focusing on foods that keep people productive throughout the day. That’s what corporate dining is about,” Jimenez said. The veteran foodservice executive has been in the business of corporate dining for 32 years and joined Constellation Culinary last year. With his expertise and knowledge of how food contributes to productivity, he has become a driving force behind many of the company’s latest developments at its West Coast locations.
The company currently has cafes in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Greater Phoenix, and Las Vegas metro areas. It specializes in serving food at in-office cafes, and many of these cafes also offer catering services. Jimenez said that the structure of each cafe varies from place to place, but that many of them operate “more like a marketplace.” Employees will find an array of both hot and cold stations that they can pick and choose from throughout their day.
Most cafes serve both breakfast and lunch, and some even provide take-home dinner kits or pre-made, microwavable meals. The company uses Imperial Dade to coordinate eco-friendly, biodegradable containers for employees to take their food back to the office or home for dinner that night.
Jimenez has worked to build partnerships with local food businesses to ensure that each cafe provides local, sustainable, and nourishing food. Many cafes collaborate with artisanal bakeries and produce companies that deal specifically with local vendors. “We try to connect people with the source,” Jimenez said, an attempt that is reflected in the satisfaction of Constellation Culinary’s clients.
The company focuses on creating diverse, well-rounded menus at each of its cafes, from plant-based to vegetarian to vegan. Some clients want to see “above-and-beyond, Michelin-star” style food in their cafe, with crudo bars and high-end proteins, while others keep it simple, serving smoothies, juices, and simple, from-scratch cooking. Regardless of the specific menu offerings, each cafe relies heavily on fresh and local foods, avoiding all things processed, a detail that Jimenez says is to the client’s benefit, as it provides employees with fuel to stay productive throughout the day.
Much of the menu diversity also comes from the company’s welcoming attitude towards the creativity of its chefs. In California, Constellation Culinary works with various clients that have multiple offices throughout the state, so collaboration is a common theme among chefs. “We try to incorporate everybody’s style into their cafe,” said Jimenez, “It’s what keeps them engaged; it’s what keeps them interested in actually working there: as they see their ideas to the table.”
The food options that Constellation Culinary cafes offer are subsidized by their corporate clients, which Jimenez said is a benefit to employees. Because clients try to subsidize as much as they can, depending on their budgets, their employees experience “restaurant quality food at a much-discounted price.”
During the pandemic, Jimenez said that the company was fortunate to remain on target because of the company-client relationships it has forged. “A lot of the clients were actually paying the employees to stay there on site,” allowing cafes to continue getting business and, in turn, stay open. Now, some clients are “offering discounted meals, free food once or twice a week, or inviting them to afternoon events,” he said, to keep people coming into work and visiting the cafes.
Of course, a visit to an in-office cafe wouldn’t be possible without Constellation Culinary employees, from its chefs to its cashiers, who are “committed to performing well, to doing a good job, and to providing great customer service,” said Jimenez. Those meaningful relationships between Constellation Culinary and its clients, and the innovative, healthy, fueling food offerings, are why it stands out among corporate dining programs.
Learn more about Constellation Culinary at their website.
