Kitchen Works Serves Up A New Concept For Qatar's Offshore Facilities

Food Culinary Experience Food Services
Jun. 12, 2024

Living and working offshore is challenging but can be immensely rewarding. For employees, the offshore environment is a unique combination of home, workplace and leisure space.

Balancing these elements requires careful management and coordination. However, effective organisation of everyday living in offshore facilities contributes to a cohesive culture that emphasizes safety and positively impacts workforce morale and productivity.

With this in mind, Sodexo|Teyseer, one the leading integrated facilities management companies in Qatar, recently launched Offshore Living. Designed to make the offshore experience more comfortable, Offshore Living is a holistic product that encompasses all aspects of the offshore environment and delivers industry-leading offshore management services.

A new approach to Offshore Living

From nutritious, balanced and tasty meals to meticulously maintained living quarters, Offshore Living overcomes many of the challenges associated with the offshore environment. It consists of four core elements.

Savour

Savour delivers outstanding food and meal services at an affordable price point without compromising quality. Focusing on global flavours, nutritionally rich menus, and appealing dishes, Savour emphasises expertly refined processes and intelligent technology deployment to offer a truly modern catering service.

Comfort

Employee comfort on offshore facilities requires a diligent approach to cabin cleaning, housekeeping, laundry, and other essential services. Sodexo Offshore Living crew are equipped with the tools and expertise needed to maintain a healthy and enjoyable living environment, creating a home away from home.

Plus

The Plus component of Offshore Living includes a range of non-essential services, such as pest control, equipment supply and vending machine rental services. Plus enables Sodexo to go the extra mile and foster a comfortable and enjoyable working environment.

Safe

At Sodexo, safety is a core company value ingrained in everything we do and all our processes. We adopt a zero-harm approach built on a culture of strong leadership, accountability, and personal responsibility.

Introducing Kitchen Works - our new food concept.

As part of Offshore Living’s Savour component, Sodexo|Teyseer launched Kitchen Works - a fresh catering concept that takes offshore services to the next level. The initiative was trialed on a Sodexo|Teyseer-managed offshore facility in Qatar accommodating around 300 people.

Qatar is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas and produces approximately 178 billion cubic metres annually. Extracted primarily from the offshore North Field - an area almost the same size as the country itself - the gas requires an extensive fleet of offshore rigs, equipment and transports. In recent years, significant investment in Qatar's natural gas industry has driven new expansion, with the government aiming to increase annual LNG production to 142 million mt by the end of 2030.

The Kitchen Works service aims to improve the quality and delivery of food consumed in offshore facilities. Central to this objective is the provision of healthier options and more diverse menus. Live food stations, street food selections, fruit juices and smoothies were all introduced. At the same time, considerable effort was put into enhancing communication concerning dietary and allergen information, allowing for a more informed meal choice.

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Improving every aspect of offshore catering

As part of the Kitchen Works initiative, equipment was also upgraded, and new training was provided to Sodexo|Teyseer staff. Processes have been honed to encourage a more sustainable approach, with Wastewatch implementation helping to reduce average monthly paper waste by as much as three tons. The result is a more sustainable and cost-effective food service.

Finally, extra care and attention were paid to the mealtime experience to create an enjoyable, shared space that strengthens employee bonds and promotes a positive work environment where staff are happier and, as a result, more productive. Weekly themed nights featured world cuisines, including Mexican and Nepali foods, and celebrated annual holidays, such as Halloween, Christmas and National Qatar Day. While delicious, diverse dishes are central to this, considerable effort and energy also goes into creating an engaging and interesting environment.

Feedback from both management and employees has been overwhelmingly positive. The quality of the food was noted time and time again, as was the professionalism of Sodexo staff and their commitment to meal preparation. However, managers particularly praised the trial's positive impact on the social dynamics aboard the Seafox Frontier. By introducing greater menu diversity and going the extra mile to create a pleasurable communal experience, Kitchen Works made mealtimes something to be savoured and a crucial part of everyday life in offshore facilities.

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Conclusion: Successful Kitchen Works trial leads to a wider rollout

As a result of the positive feedback and the undeniable success of the Kitchen Works concept, Sodexo|Teyseer will be rolling the service out to a broader base soon. At Sodexo|Teyseer, we understand that providing healthy, varied foods and an enjoyable mealtime environment is a win-win for workers and their employers and helps foster an offshore culture that prioritises happy, well-fed, and productive staff. As one of the leading facilities management companies in the UAE and Qatar, we look forward to bringing Kitchen Works to other Sodexo| Teyseer-managed facilities soon.