Future Proof: Pat O’Sullivan, Masterchefs Hospitality

It can take many years to build up a good reputation for your business, but just moments for your standing to be called into question.

In 2009, Limerick-based catering company Masterchefs Hospitality found itself at the centre of a wave of bad publicity through no fault of its own when a company with which it had previously been associated went into liquidation.

Suddenly, it had to fight tooth and nail to convince customers and suppliers that it could still be relied on.

Having successfully overcome that challenge, managing director Pat O’Sullivan has gone on to win new contracts with the likes of NUI Galway and Thomond Park Stadium. He has also established a popular restaurant chain and opened up a food manufacturing facility in his adopted city.

O'Sullivan, a Kerry native, who started out in the catering trade with a summer job in the kitchens of a restaurant in Waterville, set up Masterchefs Hospitality in January 2001 after a number of years working in hotels and restaurants in and around counties Kerry and Limerick.

The company, which provides high-end catering services, was originally established as a subsidiary of Masterchefs Dublin, then one of Ireland’s largest hospitality outfits with high-value contracts for a number of racecourses including Punchestown, Leopardstown and the Curragh.

Concern

The two companies co-existed happily enough for a number of years during which O’Sullivan’s firm won plenty of business across Munster. However, he became increasingly concerned about the way the parent company was being run and, in 2005, bought out the Dublin shares in order to go it alone.

“I didn’t like the direction the business was going and felt that the owners didn’t have control of the situation,” he said.

As it turned out, O’Sullivan’s concerns weren’t without foundation as four years later, the parent company went into liquidation with the loss of 600 jobs.

While now working as a completely separate entity employing 50 people full-time, the impact of the liquidation on O’Sullivan’s business was significant.

“The liquidation was devastating for us. As we shared the same name and it was covered in the national media, I had suppliers pull out on us and had to get in the car and drive out to clients and our remaining suppliers and convince them to stick with us.

“It was touch and go for a while, but I managed to steady the ship without losing contracts or any of our employees.”

New contracts

Among the clients that O’Sullivan managed to win during that period was Thomond Park Stadium, which recently agreed a new 10-year contract with Masterchefs. Other clients won since then include the Pavilion at the University of Limerick.

In July 2012, the company served more than 350,000 meals over nine days when it worked as principal caterer at the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway. It has also catered for a number of high-profile weddings including those of Michael Flatley and Niamh O’Brien, and Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese.

This would be an impressive recovery for any business, but it doesn't stop there. In 2008, O'Sullivan set up Café Noir in order to bring a bit of French cafe culture to the west.

“I was trained as a French chef, as so many Irish chefs were. I’ve always loved French cooking and wanted to do something about introducing it to the high street. There were few places outside Dublin that were focused on the patisserie concept so I decided to do something about that.”

With a fifth branch of Café Noir opening shortly on the southside of Limerick city, O’Sullivan now has plans to roll out the brand nationwide.

He is the first to admit that trying to build a new business during a recession wasn’t easy but he managed to ensure that both Café Noir and Masterchefs got through it relatively unscathed.

“We never scrimped on ingredients during the downturn despite the temptation. We refused to let the quality of our food suffer because if we had, we wouldn’t have retained our clients or got back to having good margins again. We chose to diversify instead and so far that’s worked out,” he said.

Indeed it has. Last year, Masterchefs opened an 8,000 sq ft food manufacturing facility called the Artisan Food Factory in Limerick city, which O'Sullivan describes as the "missing link" between his two businesses. He has also developed a product range for the wholesale market, which goes out under the Artisan brand, while a complete meal range for the retail sector will launch in July and be available nationwide.

“I deliberately named the business Artisan as I wanted to move away from the perception that the word can only be used for products that have been made in someone’s back kitchen. Our products are handmade by skilled chefs in a controlled environment on a large scale, and are served in Café Noir, at Masterchefs events and further afield.”

“The factory now operates on a three-shift cycle, seven days a week and our workforce is increasing almost weekly. We envisage moving aspects of this business to another, larger location in the not too distant future,” O’Sullivan said.