Q Catering appoints Tony Blake as commercial director

Sittingbourne-based Q Catering has appointed Tony Blake as its new commercial director.

Blake (pictured) previously led the buying & marketing function at Kent Frozen Foods (KFF), where he spent a total of 18 years. Before that he had similar roles at Brakes for over a decade. His career in foodservice started in childhood at his family’s grocer’s shop in Devon, followed by training as a chef at the age of 16 and going on to work at hotels across the country.

In his new role, he heads up the procurement, marketing and supply chain teams, and is tasked with introducing more structure to the business and helping to improve efficiencies and relationships with suppliers.

Blake is the third person that Q Catering has recruited from KFF in the past few months – Caroline Martin joined as sales director and Nick Jennings as financial director. Q Catering’s managing director Steve Clarke previously worked for KFF for 25 years; when Sysco (Brakes’ parent company) bought KFF, he was tied in for two years, and then the two years came to an end. His building of a senior leadership team is part of his plan for Q Catering to reach £20 million turnover by 2030.

Blake commented: “I am thrilled to join Steve, Caroline, and Nick at Q Catering at this exciting period of growth. I’ve worked with them all in previous roles so know we have a great foundation for success and am confident we will reach the £20 million goal.

“Getting to know the ins and outs of the company and existing clients over the past few weeks has been interesting and rewarding. Q’s customer base is based on years of loyalty and respect, so it’s a great bunch to be working with. This role allows me to do what I enjoy most, working with good suppliers, high-quality products, and creating stronger working partnerships.

“A focus of mine will be to introduce new, innovative products to our clients, particularly within the independent sector, to continuously improve our offering. The company already has roots in local produce from Kent, particularly through its Produced in Kent membership, so I look forward to working more closely with the team there,” he added.