Except for price and quality offered, the group will also assess the presentation, the service and dispatch. The test days will take place between June 7 and 11 in the canteen of the Paviljoen and will form part of the present invitation for tenders issued by TU/e for the operation of the restaurants from 2011 thru 2016.
Nothing could be more delicate than the tenders for catering. Indeed, too hard buns, lukewarm soup and uninviting canteens easily lead to daily moaning. Which is why this is a first in the history of TU/e to organize test days.

The total annual turnover of the catering at TU/e amounts to approximately four million euro. This makes it a lucrative job for future caterers, who have been invited by Monique Kuyck and Bertie Fijneman of the Domestic Affairs Department to submit tenders. The invitation for tenders has been divided into three parts. Part 1 is the catering in Kennispoort, part 2 concerns the Departmental restaurants and so/called banqueting and part 3 concerns the catering facilities in the University Club and De Zwarte Doos.

Kuyck: “We have selected ten candidates fully in line with the tendering procedure. Within this context we have also looked at smaller caterers who could fit in well with Kennispoort or De Zwarte Doos.”

TU/e has submitted a list of demands with the ten candidates. Expectations are that some caterers will be able to meet the requirements. Each of them will be invited to hold a test day in the Paviljoen in June. In addition to technical aspects (how hot must a croquette be), the variety of the offer plays a role. “As we have many foreign students, a caterer cannot make do with just serving potatoes. There will definitely be a demand for rice and noodles as well”, Fijneman adds.

Prices
And there is the pricing, of course. For the first time TU/e is leaving this largely to the caterers themselves. The price for a basic package, say soup, milk, a sandwich and an apple, must be somewhere between 2.50 and 3 euro. Kuyck: “That rate is fixed including the annual price index. A bandwidth has been agreed for the rest of the menu. Still, if a caterer wants to sell a luxurious well-filled sandwich for five euro and it is a success, who are we to forbid this?”

In order to safeguard the quality in the future, a standard will be agreed with the caterers, an initial measurement will be made, a customer survey conducted and ‘mystery guests’ will go for lunch regularly in the restaurants of the Departments. In July clarity is expected as regards which firm can fill the rumbling stomachs at TU/e in the future. (FvO)/.

The guinea pigs must be a reflection of the general population of people studying and working at TU/e on a daily basis. DIZ therefore hopes that students and staff members from all Departments and services will react. Anyone who wants to apply must before May 15 send an e-mail stating their personal particulars to: facilityservices@tue.nl