Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival and the Royal Pavilion & Museums announce new caterers

Peyton and Byrne have been appointed as caterers for Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival and the Royal Pavilion & Museums.

The Royal Pavilion & Museums, part of Brighton and Hove City Council, and Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival have announce that Peyton & Byrne - run by renowned restaurateur Oliver Peyton - have been selected to deliver catering and hospitality functions for the two organisations going forward.

This decision was made following a joint catering review and the move reflects the ambition of both organisations to take a more strategic approach to the activities carried out at the heart of the Cultural Quarter and to embrace partnership working.

The project will be an exciting and important one for the city centre as it will attract tourists, local residents and visitors and bring new employment opportunities to the region. The existing catering staff of both organizations are being retained with the appointment bringing exciting opportunities for further training and career development.

The venture will breathe new life into the tea rooms, bars and cafés at the Royal Pavilion, Hove Museum, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and Brighton Dome. Peyton & Byrne have strong connections to Brighton and Hove and are family owned and operated. The family moved to Brighton in 1979 and ran a hip-hop club called The Can before expanding into other areas. They have grown extensively over the last 10 years and now provide catering at well-known institutions such as the Royal Academy of Arts, the National Gallery, the British Library and Kew Gardens, as well as running bakeries in Heals and St Pancras in London.

The Royal Pavilion & Museums and Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival invited submissions from a selection of companies – including social enterprises – wishing to tender for commercial catering and hospitality services at the multiple sites across the estates of the Royal Pavilion & Museums - which have catering operations at the Royal Pavilion, Hove and Brighton Museums - and Brighton Dome. The criteria encompassed experience, capability, sustainability and the fact that services needed to be in keeping with the cultural and heritage sites which both parties operate.

It is hoped they will also improve both organisations approach to sustainability by using seasonal produce and local suppliers to reduce food miles and put in place procedures to manage waste, minimise packaging and reduce energy consumption.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival, said, “Working together with the Royal Pavilion & Museums is part of an ambition by both organizations to take a more strategic approach to the activities carried out on the Royal Pavilion Estate. The appointment of Peyton and Byrne will significantly improve the catering services we can offer to our diverse range of customers from the city and further afield. This is a great opportunity for our talented bars and catering staff to have access to new training and to share and build their knowledge with others in the sector.

He added, “The Royal Pavilion Estate - on which Brighton Dome and the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Museum lie - is the cornerstone of Brighton’s Cultural Quarter. By building on our existing strong partnership with the Royal Pavilion & Museums we can make the most of opportunities and ensure the sustainability of our unique cultural assets.”

Brighton & Hove City Councillor Geoffrey Bowden said: “We’ve been working in partnership with Brighton Dome & Festival to secure joint catering and hospitality services that will mean our residents and visitors can enjoy events together with good food and drink at these venues for years to come. It will also put our catering operation on a much sounder footing, as individually we don’t have the investment potential, but together we’ll have the capacity to do much more.

“Our existing staff, who do a fantastic job in the existing café and tea rooms, will also have the opportunity to join the new venture with all their rights protected and have access to much better career opportunities.”

Oliver Peyton commented: “I am delighted to be returning to Brighton, which we feel is the perfect location for our first out of London launch. We look forward to flying the flag for quality British food in this creative and dynamic area, alongside both Brighton Dome & Festival and the Royal Pavilion & Museum.”

Peyton Events will be sole event caterer across both sites, catering all events including conferences and both corporate and private events.