Serco : welcomes BBC Celebrity MasterChef to Bisham Abbey

Date: 15 Jul 2016

Serco's catering team at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre in Buckinghamshire recently handed over their pots and pans to the remaining four celebrities taking part in the 2016 BBC Celebrity MasterChef challenge. The programme, filmed at the centre back in March, airs tonight on BBC One and sees Olympic champion boxer Audley Harrison, Strictly Come Dancing professional Gleb Savchenko, TV presenter Cherry Healey and singer and entertainer Jimmy Osmond prepare lunch for 80 elite athletes, including members of the Great Britain men's hockey team.

In the last of the heats, the celebrities face their first mass-catering challenge as they battle for a coveted place in the semi-finals. The contestants are split into two teams and - faced with an array of ingredients - must devise, prepare and serve the lunch, catering for various tastes while creating meat-based, vegetarian and dessert dishes in volume.

Serco's Steve Nelson, Contract Manager for the National Sports Centre, commented: 'Each week, Serco's catering team at Bisham Abbey prepares and serves over 1,500 nutritionally balanced meals for athletes and visitors. It was fantastic to welcome the MasterChef celebrities into the kitchen and watch them cope with the pressure of preparing lunch for a large number of people to a set deadline. Elite athletes at Bisham Abbey need to have their meals served on time as eating forms part of their strict training and rest schedule. Both teams did really well and I can't wait to find out who's made it through to the semi-finals.'

Bisham Abbey provides an outstanding training environment for elite athletes from sports including professional football, rugby, tennis and hockey, as well as excellent amenities for the local community and grassroots teams.

Serco provides a range of support services at the National Sports Centre - including catering, hospitality and events, landscaping, reception and security services, as well as marketing and communications - under a 15-year contract with Sport England
The programme airs on BBC One at 8.30pm on Friday 14 July.

Ends

For further information, please contact:
Tracey Cobbett on (e) tracey.cobbett@serco.com or (m) 07590 779327.

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