The Support department is responsible for a range of activities. Support in the broadest sense of the word: from developing menu cycles to calculating food cost percentages. It advises in the choice of products and suppliers, organizes cooking sessions, but also calculates the most economical re-supply moments during the cruise. All based on cost reduction and efficiency through e.g. combining deliveries made to multiple vessels. The quality standard we have agreed with you for your guests is our top priority at all times.

How do you successfully establish a catering or hotel division? How do you increase profits? It all hinges on cost efficient purchasing as well as on effective composition of menu and wine lists. Van Ammers has many years of experience in on-board hotel management. Efficient accounting makes for better transparency and higher profits. Cleaning, for instance, is a specialized discipline where food hygiene is top priority. Specialized advice and training in this aspect guarantees the perfect result.
Van Ammers will be happy to analyze your business processes in:
• Catering
• Hotel service
• Purchasing (food and non-food)
• Menus, recipe books and order lists
• Wine lists and bar assortment
• Administration
• Cleaning and hygiene
• Food hygiene / HACCP

Advice by Van Ammers always has a practical dimension. Method and degree are agreed between you and your account manager. See below for options:

General Advice
It makes perfect business sense to retain a backup organization to research those matters that are not core activities. While you are tending to your guests, Van Ammers staff takes care of a variety of aspects. Call it “relieving the pressure”: from purchasing a shoe-polishing machine, ordering a pin-machine, inviting quotations for a new washing machine to seeking temporary storage for your materials.

Administrative Support
We provide customized administrative support. The massive stream of pack slips and invoices is bundled by us into a transparent process flow. This results in reducing the stream of financial transactions, giving you a better overview.

Customized Menus
Using the data you provide on required quality standard and financial results, we prepare customized menus. Taking into account such criteria as resource prices, season and cruise duration.

Recipe Books
Optimum menu composition is the difference between profit and loss. Van Ammers prepares a recipe book based on passenger type, cruise duration and required products. This results in an indispensable guide for the ship’s kitchen operations and your accounting department.

Calculation of Food Cost
Our customers obviously need transparency in the data generated by their operations. We respond to this need by establishing food cost on the basis of your administrative data. If modification is required during the season, we provide the requisite advice.

Personnel Support and Back-Up
With Van Ammers in the background you are always assured of support in case of temporary absence of staff. Highly experienced, Van Ammers employees can be deployed immediately in a variety of jobs. Another option is to have them fill positions during short periods in season.

On-Board Assistance
A season start-up or starting up a new ship always entails a lot of work. During periods like this you can count on extra focus from the account managers. They attend first deliveries, check the orders with you and, upon request, are on board generally for several days during a new start-up.

Quality Check
We also offer a services quality check during the season enabling you, as appropriate, to make any adjust adjustments promptly. This is optionally supported with Mystery Visits, online customer-perception surveys and interim effect-scans.

HACCP
If feasible, you might set up your own program in conjunction with Van Ammers and a producer. A fine example is a cleaning program in full compliance with statutory HACCP standards.

Hygiene Check
On the basis of check lists prepared with our suppliers, we regularly perform hygiene checks. These are impartial and designed to give correct and complete information on the state of on-board hygiene. Upon request, in case of sub-optimum findings we recommend action designed to achieve improvement.