Located in two vibrant offices with over 750 legal professionals, Osborne Clarke's in-house catering team—run by BaxterStorey—plays a vital role in delivering high-quality hospitality for meetings, events, and day-to-day workplace dining.
But until recently, the team faced a frustratingly manual, outdated booking process that stifled efficiency and creativity.
To streamline operations and modernise their approach, Osborne Clarke adopted Spoonfed's Catering Management software—and hasn't looked back since.
We spoke with Matthew Phillips, General Manager at BaxterStorey, to understand the transformation Spoonfed enabled.
Spoonfed replaced Osborne Clarke’s fragmented booking process—spanning forms, spreadsheets, emails, and conversations—with a single, streamlined system.
What once took 48 hours (and involved IT!) now takes just 30 minutes. Menu updates are quick, easy, and finally practical.
With clear, printable function sheets, the back-of-house team gets the structure they need—bringing a hospitality-grade approach to workplace catering.
Before Spoonfed, Osborne Clarke relied on a heavily customised Microsoft form to manage catering bookings. While it was functional, it was far from efficient.
"It was a very detailed, but overly complicated Microsoft form. Every time we wanted to make a change, it would take about 48 hours—including my time and a senior IT person's time," says Matthew.
This complex process made menu updates and seasonal changes practically impossible, stalling innovation and limiting the catering team's ability to meet evolving customer needs.
"I had every good intention of making regular changes to promote seasonal items, but it was just not a practical task."
Catering requests came from every direction: the Microsoft form, a room booking tool, direct emails, Excel sheets for bespoke events, and even face-to-face conversations.
"We had four or five ways that information was coming to us, none of which aligned. All of them were time-consuming and manual."
This multi-channel chaos meant duplicated effort, missed details, and zero integration with back-of-house operations
For a law firm like Osborne Clarke—renowned for being tech-savvy and innovative—the old form-based system felt jarringly out of step.
"It looked like a very early dropdown box-style system. It didn't sit in the same stratosphere of where we wanted to operate."
Even internal adoption suffered. Some staff avoided using the form altogether due to its complexity.
By introducing Spoonfed, the team consolidated all booking methods into one intuitive, easy-to-use online platform.
"Now it's just a single link. I can send that out, and it's all there: menus, options, and images. I can't live without that now."
PAs and office staff now place orders themselves, edit or cancel them if needed, and even easily repeat previous orders.
"Giving them the ability to edit their own orders and own them… it was a bit of a culture shock at first, but we're seeing really positive feedback."
For Matthew, coming from a hotel background where function sheets are the norm, Spoonfed's production features were a game-changer.
"My chef is quite old school—he likes to print the sheets off. Spoonfed gives us that structure. It's standardised, clear, and helping us operate like a hospitality business should."
The time savings alone have been extraordinary. The menu changes that once took 48 hours now take around 30 minutes.
"About half an hour—if I'm being slow," Matthew laughs. "The system's intuitive. It's A-B. You can't do one thing without the other. It's just easy."
This new agility has opened up creative possibilities, such as seasonal dishes and chef-led specials, which were previously out of reach.
Spoonfed has improved not only internal efficiency but also the overall dining experience.
"We never had any images of the food before. Now people know what to expect. They don't have to ask—it's all there."
"It provides more hospitality. It gives us more of a personalised approach to delivering food."
Allergen and nutritional information are now clearly visible—something BaxterStorey and Osborne Clarke value highly.
"We're very focused on that, and Spoonfed makes it easy to present clearly, readably."
Thanks to Spoonfed, Osborne Clarke's catering services have leapt forward regarding accessibility and professionalism.
"People were dubious at first, but once we showed them they could even order on their phone—it clicked. It's just like ordering from Deliveroo or JustEat."
The switch to Spoonfed freed up time, eliminated bottlenecks, and empowered front- and back-of-house teams to operate more efficiently.
"It used to be so manual, and so much of it was on me. Now we're shifting ownership to the chefs and looking at how we can go further with seasonal updates and new ideas."
Spoonfed has been a catalyst for transformation at Osborne Clarke. What began as a search for a more modern solution quickly turned into a complete rethinking of how hospitality services are delivered—saving time, improving structure, and creating a better experience for staff and guests alike.
"When I first started, one of my goals was to have a more modern approach to ordering hospitality and food. And we've achieved that. Now we're reassessing what's next."
For organisations seeking to modernise their catering or hospitality operations, Matthew has one piece of advice:
"Define what you need first and then find a hospitality software that is flexible enough to adapt. Every hospitality setting is different. Spoonfed gave us that flexibility—and that's why it works."
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