Amid competition for skilled employees, a positive work environment has become increasingly important and company restaurants are coming into sharp focus. Not only do they offer tasty, fresh and healthy meals, staff restaurants serve as a meeting point for social interaction in a pleasant atmosphere. This is precisely why an outstanding design for the company restaurant in the SDK Insurance Group's new building was top priority. Together with state-of-the-art premium kitchen equipment to ensure easy handling, an efficient workflow and best possible support for the kitchen team.
The SDK Insurance Group, headquartered in Fellbach near Stuttgart, comprises three co-operative insurance societies: Süddeutsche Krankenversicherung, Süddeutsche Lebensversicherung and Süddeutsche Allgemeine Versicherung. Around 620 employees work at the site and the new restaurant seats approx. 300 people for lunch. Kitchen consultants at Profi-tabel Resultants assisted SDK with the design, planning of the restaurant kitchen as well as the search for a new caterer. The restaurant now has a modern, stylish interior design. "It was important to assess which type of interior design would align with the way we intend and need to work in the future to stay a strong market player ahead of increasing competition," explained Benno Schmeing, member of the board of management who commissioned the new building project.
The overall design concept balances and caters for diverse needs and preferences. Individually designed areas, with large, long tables and comfortable booth seating through to a lounge, loosen up the style of the restaurant and allow for a quick snack as well as a sit-down lunch with colleagues. Staff may also consume their own food and drink in an area separated from the serving counters. They can choose from a variety of options at the salad bar and water is available from the drinking fountain. The centrepiece of the restaurant, however, is the open-plan cooking area where guests get to look over the shoulders of the professional chefs. In this "show kitchen", they can convince themselves of the freshness and quality of the food. Four MKN FlexiChef and four FlexiCombi appliances provide the team with essential support, fitting perfectly into the restaurant concept in terms of appearance, space requirement and handling.
At the end of 2022, SDK was awarded the title "Employer of the Future". "As health specialists, our strategy is to take care of our members in all issues relating to health. We consciously live up to this same responsibility towards our own employees," commented Dr. Ralf Kantak, SDK's CEO. At MKN, we're proud that our professional cooking technology is able to contribute to this undertaking.
