Event Organiser Profile, The Crown Group

There aren’t enough hours in the day for Crown Group supremo Russell Morgan, says Annica Wainwright

Russell Morgan is a self-confessed workaholic. The chairman and founder of the Crown Group not only oversees the nine firms within his own £35 million-turnover operation but is also the director of a further three independent companies, splitting his time between a garden office at his home in Essex and the vast number of venues, sites and events serviced by his various businesses. ‘I like to keep busy in my funny half-hour,’ he offers by way of explanation for working from the crack of dawn until long after sundown with only four hours’ sleep on most nights.

Needless to say, this is not an easy man to keep up with. We did, however, manage to track him down for a pre-service chat in the Exhibitors’ Restaurant at the Farnborough International air show, where Crown Society has been the official caterer for the past 10 years. Sitting at a linen-covered table in a corner of the dining room with his trademark cigar and glass of water (Russell doesn’t drink and always has an Essex girl joke at the ready to prove he’s not boring because of it), he has just come out of a managerial meeting but nevertheless insists his presence at the show is not strictly necessary. ‘I used to have to come down but now I’m only here because I want to be. It’s like a week’s holiday – no paperwork!’ he enthuses.

A site where your company is responsible for feeding thousands of corporate bigwigs each day from temporary kitchens in the middle of a field on the Surrey-Hampshire borders hardly seems like a relaxing holiday destination but that’s Russell Morgan for you: happy as pie knowing business is booming. ‘I suppose I still crave a great deal of job satisfaction. I like to be involved and to see how successful we’ve been,’ he explains, before hastening to add that the greatest myth about the Crown Group is that he makes all the decisions himself. ‘The companies are all controlled by their MDs. I’m just the old wise man on the hill, used for his knowledge and experience,’ he insists.

A chef by trade – ‘I know how to swear, you know’ – Russell, who had wanted to be a barrister and studied law before being roped into kitchen work at his parents’ hotel, cooked his way around the world, stopping in the South of France, Norway and Singapore. Returning home, he set up a relief chef agency from his three-bedroom flat in Romford. Crown Catering was established in 1978 and the rest is history. Among the highlights of an impressive career are Russell’s recent appointment as president of the World Master Chefs Society – ‘a great honour’ – and his catering contract at Downing Street during the Thatcher administration.

‘Serving Thatcher for ten years was a very enjoyable experience. I have great memories of that,’ says Russell, explaining how the PM’s famous attention to detail kept the Crown team on its toes. ‘She would always come and inspect the set-up before her guests arrived. On one occasion, we were doing a full day’s catering and decided to serve Marks & Spencer’s biscuits with tea to let the kitchen get on with lunch and dinner. Mrs Thatcher arrived early, as usual, and after moving some flowers around, she pointed at the biscuit trays, saying “those are Marks & Sparks, those are Marks & Sparks – and bloody good they are too”.’

A healthy amount of attention to detail has also featured prominently in the Crown Group’s success. Russell’s pet motto is ‘never take anything for granted’ and he’s well known for demanding detailed activity reports from his sales teams. When probed about these, he dismisses them with a nonchalant ‘who doesn’t do them?’ before admitting he’s actually amazed at how slack some other companies can be. ‘I think part of good sales is good management of your sales team. We have regular meetings, send staff on courses and set them targets,’ he explains.

Despite admitting to a penchant for asking staff whether they’ve earned their money that week, Russell insists he’s a well-liked employer. ‘I understand that I have a reputation for being hard and evil but that’s absolutely not true – just spend a week with me, watch me interact with my people and you’ll see,’ he says. ‘As a group, we’re very professional but at the same time we have good relationships with all the staff. There’s a lot of head-hunting in this industry but I can honestly say I’ve never lost anyone I wanted to keep. Some chefs have been with me for 25 years.’

Insisting he has no ego and is not a materialistic man, Russell says he actually gets a lot of inspiration from his employees. ‘You can’t stand still when you’ve got a young, ambitious team below you. Just like me, they’ll only get job satisfaction from being successful, so I have to keep going,’ he explains, adding that he now has a daughter in the business, whom he hopes will make it big. ‘She has certainly got the Morgan work ethic. This week, she’s been up at 5am and finished at 8pm every day and she’s totally volunteered her time,’ he says proudly.

So what’s next for Crown and the Morgans? Well, Russell’s ideal day, these days, involves meetings over a meal at Midsummer House, the Crown Group’s Michelin-starred restaurant in Cambridge. But don’t expect the man who says ‘winning a new contract always makes my day’ to spend too long contemplating the menu. Instead, he assures us there’s plenty besides to occupy his mind: ‘I’ve got a lot of exciting business in the pipeline but I don’t like to talk details until the fat lady sings and she’s only practising her voice at the moment.’

The Crown Group:

Chelsea Catering Company
Long-established London caterer, specialising in West End and City events
Creative Workhouse
Graphic design consultancy producing anything from brochures, invites and newsletters to company websites and exhibition signage
Crown Society
Special event caterer with experience from the Brit Awards, a G7 Summit and The Queen’s official birthday. Also the sole caterer at venues like Vinopolis and Insurance Hall
Crown Venue Catering
On-site specialist with sole catering rights at fixed site venues throughout the UK, including Gibson Hall, Fulham Football Club and the Brighton Conference Centre
Jobs 2 Go
Recruitment agency, specialising in temporary and permanent staff for the hospitality industry
Midsummer House
Michelin-starred restaurant in Cambridge, where chef/patron Daniel Clifford also caters to weddings and private dinners
Missing Ingredients
Corporate caterer with services ranging from vending machines to fully staffed executive dining rooms. Recently won contracts at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios
Piggots
Specialist supplier of marquees, flags, furniture and illuminations. In business since 1780, it supplied Livingstone with a tent on his trip to Africa and has done the Oxford/Regent Street Christmas lights since the turn of the century.
Venue Reservations
Free venue finding service for the corporate market, operating on behalf of Crown Venue Catering, Crown Society and Chelsea Catering