Compass Group UK & Ireland Healthcare Business to try for new World Record

Compass Group UK & Ireland Healthcare Business, part of the UK’s largest food services company, is attempting to set a new Guinness World Record for holding the ‘World’s Largest Cream Tea Party’.

Held on the 16th March 2016, during Nutrition and Hydration Awareness Week, the tea party record attempt will stretch across 160 sites, with the potential to involve around 3000 people.

Compass Group’s healthcare businesses are supporting the event, with tea parties being held predominately at its White Oaks care homes, as well as with patients from Medirest’s BMI private hospital client sites. The tea party record attempt will start as soon as the clocks hit 3 o’clock in the afternoon.

Friends, family and staff are all invited to join in the tea parties and enjoy the community atmosphere at each of the sites. Engagement as well as education around the importance of hydration is at the heart of the collective tea party.

Help to execute the world record attempt is being provided by Unilever who have created tea party toolkits for all the sites which include items such as bunting and posters. Also provided by Compass supplier Brakes is scones, jam and clotted cream with bottles of water provided by LifeWater, a company who supply at least 1000 litres of clean drinking water for every bottle of water sold.

Steve Cenci, Managing Director for Healthcare at Compass Group UK & Ireland said: “It’s quite an achievement to co-ordinate such a big event and while we hope to secure the Guinness World Record, in addition to the fun that will be had, there is a serious message behind this activity which we want to convey and that is the importance of hydration.

“We are holding the record attempt in conjunction with Hydration Awareness Week, which looks to highlight the importance of nutrition and hydration as part of quality care, experience and safety improvement in health and social care settings. Good nutrition and hydration are essential to health and wellbeing and are also key to helping people recover more quickly from illness.

“We are also really looking forward to the Cream Tea Party World Record attempt as it is a great way to enable some of the patients and residents in our healthcare businesses to engage with one another in a positive environment.”

Janice Sardone, National Account Manager, Unilever added: “At Unilever Food Solutions, we are well aware of the importance of great nutrition and hydration combined with positive activities to support the well-being of residents in care. We are therefore thrilled to support Compass’s Cream Tea Party World Record attempt and wish them all the luck in the world! Tea parties are a great way to bring residents together, and this record attempt should be a day to remember.”

The current world record holder for the “largest tea party” is Yorkshire Building Society, who recorded 667 participants across 6 locations in November last year.

The results will be verified with two independent adjudicators at each site, who are not Compass employees and, who will be recording the number of participants. This information will then be sent to the Guinness Book of Records. The outcome of the record attempt will be known by w/c 20 March.

At the tea parties money will also be raised for Alzheimer’s Society.

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For more information contact:

UK Communications Team

Compass Group UK & Ireland

Uk.communications@compass-group.co.uk

01895 554 999