As Culinary Services Manager of UBF Foodsolutions, Ray Lorimer works on the development of new products for the foodservice market. He creates recipes to show the innovative ways in which these products can be used in a wide range of culinary applications. Lorimer is also responsible for a team of chefs.
He is no stranger to the company he joined 18 months ago, as he worked there from 1992 to 1999 when it was known as CPC/Bestfoods Caterplan.
For the few years in between, he was called back as a reserve to HM Forces Army. He explains: "I was in the Army for 25 years and I was called back to complete a couple of years' service as a reserve, as there were shortages in certain posts, so I took a sabbatical."
He spent from 1999 to 2002 as Force Supply Officer United Nations Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP), as well as six months in The Falklands as Food Supply Officer.
In the Falklands, Ray was in charge of all food supplies for the Ministry of Defence and 3,000 British troops. "I was supplying food for all the catering requirements," he says, "and the biggest challenge was getting fresh vegetables."
In the Falklands, vegetables only grow by propagation because of the climate. Ray explains: "We managed to get some vegetables from a propagated farm but they only grew once a year! They were expensive and obviously insufficient."
So the answer was to get them from the UK, 8,000 miles away. "It must have been one of the longest food supply chains in the world," Ray says. "It took a month from when the vegetables were loaded on the boat in the UK to when I received them - they were mainly frozen."
The only problem was that the time of the boat's arrival was unpredictable. "The boat might not arrive on time because of bad weather, so we held 30 days supply of vegetables in reserve for emergencies."
As it was peace time in the Falklands, Lorimer had a lot of time to kill so he visited the war graves and went sightseeing. He also kept himself fit by being involved in a number of team mountain orienteering competitions that ranged from 18 to 60 miles endurance and distance. It comes as no surprise to learn that he ran the 26-mile London Marathon last month in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund.
Ray was promoted to the rank of Major to take up the position in Cyprus. Ray's wife Carol came to live with him in Cyprus. "She came for a holiday in the Falklands," he adds. Here, Ray worked in a new role, where he was responsible for all food and general supplies including tables, equipment, furnishings and cutlery.
Ray Lorimer was classically trained as a chef and caterer in the Army Catering Corps, over a 25-year period, starting with a two and a half year chef apprenticeship in 1967.
He gradually progressed through the ranks encompassed and worked in various roles - Master Chef on operational tours; Advanced City & Guilds Instructor (all subjects) at the Army School of Catering; Army representation at Joint Services & International Salon Culinaires winning Gold Medals in a number of disciplines and Operational Management of Multi Site Military Catering Operations inclusive of contract catering.
During the 1970s, Lorimer was cooking in the middle of fields for thousands of soldiers out of mobile cook trailers. "When you're cooking under the stars in the open, you need the right equipment to hold the food, cook, serve and refrigerate it. You have to improvise and keep food in insulated container. You also have to be able to source fresh food, like turkeys."
In 1989 Ray was commissioned to the rank of Captain and held a number of appointments. This included setting up a commercial sales and marketing operation to launch and provide a global centre of focus for the Army Catering Corps' 50th Jubilee Anniversary. It was during this period that he met Trevor Benson, then director of CPC/Bestfoods.
"I persuaded the company to give us £5,000 sponsorship money for the Jubilee anniversary. Trevor said anyone who managed to get money out of a company like that should be working for them!" Ray laughs. "We got to know each other and on one occasion, I evaluated some products for them."
The products were Ambrosia Chocolate Sauce, 216; Ambrosia Custard, 217 and Ambrosia Creme Patisserie, 218. "I took them home and matched them up with the fresh version and wrote a report on the pros and cons."
Before long, Lorimer was headhunted to join Caterplan. "It was hard leaving the Army but this was an opportunity I couldn't refuse," he says.
During his seven years with Caterplan, Lorimer set up Caterplan Culinary Services and was involved in the development and launch of most of the products seen in today's product listings.
Latterly he was involved in the pioneering days of Home Meal Replacement and was instrumental in the development of concepts tailor made to fit the Caterplan product range. These included The Wokery, NoodleFest, Pasta Fest, Belt & Braces and Full Steam Ahead.
Since he joined UBF Foodsolutions 18 months ago, Lorimer has worked on reformulating the Knorr Americas collection of sauces, 219. "Benchmarking them against fresh and reformulating them."
He also developed ideas and recipes for the range of Knorr Chefs Creations, 220, and the Knorr Traditional, 221, range of individually portioned entr‚es in five varieties - Steak and Kidney, Liver and Onions, Chicken and Mushrooms, Chicken and Sausage Casserole and Beef Chilli.
www.ubffoodsolutions.co.uk
UBF Foodsolutions
Ray Lorimer
Career Highlights
March 2003 Culinary Services Manager, UBF Foodsolutions Culinary Services
1999 to 2002 Major, British Army, Attached UN Forces Cyprus
Force Supply Officer United Nations Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
1992 to 1999 Caterplan Culinary Services Manager, CPC/Bestfoods Caterplan
1967 to 1992 HM Forces Army
1962 to 1966 Cumnock Academy
1967 to 1969 Army Apprentices College, Aldershot
Professional: NEBSS Dip, HCTIB Instructor, Fellow HCIMA, City & Guilds Catering Advanced all Subjects, Sales & Marketing Certificate
Ray Lorimer Recipe
Hickory Smoked BBQ Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients
30 millilitre Oil Corn MAZOLA
750 gram Beef: Fillet thinly sliced
35 gram Peppers, red deseeded and sliced
35 gram Peppers, green deseeded and sliced
250 gram Paste: Hickory Smoked BBQ Paste
75 millilitre Sherry
Method
1. Heat the oil and stir fry the meat until half cooked.
2. Add the vegetables and cook until meat is tender.
3. Add the paste and Sherry and bring to the boil.
4. Serve with rice or noodles.
For more recipe go to the website
www.ubfsolutions.co.uk