Leon Restaurants

Leon, Kings Cross Station, London

Leon is an upmarket fast food chain based in the United Kingdom.[1]

History

Leon was founded by John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby (son of David Dimbleby) with chef Allegra McEvedy.[2][3][4][5] The brand was named after Vincent's father, Leon.[2][3][6] LEON created their naturally fast food concept and opened their first outlet in Carnaby Street in 2004.[7][8] Six months after opening, LEON was named the “Best New Restaurant in Great Britain” at The Observer Food Monthly Awards.[6] In March 2009, McEvedy gave up her role at LEON to focus on writing and television work, but remains a shareholder.

Restaurants

As of June 2016, LEON have 36 stores.[9] They will be opening the first LEON outside England in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, at the beginning of July.[10] They have also announced their first store in Scotland will be opening in Glasgow at the beginning of August.[11]

The Financial Times reported in February 2012 that LEON had hired Brad Blum, former Burger King chief executive, to advise on expansion plans and that they had signed a deal with US-based HMSHost to open their first two franchised outlets in the US.[12] HMSHost operate 6 LEON locations in transport hubs around the UK, including Heathrow Terminal 2, Heathrow Terminal 3, King's Cross Station, Euston Station, Eurotunnel, East Midlands Airport & Stansted Airport.[13][14][15] LEON is eyeing a US expansion in 2016. By establishing a growing presence in transport hubs around the UK, the founders are hoping to reach an international audience, and help create demand for LEON ahead of overseas openings.[16]

Cookbooks

As well as running restaurants LEON has produced a series of cookbooks which are marketed in Germany, the UK and the US.[17]

Organisation

Co-founder John Vincent is the CEO of LEON.[18][19] Co-founder Henry Dimbleby is a founder director of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and co-founder of London Union.[20][21]

Awards

Best New Opening - London Town Restaurant Awards 2005

Best Newcomer in the UK - Observer Food Monthly 2005

Rising Star - Retailer's Retailer of the Year 2006

Best Practice Award (for healthy children's menu) - Soil Association 2007

RSPCA Good Business Award 2007 (for treatment of animals)

Best Restaurant Design - BCSC 2007

Good Egg Award 2008 (for using free range eggs)

Gold Palm Award for the most innovative, newly opened restaurant in Europe - Leaders Club Food Service Awards 2008

Best Healthy Eating Restaurant Chain - R150 Awards 2009

Sustainability Champion 2010

UK's Healthiest Restaurant - Men's Health Magazine 2013

Special Achievement Award - Lunch Business Grab & Go Awards 2014

Outstanding Contribution Award - Foodservice Cateys 2014

Best Company (sub 50 sites) - Peach Hero & Icon Awards 2015

Best Value Restaurant Operator - R200 Awards 2015

FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism (Dahrendorf SME Award).[22] The award was presented by Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Best Quick Service Restaurant - Fab Awards 2016

School Food Plan

John & Henry on a school food research trip.

In 2013 Leon co-founders John Vincent and Henry Dimbleby were invited to write a report on school meals. The pair instead created a collaboration and co-authored the Government backed School Food Plan, which set out to transform what children eat in schools and how they learn about food.

John and Henry visited over 60 schools, eating as many school meals as they could and speaking to everyone involved, from headteachers to caterers and - most importantly - the children. They found that, while some of the best schools were great at weaving food education into school life, there was still a lot of work to be done. At the time, 57% of children weren't eating school meals at all, and only 1% of packed lunches met the nutritional standards that apply to school food.

The plan they created contains 17 separate and detailed recommendations on what should be done. As a result of the plan, the government now provides free school lunches to all infants in years Reception, 1 & 2. In addition, practical cooking and nutrition is now part of the National Curriculum for 4-14 year olds, and two major food flagships have been launched across Lambeth and Croydon.[23][24]

In 2015 John and Henry were awarded MBEs for their work on the School Food Plan.[25]

On 25 November 2015 the government's spending review confirmed that free infant school meals would be safe from national spending cuts.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Day-Lewis, Tamasin (16 October 2004). "Fast, but not furious". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 Evans, Simon (16 August 2009). "Henry Dimbleby: nine restaurants and growing". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  3. 1 2 "John Vincent, co-founder, Leon Restaurants". Marketing. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  4. ↑ Bordell, Tom; Jaffer, Mehdi. "If God owned McDonald's...". London: The Gateway. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  5. ↑ "Food chefs: Allegra McEvedy". London: BBC website. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  6. 1 2 Nielsen, Tina (July 2008). "Profile: Leon". Director magazine. London. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Restaurants, Leon. "Vision". leonrestaurants.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Scott-Moncrieff, Chloe (22 January 2006). "Fast food needn't be junk food". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  9. ↑ "Restaurants - Leon Restaurants". Leon Restaurants. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  10. ↑ "Healthy fast food chain Leon reveals profit leap - and its secret martial arts experiment". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  11. ↑ "Strictly star Katie Derham's husband to open healthy fast food store in Glasgow". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  12. ↑ Moules, Jonathan (6 February 2012). "Leon hires former Burger King chief". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  13. ↑ Restaurants, Leon. "HMS". Leonrestaurants.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Central & East News. "Leon Lands at Stansted". www.insidermedia.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Lysecki, Sarah. "HMSHost wins Eurotunnel and East Midlands Airport concessions". http://www.moodiereport.com/document.php?doc_id=37073. Retrieved 21 January 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  16. ↑ Burn-Callander, Rebecca. "Leon eyes US expansion". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Andres, Holly (17 October 2012). "English restaurateurs share ideas for healthy cooking in 'Leon: Naturally Fast Food'". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  18. ↑ Pearse, Nathan. "Leon reports lfl growth of 22%". Eatoutmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Airport, Stansted. "Leon, the naturally fast food option, opens at Stansted". stanstedairport.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Our Directors and Key Staff". Sustainable Restaurant Association. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  21. ↑ "Welcome to London Union". londonunion.com. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  22. ↑ "FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism website".
  23. ↑ Bremner, Myles. "School Food Plan". www.schoolfoodplan.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Ping, Andrew. "Free school meals for infants hailed by clegg". publicfinance.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  25. ↑ reporter, Judith Burns Education. "MBE honour for school food plan restaurateurs". BBC News. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
  26. ↑ Treanor, Jill; Mason, Rowena. "Autumn statement and spending review – the key points at a glance". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
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