Stand to attention at Fresha

The Fresha kitchens are being run with military precision with the arrival of new catering manager Neil Lyons.

Neil joins the Fresha team after 23 years in military catering, which saw Warrant Officer Class 1 Lyons cooking for members of the Royal Family including the Queen, the Queen Mother, Prince Charles and Princess Diana before moving on to become a Catering and Management Instructor at the Army School of Catering.

“During my time in the military I travelled around the world and found myself cooking for the Royals when they paid visits to various army barracks in Northern Ireland, Aldershot and London,” explained Neil.

After leaving the army, Neil joined military caterers Aramark as Area Manager after which he was Operations Director for Compass Global. In both roles he worked in troubled areas in the Middle East, Europe and across Africa.

Neil recently returned to the UK, moving to the area to be close to his parents who live in Exeter. He said: “Working at Fresha in Sowton is quite a different experience, although the key principles remain the same ‒ good food, freshly made.

“One big difference though is that I can now concentrate more on using locally sourced ingredients. In the military sector this wasn’t always possible or indeed practical.”

Neil takes on responsibility for overseeing all Fresha’s catering operations, including food for conferences, school meals, ongoing NHS and police contracts and private functions.