Beate Hägele has been supporting her husband Karl Hägele in the business for some 20 years, although she initially worked in an entirely different sector. But at the time, the certified chef had her join him at various events – and scored a bull’s eye: “I immediately enjoyed meeting many different people at work. And this has continued to this day,” Beate Hägele recounts vividly. Joining the management at her husband’s side, she will be the face of the catering company even more in the future and will deepen the contact to existing and new customers.
Known and loved through the “casinos”
Hägele Catering is firmly rooted in the region and is equally well-known and popular in the Schwäbisch Hall district. Not only because of the excellent food and professional service, but also because of the “Casinos”. This is the name of the company canteens of Gerhard Schubert GmbH and Leonhard Weiss GmbH – the two large regional family businesses. More than a quarter of a century ago, the founder of the packaging machine manufacturer of the same name, Gerhard Schubert, and chef Karl Hägele opened the Schubert Casino. Having a company restaurant where employees could eat not only affordably but also in a healthy and varied manner was still a novelty in the 1990s, but very quickly found imitators. At the Leonhard Weiss construction company, too, people from Satteldorf to Göppingen have been swearing by Hägele Catering for 20 years.
Long-term partnerships
Beate Hägele knows why: “We value good partnerships with our customers. Long-term collaboration with our regional producers is also very important to us. They supply most of the high-quality, fresh ingredients for our catering.” The interpersonal aspect is never neglected, she says: “My experience working directly on site has given me a very different insight into the processes and needs of our service and kitchen staff. That helped me focus on the big picture right from the beginning and is a good foundation for the responsibilities I have taken on as Managing Director.”
Hägele’s new two-person management team provides stability and looks to the future, especially in these challenging times in the catering industry. Beate Hägele is optimistic: “We are very much looking forward to soon being able to accompany small and large events once again, celebrating parties and festivities with our customers and making the Casinos lively, vibrant places again.”
