Our team members are the star ingredients at Classic Cuisine. They are responsible for stunning new innovative recipes and creating thousands of delicious dishes every day.
Get to know more about what they do – and what they like to eat!
Richard Battye, sales manager
How long have you worked at Classic? 15 years in December 2023
What’s your favourite thing about your job? Winning new business and gaining new menu listings after weeks of hard work
What’s your favourite food? A really good BBQ with home marinated meats, lamb cutlets, quality sausages and burgers, along with great salads, mini garlic and rosemary roast potatoes and cold white wine of course on a nice summers day
Do you like to cook at home? Yes, I do most of the cooking at home
What would your dream meal look like? Gigantic prawns, fillet steak, mushrooms, asparagus and crispy skin on chips or a great lamb leg roast dinner
Sarah Blunt, senior development chef
How long have you worked at Classic? I’ve worked at Classic for nearly 16 years
What’s your favourite thing about your job? Developing a product that gets listed with our customers, and our products winning awards.
What’s your favourite food? My favourite food is Indian or Thai food, it has to be spicy or a really good roast dinner.
Do you like to cook at home? I do all the cooking at home and like to experiment with new dishes at home.
What would your dream meal look like? It would start with a starter of antipasti, followed by a good steak with peppercorn sauce, rosemary salt skin on chips and tender stem broccoli. Finished with a chocolate or citrus dessert.
Dave Young, production manager
How long have you worked at Classic? I have worked at Classic Cuisine for 11 years.
What’s your favourite thing about your job? The day-to-day involvement with a great team and creating great quality products for customers.
What’s your favourite food? A great meaty meat pie.
Do you like to cook at home? I do all the cooking at home and like to experiment with new dishes.
What would your dream meal look like? Fillet steak and all the trimmings with a gratin dauphinoise and a cold bottle of beer.
Ray Varnsverry, office manager
How long have you worked at Classic? Since August 2001 – 22 years.
What’s your favourite thing about your job? It is different every day, I’m always dealing with different things, so I enjoy the varied jobs I do on a daily basis
What’s your favourite food? My favourite food is a lovely pie with shortcrust pastry.
Do you like to cook at home? Yes, I love to cook at home.
What would your dream meal look like? Starter would be baked camembert, main course would be a pie with mash potatoes, carrots, green beans and lots of thick gravy, for dessert it would have to be a bread and butter pudding with custard.
Karen Byrne, national account manager
How long have you worked at Classic? I’ve worked at Classic for 11 years.
What’s your favourite thing about your job? I enjoy the variety.
What’s your favourite food? Mediterranean food, especially melanzane parmigiana.
Do you like to cook at home? Yes, and my speciality is risottos.
What would your dream meal look like? Salted padron peppers followed up a saffron seafood risotto with sicilian lemon meringue cheesecake to finish.