According to Kirsten Winther Jørgensen, University Director of CBS, several interested canteen service providers contacted the bankruptcy estate about taking over the contract, however, Jespers Torvekøkken was the only one considered to be of relevance. At that point, CBS was involved in the negotiations, as it was up to CBS to agree with and accept the handover.

“CBS has reviewed Jespers Torvekøkken’s company profile, finances, customer references and been in dialogue with Jespers Torvekøkken. We are now reassured that this company is healthy, viable and has relevant experience and products. The fact that the University of Aarhus has recommended Jespers Torvekøkken based on its own experience has meant a great deal,” she writes in an email to CBS WIRE.

Kirsten Winther Jørgensen explains that CBS hopes Jespers Torvekøkken will consider re-employing the former Spisestuerne employees.

“The staff of Spisestuerne have our warmest recommendation. We have only good things to say about the collaboration, the employees and the way Spisestuerne has worked. It is, however, up to Jespers Torvekøkken to decide on this matter. But CBS’ opinion is clear, we hope to see as many of the former employees as possible re-employed and back at CBS,” she writes.

CBS Students, which owned Spisestuerne, explains that it is happy to see that a new canteen service provider has been found, but is also interested to see what Jespers Torvekøkken can offer.

“I don’t know much about Jespers Torvekøkken, but I’m curious to see whether it can live up to the high standards set by Spisestuerne and deliver more than just day-to-day canteen operations. Here, I’m thinking about catering for the big events like the Annual Party. Only time will tell,” says Mikkel Nielsen, Chair of CBS Students.

Over the past couple of years, Spisestuerne concentrated its efforts on sustainability. It introduced a scheme to prevent food waste, found alternatives to single-use plastic cutlery and featured more greens and organic produce on the menu. Will this continue to be a priority for CBS with the new canteen service provider?

“Jespers Torvekøkken has a distinct profile in this area, and that is something we are going to discuss further. Jespers Torvekøkken has already announced that it wishes to use CBS to further develop its profile by volunteering as a case company for our faculty and students,” writes Kirsten Winther Jørgensen.

Mikkel Nielsen agrees and hopes that sustainability will continue to be of importance in the future

“There’s no doubt that sustainability will play a major role, and it is something we have worked with, and we hope the new canteen service provider will do the same,” he says. 

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