The evening was held on the 15^th March at The Radisson Edwardian Hotel in London and was attended by over 200 people.

Here at Hazeldene we would like to say congratulations to all the staff for all their hard work in making the launch to KFC such a success.  Hazeldene were praised for their ‘text book execution’ and have gained the award after just 5 months of supply.

Well done everybody!

During March two Hazeldene employees spent a weekend in Ullswater in the Lake District with pupils from The Fred Longworth High School, helping the children to learn new skills and enjoy the outdoor adventure.  Here, Ian Calvert, Engineer at Hazeldene tells us about his experience.

Looking forward with excitement to the weekend ahead I did wonder how I would deal with groups of teenagers, what have I done?

Agne Grubinskaite and I volunteered to mentor groups of year 11 students from Fred Longworth School, Wigan, accompanied by teachers: Lucy Dalton, Martin Ainscough & Pete Agnew.

The activities plan was amended slightly due to the poor weather. Friday allowed for a brief introduction and familiarisation with the area. We split into groups and spent some time on the assault course, where we set a record time scaling the 12ft wall, (12 people in 55 seconds) followed by tunnelling through a long network of very narrow underground pipes.  Later we did the jog ‘n’ dip, followed by a run around the grounds and a swim in the lake. The water was approx 4 degrees!

Saturday was Gorge Walking.  Equipped with waterproof suits we set off up the fells to a series of rivers and waterfalls, all fast flowing, through caves and waist deep in places. The freezing conditions made this quite a challenge and the students learned how teamwork, patience and determination could lead to them achieving goals that they may never have considered.

Saturday night, kit–up, debrief and off we went up Place Fell to camp for the night. After a hike of two and half hours, mostly uphill we made camp, exhausted and very hungry. We erected the tents and cooked supper, beef casserole in a bag! Best meal in a long time. The morning brought freezing temperatures, snow and high winds, which made cooking breakfast a new experience. Back down the mountain and rendezvous at the beach, to meet the boat.  We all cheered until we discovered that it was to be powered by us.  A crash lesson in getting 12 novices to row a boat in a straight line, resulted in us mostly zigzagging our way back the 2 miles, to the centre. The dream of a hot shower was our fuel.

In conclusion I was sceptic; the youth of today does get a lot of bad press. This group of youths/young men and women are an absolute credit to their school and their teachers. They faced every challenge with grit and determination, learned how to reassure and be patient with their comrades, to set targets and work hard to achieve their goals .They should be very proud of themselves.

Personally, I realised that most people have some skill, however well hidden. Patience, encouragement and reassurance won the day.  Agne and I would like to thank Hazeldene and The William Jackson Food Group for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this awesome adventure.

Runners: Vlad Lukjanciks and Dan McLoughlin

On the 22nd April 2012, two of our Hazeldene employees are set to take on the London Marathon Challenge in support of The Outward Bound Trust.

Vlad Lukjanciks and Dan McLoughlin are hard in training, preparing to run the 26 mile event and they would greatly appreciate your support.  The marathon will be a real test of stamina and determination and will push them to their limits to reach the finish line.

The boys have a big target to reach but its achievable with all you help and support.  We know all of your donation will go to help as many young people as possible to have access to safe, adventurous, experiences through which they can raise their self esteem, realise their full potential and achieve more than they ever thought possible.

If you would like to sponsor Team Hazeldene please visit  www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Hazeldene or contact Victoria Kennedy at victoria.kennedy@hazeldene.co.uk.

Marian Dewson

One of our Hazeldene employees has been getting in the festive spirit and baking up a treat!

Marian Dewson, Senior QA Inspector from Goods In, has shown great talent making this fantastic Christmas cake.

Marian started carefully crafting the cake in September, and is now looking forward to sharing it with all the staff at Hazeldene.

Well done Marian!

Set in the Lake District, the team took on a series of outdoor adventure challenges over 2 days, competing against 14 other companies.

On Wednesday 30^th November, the 4 colleagues attended a prize-giving ceremony in London and were each presented with an award.

Ken McLoughlin, team leader, said “We were really happy to take part in this fantastic challenge and raise money for this great charity.  We would like to thank everybody who sponsored us and helped us raise almost £6,000.”

L-R: Ken McLoughlin, Lee Hopwell, Stuart Seaton and Steve Lynch

Last month, four members of the Hazeldene team took part in a charity event held by Iceland at the Carden Park Golf Club near Chester.

Stuart Seaton, Ken McLoughlin, Lee Hopwell and Steve Lynch each participated in a one day golf tournament, competing against a number of other Iceland suppliers.  The Hazeldene team performed well and did the company proud, gaining a high score and making it a tight competition!

The event itself was a fantastic success and raised just under £150,000 which will be divided between Iceland’s two benefiting charities, Alzheimer’s Research UK and The Prostate Cancer Charity.

Hazeldene were delighted to be involved in the event and show support to these fantastic charities.  Well done everyone!

L-R: Lucille Bailey-Llowarch, Louise Massey, Darren Bowden, Sue Croft, Tomas Benda, Dariusz Merchelski

Fourteen members of the Hazeldene team returned to Wigan and Leigh Hospice to help with preparations for their annual garden party!  The Hazeldene employees put up marquee style tents, moved furniture and set up stalls.  They also supplied salad for sandwiches and onions for the BBQ on the day!

The team had a tour of the Hospice facilities and learnt about the incredible work the charity does for their patients. Staff were happy to help out and support this great charity and the service they provide to the local community.

The Hospice said: “We would just like to thank Hazeldene for all their help with the fair.  It is much appreciated and they were a grand bunch of ‘volunteers’.  We hope to see them again in the future!”

Hazeldene have carried out volunteer work with Wigan and Leigh Hospice on a number of occasions and over time have developed an excellent relationship. Despite the typical English rain fall, staff showed great team work and had lots of fun.  The garden party itself was a huge success, and managed to raise over £4,000 for the charity!

Throughout 2011 Hazeldene will be focusing heavily on improving both their internal and external communications via Facebook, Twitter, and a website re-vamp! The exciting new improvements will feature a weekly blog, competitions and prizes, heaps of interesting salad facts, tasty recipes and plenty more!

Keep up to date with all things salad and follow Hazeldene on Facebook and Twitter now!

Debbie Paterson, Ken McLoughlin, Victoria Kennedy and Vlad Lukjanciks

Teamates from Hazeldene have raised more than £5,000 for The Outward Bound Trust by completing the charity’s 2011 Challenge.

Ken McLoughlin, Vlad Lukjanciks, Debbie Paterson and Victoria Kennedy took on 13 other teams and braved a number of outdoor tests to complete the two-day challenge in the Lake District in June.

The weekend began with a gruelling game of kayak polo, followed by the rock climbing event with the braver team members tackling the rock face blind folded. Other activities included a zip wire challenge, mountain biking, orienteering, fly fishing, canoeing and a ghyll scramble.

Team leader Ken said: “We had great fun completing the challenges and taking part in this event and we’re delighted to have raised so much for the Outward Bound Trust and would like to say a very big thank you to our colleagues, customers, suppliers, friends and family for their donations.”

The Hazeldene colleagues will find out if they have won the challenge at an awards ceremony at St James’s Palace in September.

Being recognised at the Re:Fresh Awards is a real achievement for Hazeldene. Their success is down to the close-knit and invaluable teams in place both internally and externally.  Hazeldene would like to thank their customers, suppliers, staff and all those who have contributed to their success at this year’s Re:Fresh awards.