Düsseldorf, Germany, 2015-10-28 — /EPR Retail News/ — METRO GROUP is supporting Culinary Agents, the professional networking website for catering and hospitality sectors, to kick off operations in France and Italy this month. Starting in October, the online job recruiting startup offers its services to French and Italian entrepreneurs and specialists of restaurants, caterers and hotels, planning further expansion into European and Asian markets in 2016. METRO GROUP has acquired a stake in Culinary Agents earlier this year to forge a strategic partnership to provide added value for the customers of its international wholesale divisionMETRO Cash & Carry.
With the support of METRO Cash & Carry, an international leading player in self-service wholesale, Culinary Agents is now offering its networking services in France and Italy. Among the first customers, there are also Michelin rewarded chefs offering vacancies in their companies. The European market entry represents an important step for the New York-based startup, specializing in job matching, networking and mentoring for catering and hospitality industries. METRO Cash & Carry is now able to offer its key customer group of hotel, restaurant and catering professionals a quick and reliable access to networking and finding qualified personnel for their daily business success.
“Culinary Agents is kicking off the local operations in France and Italy, two crucial markets for METRO where we have cultivated profound relationship with the hospitality community over the past decades. With the technology and services offered by Culinary Agents, we are able to provide those entrepreneurs with assistance and solutions to their recruiting and networking”, said Pieter Boone, CEO of METRO Cash & Carry and member of the Management Board of METRO AG.
Building a global network
The market entry into Italy and France clearly showcases Culinary Agents’ international success story, giving way to further expansion into European and Asian markets in the next year. “Our mission is to help people across the restaurant, hotel, catering and overall hospitality sectors with talent sourcing, job matching, and professional networking. Entering France and Italy is a significant step for us and we definitely see great potential in the European market. The partnership with METRO will enable us to build a global network to help talent and businesses across the community”, said Alice Cheng, founder of Culinary Agents. Both European networking websites can be visited atwww.culinaryagents.fr and www.culinaryagents.it.
Founded in 2012, by Alice Cheng, Culinary Agents offers technology based solutions focused on job matching, career development and mentorship in the hospitality sector. With more than 70,000 registered users in the United States (as of Oct 2015), Culinary Agents has already proofed its role in the food, beverage and hospitality industry.
Guide Michelin promotes Culinary Agents in European markets
Culinary Agents’ technology and services are a cost-effective way to source all levels of positions for various types of hospitality businesses. Unlike other job sites, which are often static, Culinary Agents has an automatic matching process, which tees up opportunities to talent and talent to businesses, along with tools to support applicant matching, messaging, and management. The partnership with METRO Cash & Carry will enable Culinary Agents to expand broadly across Europe and Asia. To strengthen the strategic partnership, METRO also sponsors the latest edition of Guide Michelin to intensively promote Culinary Agents among the sophisticated dining and hospitality establishments throughout the US and Europe.
METRO GROUP is one of the largest and most important international retailing companies.In the financial year 2014/15 it generated sales of around €59 billion. The company operates more than 2,000 stores in 30 countries and has a headcount of around 230,000 employees. The performance of METRO GROUP is based on the strength of its sales brands that operate independently in their respective market segments: METRO/MAKRO Cash & Carry – the international leader in self-service wholesale – Media Markt and Saturn – the European market leader in consumer electronics retailing and Real hypermarkets.
Culinary Agents is changing the hotel, restaurant and catering industry (HoReCa), through its development of a professional networking and job matching website for current and aspiring HoReCa professionals. With more than 70,000 users in 30+ cities across the U.S. (as of Oct 2015), Culinary Agents supports all types of food service establishments, catering businesses, specialty retail stores, and hotels, as well as schools and non-profit organizations in the HoReCa industry. The strength of Culinary Agents’ platform is in its technology and reach. Through its website, Culinary Agents provides businesses with an efficient, cost effective way to source HoReCa talent for jobs of all levels, while enabling job seekers to represent themselves professionally, pinpoint appropriate job opportunities, and find resources to help fuel their careers. For more information, please visit www.culinaryagents.com.
METRO AG
Corporate Communications
Metro-Straße 1
D-40235 Düsseldorf
Telephone: +49 211 6886-4252
Telefax: +49 211 6886-2001
E-Mail METRO GROUP: presse@metro.de
SOURCE: METRO GROUP