The three-day event, held earlier this month on the East Midlands campus, became home to over 500 delegates for three days where they immersed themselves into an exceptional event programme featuring inspiring expert speakers, exploration of a wealth of new products and services, and invaluable networking opportunities with other professionals in the sector from across the UK.
Loughborough University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Jennings officially welcomed guests to campus, before handing the reigns to TUCO Chair Amanda Pettingill. Shortly after, the conference kicked off with several activities, including a bustling exhibition featuring more than 100 stands, a tour of the University’s fantastic campus facilities as well as Charnwood Brewery, before a lively celebration event held at Shirley Pearce Square featuring fantastic food, fireworks and time to connect with colleagues and friends.
The remaining days of the conference saw more fantastic speaker sessions with the renowned figures such as Alaistair Campbell, Action Jackson, and Katy Moses. Beyond the talks, the fun continued for delegates with fairground rides and a spectacular gala dinner which was also host to the TUCO Awards, held to recognise and celebrate staff across TUCO’s member institutions.
Director of Commercial Operations Gagan Kapoor, whose team worked closely with TUCO to organise the event, said: “It’s been a privilege to host and deliver the Tuco Conference 2025 at Loughborough University. The sense of community, genuine collaboration, opportunities to network, and moment of celebration along the way made this event unforgettable.”
“For me, TUCO is a big family where I go back to for advice, for friendship, for collaboration, and for training. All you have to do is ask and people are so friendly and helpful. Thank you so much to everyone who helped to make the annual conference such a huge success.”
The University was shortlisted for several TUCO award categories this year, including:
- The Innovation Award
- TUCO Member of the Year Award
- Rising Star Award (Business Analyst Hayley Hall)
- Team of the Year Award
The Residential, Catering and Domestic Services team were successful in being named the winners of the TUCO Member of the Year Award, presented to an organisation that has made a significant contribution to the work of TUCO.
The University currently buys the majority of their food and beverages through the TUCO framework, with the exception of locally sourced products. The team are active advocates of TUCO Online, a hospitality procurement and menu management platform, and have worked closely with the platform’s team and its suppliers to improve the user experience. Furthermore, Loughborough regularly sends representatives to attend TUCO events; colleagues to attend professional development courses accessible via TUCO Academy; and contributed to editorial pieces in the TUCO magazine over the years.
Therefore, Loughborough was named the winner in recognition of their collaborative approach with TUCO and its members to create a winning partnership, and for living the TUCO values in the team’s day to day working.
TUCO is the leading professional membership organisation for in-house catering and hospitality teams across the UK’s higher and further education sectors. Their mission is to support, develop, and connect its members through various services that drive efficiency, excellence, and innovation.
To see more from this year’s conference, you can watch the highlights video.