Crisis-stricken Patisserie Valerie has appointed former Tulip UK MD Jose Peralta as director of food production and supply.
Peralta’s appointment follows Patisserie Valerie’s hiring of former Tulip boss and turnaround specialist Steve Francis as CEO.
Peralta was MD of pork processor Tulip Food Company (UK) and senior VP of parent company Danish Crown from October 2016. Before that he spent 12 years as a red meat division MD, first at Grampian Country Food, then Vion Food Group and 2 Sisters. During that time he had responsibility for the majority of Tesco’s red meat business, and latterly M&S’s.
In his new role he will be responsible for all operational activities involving the procurement and making of Patisserie Valerie products as well as their delivery to cafés. He will report directly to Francis.
“He’s one of the most experienced meat operators in the industry. He could run a business four times this size,” said Francis, who worked alongside Peralta at Tulip.
“But he was so taken by the opportunity when I walked him round the bakery that I managed to lure him into this role. He’s running the back of house with a charter to bring all the skills of own-label, high-speed, industrial fresh food production to a cottage industry.”
Francis left his role as chief executive at Tulip in June and moved to Patisserie Valerie last month. He took over from Paul May, who stepped down weeks after a fraud inquiry began into a near-£40m black hole in the company’s finances.
The café chain became embroiled in scandal on 10 October, when shares in the business were suspended after an internal investigation discovered it was almost £10m in debt, instead of having £28m in the bank.
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