CLOSE-KNIT former employees at Elisabeth the Chef’s major factory marked its final day with an 80s-themed party.
Around 100 laid-off or retired workers danced and shared memories on Friday following the closure of the plant near Worcester.
More than 300 staff are thought to have been made redundant by the company’s owners as they shut the site following more than three decades of the Midlands brand in Lower Broadheath.
TRIO: Adam Wisniewski, Lee Medlicott and Justnya Kozerska were among the ex-workers who gathered to pay farewell to Elisabeth the Chef (Image: Josh Layton)
‘Lasting friendships’
But the ‘cake crew’, who came in 80s fancy dress or their finest party gear, were determined to go out on a high after the end of an era at the chilled desserts manufacturer, which once supplied the nation’s big supermarkets.
As an 80s disco got under way, images from the factory were projected above the dancefloor and dining tables in a pavilion overlooking the cricket ground filled with demobbed workers marking the final chapter.
Lee Medlicott, who worked as a supply chain manager, told the Worcester News at the leaving do: “Tonight is like a full stop or an exclamation mark on the story of Elisabeth the Chef.
“We’re here because we’ve always been like a family.
PARTY: Tomasz Krzysztof was among the revellers at the 80s-themed farewell to Elisabeth the Chef’s long-running factory near Worcester (Image: Josh Layton)
CLOSE-KNIT: Staff gathered at a cricket ground pavilion to share memories and dance at the Elisabeth the Chef closing party (Image: Josh Layton)
“It was an extremely hard environment to work in and it’s been the people who have kept the place going over the years.
“In one part of the factory the heat was 40 degrees, while on the other it was five degrees, and people worked 10, 11 or 12 hour shifts.
“We have people here who left quite a while ago, but even though the factory has shut down the friendships have lasted.”
READ MORE: Elisabeth the Chef staff plan to party after closure of long-running factory
LINE: A production operative in what is now a bygone scene at the factory in Lower Broadheath near Worcester (Image: Josh Layton)
MEMORY: Images from years gone by were flashed above the dancefloor at the Elisabeth the Chef closing party (Image: Josh Layton)
‘Mix of emotions’
Adam Wisniewski, who organised the party with help from Worcestershire County Cricket Ground, was wearing a fake afro, orange tan and ‘bling’ chain.
Mr Wisniewski, originally from Poland, worked his way up from general operative to assistant shift manager during a decade at the chilled desserts maker.
“I’ve got a mixture of emotions tonight,” he said.
“On the one hand I love doing something for people and it’s making me happy we can connect, but on the other I’m sad not at the loss of the building but becomes some people may struggle to find jobs.
RETRO: Adam Wisniewski was determined to go out on a high after spending a decade at Elisabeth the Chef (Image: Josh Layton)
“Some people have found work, while others have gone back to their country of origin.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to help them – before the factory closed I was supporting staff with writing their CVs.
“There are plenty of opportunities around the country for them.”
Long server reflects
Rob Green worked at Elisabeth the Chef for 42 years in a career spanning the boom years in the mid-1990s, the changes in ownership and the decline in facilities and staffing.
Mr Green, who retired from his final role as production manager at the Worcester plant in 2023, reflected on the loss of the last factory in a portfolio that had once included several plants in a flourishing West Midlands manufacturing base.
Country Style, the company’s Leeds-based owners, cited ‘lack of demand’ as they pulled the shutters down on the final plant.
“It’s a sad occasion for me,” Mr Green said.
“When I started in 1981 there were only 12 people working in Leamington before it got bigger and bigger.
“At one point there were 1,200 people working for us across three factories in Leamington, one in Southam and one in Aberystwyth.
“What I’m really sorry about is all these people here tonight, and the fact they’ve put so much of their lives into making a career.
“A lot of people here are from Poland and a lot of other places and they’ve come here and made a good career for themselves, and it’s all disappeared.
“It’s bittersweet, but they’ll have a good party tonight.”