Johan Cruijff ArenA
The ArenA through the eyes of our catering manager: Josine Rienks
From steward to Catering Manager at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. Josine Rienks worked hard to get where she is now. As business economics student, she worked at the ArenA as a steward since August 1998, where she got to work during matches, business events and training sessions of the Dutch national team and European clubs. "During that time I got in contact with the commercial department." And then she became, while getting her second bachelor degree, Assistant Management Commercial Business in June 2003. Ever since she's had multiple functions in the stadium and it's impossible to imagine a team without her.
Working together
As Catering Manager, Rienks works on a lot of different questions and subjects. Together with her team, she's responsible for the collaboration with the caterers, such as the Catering Club and Hutten Catering and catering partners Heineken and Coca Cola. Rienks takes care of negotiations and contracts with these parties with management, and with her team she makes sure all agreements are realised the way they're supposed to. "What gets sold in the stadium, how does it get served and for what price and all other conditions that come with that." She also focuses on 'smaller' issues, like what a beer tray will look like during a specific event and which logo's are and are not allowed on it. From contracting to look & feel, all these tasks are equally important to make sure the ArenA works well with her partners.
There is a lot involved in catering for up to 72,000 visitors!
Experience
Besides the collaboration with the partners, Rienks and her team are also involved with the experiences of the visitors of the stadium. Almost every visitor buys a Heineken beer at a concert or a snack that gets taken care of by the caterers during a match of Ajax. Contributing to the fan experience is what makes the work special for Rienks. "No day is the same in the ArenA and catering is an important part of the fan experience in the stadium. It's a beautiful thing to be able to contribute to that for the visitors as well as the partners."
Pride
Rienks also has a project that she and her coworkers are proud of. The fact that the visitors of the ArenA get to drink a Heineken beer for a number of years, is thanks to Rienks and her team. "Even though the collaboration with Grolsch was greatly appreciated, I was proud of this change which got a lot of attention from supporters and media. The preference from people from Amsterdam is very clearly with Heineken." This change in partner was led by Rienks in 2017, during the time she was Manager Business Partnerships at the ArenA. The change was received with loving reactions.
Innovation and catering always come together.
Improving
Rienks is working on improving the fan's experiences all the time. "Not just the visitors in the main building need to have a VIP experience. All the visitors, anywhere in the stadium, all in their own way." She hopes to further realise this together with all involved partners in her next years at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. At the same time, topics like innovation and sustainability come up when we talk about the future. "How can we make the food offers in the stadium more sustainable towards a healthier offering without taking away the visitors' favourite snack? Questions like that keep me busy."
Love
Rienks has worked at the Johan Cruijff ArenA for almost twenty years now. A nice closing fact: even though she's had multiple jobs at the stadium, she found love during the job where her adventure started.
Curious to know more?
Working at the Johan Cruijff ArenA has been a great experience for Josine Rienks for years. Curious to see what other employees do daily or are you interested in applying for a job? Click here to go to all our blog and news items and here to see all our vacancies.
