Piccalilli Catering

THE ISSUE

On Melbourne Cup Day 2013, Piccalilli Catering provided catering services to about 40 client events at various venues around Brisbane. Within days, guests at multiple events fell seriously ill. One elderly victim died. Independent investigations determined the illness was caused by salmonella, traced to eggs purchased from a supplier at the Brisbane Produce Markets at Rocklea. Piccalilli’s chefs had used those eggs to make fresh mayonnaise, which was served in potato and Caesar salads on the day.

The situation was particularly difficult because the contamination was not caused by a breakdown in Piccalilli’s own kitchen procedures or quality systems; it came through the supply chain. In 25 years as professional caterers, the business had never experienced an incident like this. But this distinction meant nothing in the immediate aftermath: a person had died, others were hospitalised, and a catering company was at the centre of it.

The business faced an existential threat. Multiple clients were affected and would seek financial recompense. Queensland Health publicly blamed ‘a catering company’ without naming Piccalilli. Media were hunting for the company’s identity. If the story was told without Piccalilli’s voice in it, the business – built over a quarter of a century – risked being destroyed in a news cycle.

Piccalilli needed expert crisis communications support, immediately.

THE RESPONSE

We received a call on Monday 11 November and met with the client on-site the same day. We conducted a business risk analysis, established the known facts around the illness, hospitalisations, egg purchases and testing, and agreed on an immediate action plan.

Our plan centred on five priorities

Decouple the affected and unaffected parts of the business to contain the damage.
Write directly to affected clients with a full, honest explanation before any media story.
Prepare a media statement for immediate release, if required.
Draft letters for unaffected clients to reassure them.
Maintain regular contact with Queensland Health, update staff continuously, and maintain twice-daily contact with the client.

Our messaging strategy was built on a clear set of principles

Empathy had to come first for victims and for Piccalilli’s clients.
Honesty and transparency were non-negotiable – a full explanation was essential to maintaining credibility.
It was critical to make clear the eggs were locally sourced, not imported.
The failure happened to Piccalilli, not caused by Piccalilli.

We also made clear that Piccalilli was taking decisive action to review its supply chain, even though the contamination was not of its making. Throughout the process, we kept Piccalilli’s lawyers focused on the bigger picture: preserving the goodwill in the Piccalilli brand, not just managing liability.

When the story broke on Thursday 14 November – led by reports of the elderly victim’s death – Queensland Health’s public comments pointed the finger at ‘a catering company’ without naming it. Media began searching for the business. Our advice to Piccalilli was clear: name yourselves and tell the real story before someone else tells it for you. With its agreement, we began calling media outlets directly and referred them to the Piccalilli website where a prepared statement from a co-owner was posted.

The statement led with empathy and distress; explained the supply chain failure honestly and in detail; affirmed that Piccalilli’s own quality systems had not broken down; and outlined the steps being taken to prevent it happening again. The level of detail and openness was deliberate as it conveyed transparency and gave media a clear, factual narrative to report.

The result was significant: Piccalilli was widely named in coverage, but the contaminated eggs became the lead angle on almost every story, not a failure by the caterer.

On day two, all television stations requested on-camera interviews. Some were filming at Piccalilli’s former office and reporting the company had closed its doors. We refuted this without revealing the new address. The client’s lawyers advised against further comment; we negotiated an option to read a statement without questions. Ultimately, our advice was that it was better to do nothing: to leave early on Friday afternoon, go away for the weekend, and let the story blow over. Strategic silence, at the right moment, was as important as speaking up had been the day before.

THE OUTCOME

Piccalilli Catering survived the crisis with its brand and reputation intact. By getting ahead of the story, leading with empathy and honesty, and providing a clear factual narrative that positioned the contaminated eggs – not the caterer – as the cause, we helped shift the media angle decisively in the client’s favour.

The direct, personalised letters to affected clients preserved relationships that could easily have been lost.
The transparent engagement with Queensland Health and local authorities reinforced Piccalilli’s credibility.

The decision to draw a line in the sand after the initial media cycle prevented the kind of prolonged coverage that destroys small businesses.

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