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Yet reaching out to campaigners, he says, hasn’t worked, so now Nestlé has embarked on a proactive policy of emphasising its good works. In May it launched an initiative, Creating Shared Values, aimed at promoting partnerships with governments and non-governmental organisations around nutrition, water and rural development.

“It’s a way of expressing in a coherent way how we have always gone about business in 140 years of Nestlé. You cannot be successful if you don’t link up meaningfully for society at large, and that means creating value for society as well.”

He wipes the tablecloth by his plate for emphasis. High-domed and beady-eyed, Bulcke projects a sharp presence, treating each question like another crumb to be dispatched. His press team look anxious in his presence.

But he’s also happy to tackle anything head-on, and not short on wry humour. He gained the top slot after turning the Americas into Nestlé’s most profitable region, and is seen as a no-fuss manager who knows his brands inside out.

Yet he was not the investors’ favourite to become chief executive. That was Paul Polman, who later left to head British rival Unilever. Another rival, Lars Olofsson, left to head retailer Carrefour. The joke among journalists was that Polman was too charismatic to head Nestlé.

Bulcke lets out a short laugh. “Yeah, well, these journalists — they always get it wrong.”

He prefers to highlight what Nestlé does well. In the past decade or so, it has remodelled itself as a “health, nutrition and wellness” business offering premium products. And it has done that by evolution, not revolution — and by paying what it takes to get the brands it wants.

Analysts expect Bulcke to continue the good work. “He’s passionate, he has a hands-on approach, and he’s close to the business,” says Charles Mills, analyst at Credit Suisse. “You look at the categories Nestlé is in now, and it has got the best products.”

Bulcke himself is following the strategy laid out by his predecessor, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who is now chairman. That continuity is the Nestlé style. But what if Bulcke wanted to effect real change?

“Well, do we need to?” he counters. “I have been part of senior management for the last five years, I am not wanting to change a lot. But you don’t just sit there and enjoy it, you are goddamn afraid it is not going to work well tomorrow so you put your act together, you anticipate. You put a lot of energy and push behind the stability . . .”

It’s all part of Nestlé’s long-term philosophy. Investors may argue it could push harder for profit — the company likes to prioritise 5% revenue growth each year — but it has been improving margins recently.

“Yes, we could deliver more profit and growth short-term,” says Bulcke nodding, “but that’s a bit what happened to the world, isn’t it? It was all short term, get it today, another nice wave to ride tomorrow, and boom — they hit the wall. The Nestlé way is healthy growth, and every year the same kind of growth.”

Bulcke admits that growth may slip this year but margins should increase. Nestlé has responded to recession by selling smaller, cheaper versions of products in developing economies. So far, its move away from commodity items seems to be paying off.

As for Nestlé going on another buying spree, he acknowledges it’s now a possibility. “It appeals to my Cartesian logic — companies look cheaper, people have cash problems, but when they’re cheaper there is less reason to sell, too, so you have to watch out.”

Bulcke mentions “logic” a lot, citing his degree in applied economics as central to his mindset. Born the third child of six in Ostend, Bulcke was persuaded by his father, who ran a concrete factory, that combining economics with a practical application such as engineering would boost his business career.

Having married young, Bulcke started work in cost control for Scott Graphics, before ringing Nestlé and asking for a job. He had heard that it offered international careers. Nestlé responded by sending him to Peru, just as revolutionary guerrillas were targeting foreign businessmen. Postings to Ecuador, Chile, Portugal, Czechoslovakia and Germany followed.

Bulcke’s sales-oriented drive and go-anywhere style clearly chimed with Nestlé’s culture. The company has been trading internationally for more than a century — in the second world war it sent half its senior management to America to hedge its bets on the conflict’s outcome. That ruthless pragmatism hasn’t changed since.

Analysts wonder, however, if key decisions — such as whether Nestlé will bid for L’Oréal, the beauty group in which it holds a 30% stake — will rest not with Bulcke but with his chairman, Brabeck-Letmathe.

Predictably, that doesn’t bother Bulcke at all. As for L’Oréal, he is bored with being asked. “So thanks for not asking me, eh?” he laughs. “You insist? Okay, we have options. That’s it.”

He finishes lunch with a cup of instant Nescafé, then says he has to go — an analysts’ webcast session awaits. Does he know what they’ll ask? “A bit. They have their worries. The frustrating thing is, there are questions I cannot answer. You don’t want to give the competition clues.”

They read your briefings? “Of course,” he grins. And he reads theirs? “If a competitor says something relevant, I will know.” And with that, he’s gone.