5 Tips to Reduce Food Waste in Commercial Kitchens

Chefs and Restaurant Managers need to be perpetually vigilant for ways to reduce costs, improve outputs, maintain food safety standards and enhance staff morale. Commercial kitchens can quickly get out of control if these basic requirements do not have the right settings. Controlling food waste is one element that will have a huge impact on all of these factors, as nothing is more irritating to kitchen staff than taking immeasurable amounts of time and care when preparing food, only to have it wasted. So, let’s dig a little deeper and learn how to reduce food wastage in your commercial kitchen.

1.    Engage staff in the process.
Humans love a higher cause, so educate your staff on the feel-good benefits of reducing food wastage like –

a.    Less impact on the environment.

b.    More food available for those who need it.

c.     Smaller portion sizes helps fight obesity.

d.    Working in an effectively run kitchen.

2.    Develop a system to accurately predict need.
The restaurant trade can be fickle, yet certain consumption trends are measurable. These may be in relation to seasonal changes, neighbouring events, isolated weather events, holiday periods, marketing or even whether or not the home team is playing at home. By keeping a record of these occurrences and the food consumed, savvy Chefs and Restaurant Managers can use the history gathered to predict the future when these events take place next.

3.    Ensure your stock control is best practice.
By accurately anticipating production requirements using the method above, ordering ingredients can be done with greater effectiveness. Over time, this will also have a positive effect on the bottom line of the business as ordering expenses will only be incurred as required, rather than taking the rainy day approach with ingredients. When stock does arrive, ensure it is correctly stored and labelled with unambiguous labels such as Day Dots (see below) if applicable.

4.    Label food accurately.
Day Dots and other food safety labels need to be standard inventory inclusions in professional kitchens. They are quick and easy to use. Staff learn how to use them effortlessly and they are very effective at communicating essential information fast. Day Dots are especially efficient at information transfer, and staff readily identify with the need to use them regularly as they assist with stock rotation and maintaining food safety standards.

5.    Schedule large batch production judiciously.
Many commercial kitchens rely on batch production of various dishes. This needs to be done with consumption in mind and the existence of the requisite storage space once the batch is complete. Too many kitchens over prepare batches of food only to find there is insufficient storage space. Also, remember to apply Day Dots to batch preparations to clearly keep staff informed.

Following these simple strategies will significantly reduce food wastage in your commercial kitchen.