54 | FOOD PURCHASING | LAST WORD
W:
www.ie-today.co.uk
PICTURES: don't get stuck in a rut with your foodservice - variety is the spice of life
In addition, many suppliers specialise in particular types
of food, so consolidating as much of your purchasing with a few key suppliers - perhaps using one for all your dairy, one for all your dry goods and one for your meat - provides several advantages, including being able to tap into their specialist knowledge to further develop your menus. In addition, your purchasing process will be easier and more streamlined for your staff, you’ll benefit from economies of scale, and when it comes time to pay the bills, it will take less time for your accounts team to pay a handful of suppliers rather than dozens. Finally, key suppliers are always interested in forming partnerships with their best customers and may be able to offer you additional discounts, specialist training to help develop your staff or other added-value benefits. It is always worth asking what else a supplier can do to help you. Of course, when you’re selecting your suppliers, you want
to ensure that they are reputable and have the necessary due diligence in place to guarantee the provenance and handling of their products. Any supplier should have an up-to-date British Retail Consortium (BRC) or equivalent accreditation to ensure they have full traceability of their supply chain. When you have a reliable stable of quality suppliers
in place, there is still more work you can do with your catering team to ensure you are geting the most from your food spend. For example: Prioritise taste over aesthetics: if you’re serving individual
portions of fruit, you obviously want beautiful, blemish-free products. But if you’re going to mash, sauté, chop or pulp an ingredient, like peppers or tomatoes, does it need to be a perfect specimen? You can purchase greengrocery items that are
slightly misshapen or miscoloured, but still taste delicious and are perfect for use in soups, sauces and stews. And using these products helps support sustainability by keeping them from being thrown away just because they aren’t perfect-looking. Consider if you need a branded product: we all have
our favourite brands, but they have been developed for consumer use. The major foodservice suppliers have developed products that are specifically designed to work best in a catering environment where food must retain its taste and atractiveness while on display throughout the meal service. In fact, the baked beans from one of the major foodservice suppliers have actually scored higher in tastes tests than the most popular consumer brand! Think about smart ingredient selection: simple changes
can have a big impact. For example, using mature cheddar in cooking rather than mild cheddar requires about 25 per cent less and also reduces the fat content of your dish. Your catering team will no doubt have an abundance of such ideas to get the most out of your food spend while delivering delicious, nutritious meals to your students. Don’t get stuck in a rut with a menu cycle: make your suppliers
your partners and work with them to upgrade specification on key items and take full advantage of seasonal ingredients so you are geting the best product at the best price and adding interesting ingredients and flavours to your menus. Above all, the most important element in geting the best
from your food purchasing is working in partnership with your catering team. They are on the front line of ensuring that ingredients are used in the best way, minimising wastage and coming up with creative ideas to improve your food offer. iE
www.harrisoncatering.co.uk / Email:
info@harrisoncatering.co.uk / Phone: 01844 216777
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58