Orders are placed from memory, not from stock counts
Five of the six people working at a site describe ordering from a walk round the fridge and what they remember, and the area manager says the same of three of his four sites. Counts are done once a month for finance, and nobody orders from them. The head chef who counts weekly and orders to a set level sits at 26.5 per cent, the lowest of the eleven.
“For orders it's the walk and what I remember.”Head chef, 4 years in role
Show all 4 quotes and their conversations
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“For orders it's the walk and what I remember.”
Head chef, 4 years in role
Open the conversation
LontraHow do you decide what to order for your kitchen in a normal week?
Head chefI know my kitchen. I look at what's in, I think about the weekend, I place the order. I don't need a sheet.
LontraWhat do you look at when you decide?
Head chefThe fridge, the walk-in, the bookings for Friday and Saturday. Twenty minutes. I do it at two, the cut-off's at three.
LontraHow do you know how much is in?
Head chefI count it every month for finance. Otherwise I know what I've got. I can see it.
LontraYou said you count it every month for finance, and also that you can see what you've got. Which is closer to what happens on an order day?
Head chefFair. I count monthly because finance want it. For orders it's the walk and what I remember. If you asked me exactly how many kilos of beef I've got I'd be guessing.
LontraWhat happens when you guess too high?
Head chefIt sits. We use it, but the ones at the back go out of date. And too low, I'm on the phone on Friday to a supplier at whatever price. Running out on a Saturday is worse than having too much.
LontraWho decides how much is too much?
Head chefNobody. Finance send the figure at the end of the month, then it's too late to do anything.
LontraWhat do you see in that figure?
Head chefA number. Thirty-six per cent. It doesn't say what happened. I don't know if it's the beef, the portions, the supplier price.
LontraWhat would you change?
Head chefLet me see it weekly. And a count sheet that isn't a blank page.
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“What we're low on. Not what we've got.”
Head chef, 7 years in role
Open the conversation
LontraHow do you decide what to order?
Head chefI walk the fridge on Tuesday and Thursday with a notepad and order from that. Two suppliers for most things, one for fish. Orders go in by two for next morning.
LontraWhat is on the notepad?
Head chefWhat we're low on. Not what we've got. If it's low I order it.
LontraHow do you know what's low?
Head chefEyes. And the prep cook tells me what's run out.
LontraWhen do you count stock properly?
Head chefMonth end, with the sous. Takes an afternoon.
LontraHow do case sizes and minimums come into it?
Head chefChicken's in ten kilo boxes. I need six, I order ten, there's no half box. And the minimum order's two hundred pounds, so I add things to get there.
LontraWhat happens to the things you add?
Head chefMostly they get used. Sometimes it's a special to shift it.
LontraWhat do you think explains your number?
Head chefHonestly, the menu. We sell more of the steak and the fish than the other sites. They're the dear lines, so of course we're higher.
LontraWhat would you want from head office?
Head chefTell me when prices change. I found out the butter had gone up when I saw the invoice. Three weeks later.
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“I've never seen a stock sheet, he orders from what he sees in the fridge.”
General manager, 6 years in role
Open the conversation
LontraWhat do you see of ordering from where you sit?
General managerInvoices. I see them come in, I sign them. I don't see what's ordered before. The chef places it and I see the total. I've never seen a stock sheet, he orders from what he sees in the fridge.
LontraHow do you know whether the orders are right?
General managerI don't, until the monthly pack. Food cost is on page three and it's either good or it's not. If it's bad I ask him what happened and we both don't know.
LontraWhat do you do when it's high?
General managerTalk to the chef, change a dish maybe. It's guesses.
LontraWhat happens on delivery day?
General managerDeliveries land at seven and the box sizes mean he always orders a bit over. The chef checks against the invoice, mostly. If he's on his break, a commis signs. Monday mornings are short.
LontraWhat would you change?
General managerA weekly number, one per site, and a line to say why.
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“Most. I'd say three of my four.”
Area operations manager, 4 sites
Open the conversation
LontraFrom where you sit, why does food cost differ between your sites?
Area operations managerI've got four sites and their food costs run from twenty-six to thirty-six. Four head chefs, four ways of doing it. One counts every week, the other three monthly, when finance chases.
LontraWhat do you make of that?
Area operations managerIt's not about skill. Nobody has set a method. Each head chef built their own and they're all good cooks. The one who counts weekly is the lowest, by a distance.
LontraWhat happens when you ask a chef to count?
Area operations managerThey do. Then it slips. There's no reminder and nobody checks. The sheet goes in a drawer.
LontraWhich of your sites order from memory?
Area operations managerMost. I'd say three of my four. Cut-offs are two or three in the afternoon, so they order in the middle of prep.
LontraHow do you decide whether to step in?
Area operations managerI don't have a trigger. I see the number mid-month, tell them, and they say they'll look at it.
LontraWhat would you change?
Area operations managerOne count sheet, one day a week, the same for every site. And finance sending the figure weekly, not monthly. I'd start with the highest three.
