Efficiency in the Commercial Kitchen
During the Food Prize 2021, Sundvolden Hotel took home the award in the Commercial Kitchen of the Year category. For Millum, it was especially gratifying that Sundvolden won because they use our procurement system as a member of Nores.
We had the opportunity to speak with head chef Fredrik Røine about how he uses the Buy at Nores procurement portal provided by Millum.
In addition to making purchases through the portal, we also use it extensively for stocktaking. Sundvolden has around 700 product lines in stock at all times, so there's a lot to register. But since we buy everything through the portal, it's very easy for us to generate new stocktaking lists from it, consolidating everything there. It was much more cumbersome when we used old Excel sheets where half of the items weren't listed, and the prices weren't up-to-date. Head Chef at Sundvolden HotelFredrik Røine
Sundvolden won the award largely due to their efforts to reduce food waste and operate a sustainable kitchen. When asked about how they practically work on reducing food waste, Fredrik believes a lot of it comes down to awareness - and a bit of manipulation.
We started actively working to reduce food waste 10 years ago when I was still an apprentice. It began with waste in the kitchen and the size of the plates. Additionally, we had experts figure out how to set up a buffet so that guests choose the food you want them to choose. There's a lot of psychology behind it. At a buffet, it's not profitable if everyone only takes the lobster that's there. We need to offer something else filling as well, and manipulate the guest's choices that way.Fredrik Røine
Fredrik has an example of how awareness plays a crucial role in reducing food waste.
We've actually talked to guests whom we noticed were throwing away a lot of food from the buffet. For instance, there was a group of university students visiting us a few years ago. They were really enjoying their stay at the hotel and took more food than they could eat, which ended up being thrown away. We then spoke with their group leader and informed the students about how much they had wasted, which was a significant increase compared to the day before they arrived. Food waste was halved the next day. It's these small things we need to keep an eye on and address.Fredrik Røine
Regarding production waste, Sundvolden already exercises careful control.
We usually use the entire raw material. What we can't use in the actual food, we make stock from. We also don't struggle with items going bad since it's a large place where a lot of food is always being produced. But we are meticulous about keeping our storage organized to avoid anything going to waste.Fredrik Røine
Fredrik has no doubt about the biggest advantage of using the procurement portal from Millum.
It's efficiency. Products are easily searchable, and I can choose whether I want to search in all catalogs or from a specific supplier. The shopping list feature, along with stocktaking, consolidates everything in one place. Thus, Millum is an excellent system for us in large-scale food service.Fredrik Røine
In conclusion, Røine says he is always looking for measures to streamline sustainability efforts and that he is eager to try out the new food waste feature that Millum has launched.
