Bring your costs back into line and stay there.

When it comes to running a profitable kitchen, having the right systems in place is only half the battle. The real advantage comes from having someone who knows how to make those systems work. In this Q&A, Nathan Reed, Client Success Manager at My Local Foodie, shares his insights into the challenges venues face, the wins he’s seen, and why a balance of smart technology and dedicated support is critical for long-term success in hospitality.

How has your hands-on experience in hospitality helped you support clients more effectively?

I’ve spent over 25 years in hospitality across the UK, Europe and Australia, overseeing a wide range of venues from wine bars and high-volume city establishments to pubs, hotels, large groups and some of Sydney’s most iconic venues. Having seen firsthand how demanding kitchens can be and how quickly costs can spiral without the right systems in place, I’ve adopted a systematic approach to managing COGs and I’m not just talking about numbers. I know how recipes, yields, and supplier challenges play out in real life. Chefs know I’ve been in the trenches, so they feel at ease knowing I’m there to provide practical support that makes their lives easier and as for owners and GMs, having sat in their shoes also, they know I will focus on delivering results that support the whole venue ecosystem.

Many venues struggle with supplier relationships and rising costs. How do you help clients streamline their ordering and procurement process?

With My Local Foodie’s Costimator, operators don’t have to juggle multiple logins for different programs or spend hours chasing suppliers. It is an all in one platform that gives full visibility across spend, compliance, and pricing, turning procurement into a structured process. This lets chefs and managers spend less time on ordering and admin and more time running their business.

Can you share an example where you have supported a venue with spiralling COGs, bringing them back into line by helping them optimise Costimator?

One venue was struggling with spiralling COGs and no clear visibility on where losses were happening. Using our QBR (quarterly business review process), we worked through My Local Foodie’s 5 step method to bring them back on track:

• Reviewing COGs vs budget. This highlighted the variance between theoretical and actual COGs to establish a clear baseline.
• Recipe analysis & menu engineering. Gaps in recipes were identified, yields tightened, and correct portioning established to align theoretical COGs with reality.
• Supplier compliance & procurement analysis. Here we analysed purchasing data, worked with Foodiebuy/procurement support, and tendered across key categories to ensure the right products at the right price.
• Stocktaking & wastage. We introduced consistent, structured stocktakes and properly tracked wastage in Costimator which reduced hidden losses.
• Training & accountability. Chefs and managers were trained to use live reporting features to track variances weekly rather than monthly.

Within two QBR cycles, our clients COGs were back in budget and they stayed there. But the biggest shift wasn’t just the numbers, it was the team’s confidence in knowing where to focus and having the systems to maintain control.

Stocktaking can be one of the most painful processes for venues. How do you make this easier for your clients?

We remove the need for manual spreadsheets and clipboards, we digitise stock counts and enable clients to see their variances in real time. This ensures pricing and products are accurate which allows operators to trust their numbers and make better data-driven decisions.

Live data and reporting are game changers for operators. Can you give an example of how reporting helped a client identify inefficiencies before they became major issues?

One of our client’s theoretical and actual COGs were drifting further apart each month. However through Costimator’s reporting feature and live data, we traced the issue stemming from inconsistent portions and recipes not being followed correctly. By addressing it quickly, the venue was able to re-engineer their menu and set pricing accordingly to optimise profitability.

A lot of venues juggle multiple platforms. How does an integrated system change the way they operate day-to-day?

An integrated system means everything talks to each other and there is less room for error; ordering, invoicing, recipes, stock, and sales. Instead of double-handling data across multiple platforms, daily tasks are faster, and leadership has a clear picture of performance without the noise.

My Local Foodie is known for combining tech with a human touch. How do you personally bring that support to your clients?

Our Costimator software provides structure, but my role is to ensure people are confident using it and that they can apply it effectively. So I spend the time with clients, whether it’s for onsite training, recipe reviews, interpreting data or a tricky stocktake. I support everyone from Executive/ Head Chefs and their team to Accounts, GMs, Operations Managers and owners and am really there for extra support in any capacity as an extension of the venue’s network. Clients know they can pick up the phone and speak with someone who genuinely understands their business and who they can trust to help them achieve their goals.

If you could give venue operators one piece of advice about managing their back-of-house more effectively, what would it be?

Don’t let your numbers sit in the background. Bring them into your daily routine. The most successful operators use their data proactively, not just at month-end when it’s too late. A small amount of discipline each week in recipe accuracy, ordering, and stocktaking can make a significant difference to profitability.