Success Story: Trios Sports Club

Trios Sports Club in Cranbourne, VIC have seen big improvements to their kitchen operation since working with My Local Foodie.

They’ve reduced their cogs from 38% down to a consistent 30%. Plus saved a tonne of time on their admin too, thanks to our streamlined kitchen management software.

We interviewed Head Chef, Atish Chaudhuri to find out how he’s transformed his food operation.

MLF: YOUR COGS WERE AT 38% WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED WORKING WITH US. THEY’RE NOW AT 30%. WHAT WERE THE 3 BIGGEST CHANGES YOU MADE TO GET SUCH A GREAT RESULT?

ATISH: Portion control. Yield testing all our recipes accurately and engineer them so our plate costs are highly profitable.

Intelligent buying. We choose to buy quality products at the right price, and aren’t afraid to shop around and jump on good deals from the FoodieBuy group. 

Accurate stocktaking. Thanks to a great count system we now see exactly what our stock holdings are to minimise over ordering and wastage.

 

MLF: HOW DID MY LOCAL FOODIE HELP YOU IMPLEMENT THESE CHANGES?

ATISH: My Local Foodie gave me the tools to be able to do all of these things. Before we joined, we were still using excel sheets for our menus. Now we have accurate menus and recipes costed. And much quicker stocktakes too.

The software gives me concise and precise information to help me make decisions. And the buying group boosts my purchasing power.

 

MLF: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU HAD TO OVERCOME?

ATISH: Managing our clientele’s expectations when we consolidated our menus and introduced more consistency in price across the club.

Previously, we’d been running 6 different menus. And offering the same menu items in our bar and restaurant areas but at different prices. This was really hurting our bottom line, especially when you factor in club member discounts on top.

With our new and improved menus, we’re still giving our members quality food they love. And now every dish is profitable, no matter which area of the club you order it from.

My Local Foodie gives me a system that allows me to review my products from a range of suppliers and ensure I’m buying the right product at the right price.

MLF: WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH WHEN IT COMES TO BUYING?

ATISH: You get what you pay for. I would rather pay a bit more for better quality. Particularly on fruit and veg and in the meat department especially. 

Be confident in your products and don’t feel like you have to compromise on quality for a price point. Don’t be afraid to shop around to find exactly what you want.  

 

MLF: HOW HAS MY LOCAL FOODIE HELPED YOU BUY BETTER?

ATISH: It gives me a system that allows me to review my products from a range of suppliers and ensure I’m buying the right product at the right price. 

I have tried meat suppliers outside the buying group and still come back as the quality and price is great. 

 

MLF: HOW HAPPY ARE YOU WITH THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTS YOU BUY THROUGH MY LOCAL FOODIE?

ATISH: Overall I’m really happy. Quality has been pretty consistent over the years. 

We did have some issues with meat quality and had to change our meat supplier a couple of times. We even tried suppliers outside of the buying group too, but came back to FoodieBuy as the quality is better. Being able to work with suppliers directly to get exactly what we want has helped.

 

MLF: HOW HAVE YOU IMPROVED YOUR MENU AND RECIPE COSTING?

ATISH: It’s been quite a journey for us. We’d been trying to convince management that large menus are hard to manage. We had 6 menus that were priced differently across the club, which is why our COGS were nearly at 40%. And we were using excel to cost them all.

With My Local Foodie, the game changer was having all our recipes in a system to see exactly how much profit each dish can provide. It has given us awareness of our profit margin, helped us reduce our menu items down and make each dish profitable. We’ve benefited from better wages as a result. 

With My Local Foodie, the game changer was having all our recipes in a system to see exactly how much profit each dish can provide.

MLF: WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SETBACK YOU ENCOUNTERED USING OUR SYSTEM? AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?

ATISH: We needed more support at the beginning on how to use the software properly to see the results we were promised. It took a lot of time and training to get it right.

When we were taking full advantage of the whole system, we found it does actually work. We saw results. And it became much easier from that point on.

 

MLF: HOW DOES COSTIMATOR HELP TO STREAMLINE YOUR KITCHEN OPERATION? AND WHERE HAVE YOU GAINED THE MOST TIME SAVINGS FROM?

ATISH: Everything is in the one spot which saves a lot of time. No more jumping around using different systems. The ordering process is quick and easy.

We’ve seen the biggest time savings with our counts. Stocktakes used to take 3 people about 6 hours using excel each month. Now it takes one Chef just 90 minutes every week. That’s a saving of 12 hours a month – and doing weekly counts instead of monthly.

 

MLF: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANOTHER CHEF WHO MAY BE CONSIDERING WORKING WITH MY LOCAL FOODIE?

ATISH: With my accurate recipes I have been able to improve our whole food operation. The system will help you streamline everything and save you admin time.

Everyone in the business has visibility on the numbers. David our General Manager likes that he can see all the info he needs whenever he wants.