Journal | Chefs Eye Food Waste Measurement

Ronnie Truss cooks up a Scallops Masterclass

Ronnie Truss, co-founder of Chefs Eye Tech, the intuitive food waste measurement system, takes us on a trip down memory lane with two very delicious recipes in this Masterclass of cooking with scallops.

With a demonstration on how to open and clean a scallop, Ronnie also reminisces on a very special food experience he enjoyed with the late Michel Roux Snr on Loch Crinan in Scotland where he co-owned a scallop farm at the time.

The video was recorded as part of a fundraising initiative called #Hospitality4Heroes, which has taken the hospitality sector by storm, with Ronnie being nominated by Thomas Kilroy of Kitchen Sync (with special mention to Simon Esner of Uncommon Sense who had nominated Thomas!).

Since launch, this fundraiser has captured the imagination of the hosptitality sector in raising vital funds for our #NHS heroes. Why not donate TODAY?… You have helped raise almost £15,000 so far!

- just click here to make a donation to raise funds for the NHS

Click the image below to watch the video or click here to see it on YouTubeLink to full article here (for access on Twitter)

RecipesChefs EyeJuly 31, 2020Chefs Eye Tech Comment

Here’s why you should reduce your food waste Chef

As chefs all over the globe gear up for re-launch after mass confinement, there will be pressure on them to re-think every aspect of their kitchen operation - from costs to compliance to creativity.

And with severely limited scope for error in any of those areas, every tool and resource that can be used will be a welcome one.

Beyond cooking, Food Waste measurement is one discipline that has been overlooked in the belief that it is irrelevent, in the same way that temperature recording, allergen training or supplier vetting was resisted until business realised the cost of ignorance far outweighed the investment in awareness, technology and training. Excuses that the input is time-consuming or costly no longer hold up to scrutiny….

Read the full article here: (Why you should reduce your food waste Chef)

Chef DevelopmentChefs EyeJune 16, 2020Chefs Eye TechFood Waste, Food Cost, plate wasteComment

Food waste and costs go sky high as Dubai lifts the lockdown

Currently I am working out in Dubai where we are almost a fortnight into re-opening following a strict lockdown. We are beginning to see trends in the data emerging since. Our clients have also highlighted a number of business stresses affecting service, operational and food costs.

Writing this during Ramadan here in Dubai where I have been confined for the best part of two months, I am grateful to our many clients, colleagues and friends that we have been able to call on for mutual guidance and reciprocal support.

At Chefs Eye, myself and the team are committed to supporting our clients as they begin switching on lights, stoves and ovens again.. and we are proud of how quickly we have helped them identify cost-impacting trends in food waste during production on site in the essential service sectors that have remained open throughout; namely oil refineries, hospitals and hotels where our systems have proved beneficial.

As our clients continue to come back on stream, we have identified nine trends in the data and in conversations with our clients so far: we hope they help you to anticipate your challenges of getting operational again:

Click here to read the full article.

Sustainability, StrategyChefs EyeMay 14, 2020Chefs Eye TechFood Waste, Food Cost, plate wasteComment

Six reasons why you should measure your food waste

Ask yourself one question: do you REALLY know what is in that bin being carried out by the kitchen porter at the end of service?

‘You get what you inspect, not what you expect’. This simple adage is fundamental in managing a business and leading people.

In our experience at Chefs Eye Tech, many food production businesses do not know how much food they are wasting, who is wasting it, the reasons for the wastage or in some cases, what counts as food waste.

And this fundamental question of why any business should measure its food waste is one of the first things we get asked when we introduce the Chefs Eye food waste measurement system to potential clients.

It’s a great question, and one we think about all the time. First however, let’s consider the act of measuring food waste. After all.. it is just that: measuring. Weighing. Counting.

OK, we admit that Chefs Eye Tech also photographs the waste, and builds trends and statistics on a dashboard so you can drill down further into the data. But you can start with a clipboard.

Once you have captured that data, the next step is up to you. But which step is the right one for you and your business? If you have ever used a map for directions, you first need to know where you are before you can plot a route to a destination.

So, if your destination is to REDUCE your food waste, or COST IT into your budget, or even LEARN FROM IT for training… then you have to take steps to start that journey. But before you can take the first step to a solution, you have to understand the problem.

With that in mind, here are six reasons to measure your food waste. Click here to read the full article.

A story in America about food waste on an epic scale

With restaurants, hotels and schools closed, many of the nation’s largest farms are destroying millions of pounds of fresh goods that they can no longer sell.

From David Yaffe-Bellany and Michael Corkery writing for The New York Times:

After weeks of concern about shortages in grocery stores and mad scrambles to find the last box of pasta or toilet paper roll, many of the nation’s largest farms are struggling with another ghastly effect of the pandemic. They are being forced to destroy tens of millions of pounds of fresh food that they can no longer sell.
The closing of restaurants, hotels and schools has left some farmers with no buyers for more than half their crops. And even as retailers see spikes in food sales to Americans who are now eating nearly every meal at home, the increases are not enough to absorb all of the perishable food that was planted weeks ago and intended for schools and businesses.

You might might be forgiven for thinking; so what?

well, here’s the so what:

The amount of waste is staggering. The nation’s largest dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America, estimates that farmers are dumping as many as 3.7 million gallons of milk each day. A single chicken processor is smashing 750,000 unhatched eggs every week.

[Read the full article here: Dumped Milk, Smashed Eggs, Plowed Vegetables: Food Waste of the Pandemic]

As we contemplate, in the UK and across the globe, how we get back to “business as usual”… there is a realisation that there won’t be a business as usual like before.

From the paralysis of closure, Global hospitality which is underpinned by food production is about to go through a process of slow and staggered re-openings and site mobilisations where reduced capacity and social distancing will be the new norm.

We therefore must anticipate that one of the biggest costs - both morally and fiscally - will be in the unprecedented amounts of food waste as a result of a supply chain production pipeline that has no real OFF switch - and was set up in a time when world demand looked very, very different.

How do we as an industry come together to manage, reduce or perhaps re-direct that production to where can most effectively meet consumer demand?

Supply ChainChefs EyeApril 20, 2020Food Waste, AmericaComment

What do you mean "we don't have any food waste"?

A few weeks ago, one of our team was in a local café when he casually asked about how they deal with their food waste. “Oh, we don’t have any food waste” came back the reply.. “we cook everything to order.”

At face value it seemed to make sense, and that approach to managing portion control and food costs is to be applauded - or is it? Our colleague - who was new to the world of food waste at the time - didn’t think too much about the statement as they took a table to enjoy their morning brew.

After a few minutes however he noticed a number of plates being cleared during what was a busy breakfast service. He saw slices of toast, portions of beans, the odd tomato and butter portion were finding their way into a bin in the kitchen out the back.

Meanwhile the server on the till innocently believed that there was no food waste, because she was blissfully unaware of the amount of actual food going in the bin…

Chefs EyeMarch 24, 2020plate waste Comment

Chefs Eye Tech leading the charge on sustainability

Chefs Eye Tech were delighted to be among the 120 invited guests of EP Business in Hospitality hosted at Barings Bank in the City of London for a lecture by Professor David Russell, Chairman of The Russell Partnership, on how there is a new momentum in the sustainability agenda.

Sustainability, StrategyThomas KilroyJanuary 31, 2020Chefs Eye TechDubai Expo

With restaurants, hotels and schools closed, many of the nation’s largest farms are destroying millions of pounds of fresh goods that they can no longer sell.

From David Yaffe-Bellany and Michael Corkery writing for The New York Times:

London • Dublin • Dubai