Contract catering: how do you manage your central kitchen?

The main objectives of a central kitchen are to provide healthy, well-balanced meals for all guests, while ensuring the highest standards of food safety and quality. From the food reception area to the delivery of the products to the catering sites, follow the different steps for optimal organization and management of a central kitchen. 

The challenges of mass catering

Every day, thousands of meals are prepared in our central kitchens, before being delivered to satellite catering sites and local authorities. Menus must be adapted to the needs of each individual. To achieve this, the central kitchen manager has to identify the characteristics, challenges and particularities of the different catering sectors.

School catering

According to theInstitut National de la Consommation, "In France, one child in two eats at the canteen, and over 60% of primary school pupils attend". School canteens are an essential part of food education. Its primary objective is to meet children's nutritional needs so that they can attend afternoon classes. To achieve this, it is important to offer children and teenagers safe, healthy and appetizing food, in sufficient quantity. 

In addition to this, good citizenship and good manners can also be seen as implicit objectives of school catering, which is also supposed to provide a time of rest and recuperation for pupils.

Beyond these challenges, school catering has other roles to play: 

• Public health: contributing to nutritional balance and the fight against obesity.
• Opening up to the world: discovering production methods and organic supply chains, culinary apprenticeships, agricultural trades, etc. 
• Political dimension: discovering the local economy through territorial anchoring, local supply chains, environmental protection, the fight against food waste, etc.

Hospital catering

Hospital catering covers meals distributed to patients and staff working in healthcare establishments such as hospitals, clinics, medical-social facilities, etc. All meals are covered, from breakfast to dinner, including snacks for night staff.

In the hospital environment, catering takes on 4 roles: 

• a feeding role,
• a role in supporting medical treatment,
• a role that contributes to the well-being of patients and staff alike,
• a role in raising awareness of a balanced diet.

There are currently two ways of managing hospital catering: 

• In-house management: the hospital directly manages its catering activities, using its own resources, staff and central kitchen.
• External management: the hospital entrusts the management and organization of catering to an external service provider. 

Catering in the public sector

Administrative and inter-administrative catering must ensure that as many employees as possible have access to well-balanced, affordable meals close to home. On the other hand, it is a real vector of conviviality and cohesion within teams.

The rules concerning the creation, organization, operation and financing of administrative restaurants are all specified in the circular of December 21, 2015 on the organization and operation of inter-administrative restaurants.

Corporate catering

Company canteens have been hard hit by the health crisis, as shown by theINSEE study entitled "Restauration collective : des difficultés structurelles exacerbées par la crise sanitaire" ("Company canteens: structural difficulties exacerbated by the health crisis"). Company canteens are facing new challenges : changing employee consumption habits, frequent use of teleworking, technological innovations... To adapt their offer, company canteens are implementing new models: meal delivery service to the office, digitization of cafeterias, upscale company canteen at home for teleworking employees... Many small and medium-sized businesses are opting for these flexible, low-cost catering solutions in a post-crisis context. 

👉 Further information: The evolution of the office meal delivery market

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5 steps to successful central kitchen management for foodservices

The central kitchen is a food production unit which, on a daily basis, prepares menus, and prepares and distributes meals for one or more "satellite" restaurants and/or local authorities. 

Whatever the resources and the type of foodservice operation for which it is intended, the central kitchen must be managed in an optimal way, while adapting to the particularities of its sector. Discover the 5 steps to a well-organized central kitchen: 

Stage 1: Designing the central kitchen

Designing or renovating a central kitchen is not something you can invent. The layout of the building, the layout of the kitchen and the surface area of the premises must meet strict standards.

For example, the central kitchen must provide :

• an entrance hatch (the kitchen should not have direct access from the outside),
• two entrances between the kitchen and the dining room: one for meal distribution, the other for the return of dirty dishes and waste,
• toilets and changing rooms for kitchen staff,
• non-hand-operated hand-washing facilities equipped with soap dispensers (bactericidal liquid) and single-use hand towels: one in areas where foodstuffs are handled, and a second at toilet exits,
• the kitchen unit must be laid out on a single level, with level access.

Worktops and work equipment enabling agents to work seated or standing must also meet strict standards. 

Step 2: Creating menus

Menus are designed to be balanced and varied, adapted to the nutritional and physiological needs of the guests, while taking into account budgetary constraints. Menu composition and recipe development can be managed by a dietician or by the central kitchen manager. 

The special case of hospital catering: menu design is a very important stage, particularly in hospital catering, which has to deal with a number of particularities compared to other areas of contract catering. Meals are intended for vulnerable people with specific nutritional needs, and are part of patient treatment.

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Stage 3: Receiving, storing and managing foodstuffs

The central kitchen must source quality products, preferably local and in season. Kitchen staff must plan purchases according to the needs of the collective restaurant, taking into account menus, quantities required and budgetary constraints. 

It's also important to manage stock levels regularly to avoid shortages or losses.

Foodstuffs must be stored in conditions appropriate to their nature (temperature, humidity, etc.) to guarantee quality and food safety.

Stage 4: Meal preparation and distribution

Dishes must be prepared according to food hygiene and safety rules, in sufficient quantity and at the right temperature. 

The central kitchen must provide a service for delivering and distributing meals to satellite and/or community restaurants, while ensuring compliance with hygiene standards. 

Step 5: Compliance with health and hygiene standards

The collective kitchen is a source of hazards (parasites, foreign bodies, chemicals, bacteria) that can contaminate the food prepared and distributed to guests. Prepared meals must be packaged in suitable containers, labelled and stored at the right temperature to guarantee their quality and safety. The central kitchen must be regularly cleaned and disinfected to guarantee food safety.

It's up to plant managers toensure hygiene and health safety, by complying with the various regulations in force: in particular the PMS and HACCP.

The PMS (sanitary control plan) describes the measures taken by the establishment to ensure the hygiene and sanitary safety of its production against biological, physical and chemical hazards.

HACCP is a method for identifying and assessing the hazards associated with each stage in the production process of a foodstuff, and for defining the means required to control them. This approach involves identifying health risks and determining the critical points at each stage of the process. 

👉 Further information: HACCP approach in foodservice: the complete guide

Best practices for efficient central kitchen management in the foodservice industry

Kitchen staff training

The well-being of guests depends directly on the human resources mobilized: staff must be trained and in sufficient numbers. The responsibilities of each member of staff must be clearly established to guarantee efficient management of meals in the central kitchen. 

Training programs must be offered to raise staff awareness of food hygiene issues, as well as the implementation of self-checks based on the principles of the HACCP method. Staff must also be made aware of the special needs of their guests: children, the disabled, the sick, the elderly, etc. 

Have you heard of Ma Cantine? It's a digital service where you'll find all the measures, tools and resources for all canteen managers. The aim is to accelerate the transition to high-quality, sustainable food in schools, administrations, hospitals, nursing homes, businesses...

Selective sorting, waste and food waste management

According to SNRC figures, 3.7 billion meals are served each year in catering facilities. Sorting waste and managing food waste is a real challenge for central kitchens! 

The Environment Code encourages the reuse, recycling or other recovery of waste whose production could not be avoided. 

The waste produced must be sorted and disposed of responsibly. Food donations, barter tables, portion reduction, online pre-ordering solutionsThere are many innovative solutions to combat food waste. 

👉 To find out more: 8 tips to avoid food waste in the restaurant trade

Digitizing the central kitchen

Digital technology can help you limit food waste and improve inventory management at the same time! The use of inventory management software can facilitate food management by providing real-time information on stock levels and orders to be placed. As a result, you can easily spot food trends, reduce waste, avoid stock-outs and better anticipate your next orders. 

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Would you like to digitize your facility to improve the management of your central kitchen? Contact an Innovorder expert.