Central production units (CPUs) are getting more popular in the industry. But chances are, you already know that CPUs are getting more popular — that’s why you’re here, right?
So how exactly can a CPU benefit your business? And is it right for your cafe or bakery?
Let’s find out. 😎
In this article, we outline some of the ways you can use a central kitchen to enhance your operations and grow your business. And it’s not just our perspective — we’re sharing best practices and examples from what we’ve heard from industry experts like Rocksalt, and Hook & Ladder.
How can a central production unit elevate your hospitality business?
Let’s take a look at some of the ways a CPU can help bakeries and cafes expand to new locations, improve operations, and increase the bottom line.
Reduce food waste
Food waste is a big problem across the entire hospitality industry. In 2021, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimated 10.7 million tonnes of food was wasted. And the hospitality industry? We’re responsible for 10% of that.
But the good news is that a CPU can actually help you reduce food waste. How? By centralising your inventory management.
Instead of individual locations managing their food orders, the CPU handles it all from one location. You order your inventory directly to the central kitchen, and prepare the food for individual restaurants to serve.
And if you use technology (like Nory👋) to handle this process? You can predict exactly how much you need to order to meet demand at each location. This means you minimise overspending, minimise surplus, and reduce the amount of food that goes to waste.
With technology, you can also track food waste at a CPU level and from each restaurant location.
From the CPU, you can monitor which ingredients are used, wasted, or spoiled. On the ground, you can track food items that go to waste before they’re sold, and how much food customers waste on the plate. Both of these insights help you make informed decisions about inventory management.
Streamline operations
A central kitchen helps you streamline your operations. Instead of handling kitchen operations for individual venues, you only have to oversee these operations from one location.
Not only does this streamline your entire business operation, but it also makes things easier for the managers at each location.
Take a look at Hook & Ladder as an example. With their CPU operation (and with Nory’s AI-powered CPU leading the helm behind the scenes), their managers can focus on ensuring a smooth operation without worrying about suppliers, invoicing, and food preparation.
“Before Nory, we didn’t have anything to oversee spending on a daily basis, so it was hard to track performance and monitor costs. We needed a centralised system. “The fact that Nory can bring everything together in a central location was very powerful for us.”
Andrew Moloney, Managing Director at Hook & Ladder
Improve food quality
A dedicated, central kitchen can help you improve food quality across all your locations. You have one team in place focusing on the same dishes, meaning they can really hone their ability to create each plate to its full potential.
Rocksalt, for example, has two CPUs — one for baked goods, and one for everything else. This means they can solely focus on delivering top-quality baked items from one kitchen, and other food items from the other.
A CPU also means you can deliver consistency across locations. All the food is cooked and prepared in one location, so each venue gets the same food quality. This is pretty good for building your brand, ensuring customers get the same quality food no matter which location they visit.
Address the labour shortage
It’s no secret that there’s a labour shortage in the industry right now. And with the new legislation around immigration, it’s likely this shortage isn’t going away anytime soon.
But the good news? Operating a CPU can help you tackle this shortage.
Instead of hiring multiple chefs across different locations, you can hire a core team to operate from your central kitchen. This means hiring fewer highly-skilled chefs to carry out the most complex aspects of your food production.
Hot tip 🔥 To increase retention and ensure your core team sticks around, use technology to enhance the employee experience! With Nory, for example, you can seamlessly onboard, engage, and reward your employees. You have everything you need to provide a smooth and engaging experience for your workforce!
Lower costs
Hold the phone — opening a large kitchen unit on top of your existing operations can help you save money? 🤯
Although it might not seem like it, a central kitchen can help you lower costs (in the right circumstances — more on this in the next section). Here’s how:
- Less-equipped dining locations. You don’t need to fork out for a dining premises with a full kitchen set-up. This means you spend less on rent or mortgage payments across your customer-facing locations.
- Less staff across locations. With a central kitchen, you don’t need a full kitchen staff in every venue. You have one core team in the central kitchen and front-of-house staff in each location, which can reduce your labour costs.
- Bulk buy ingredients. Operating a CPU means ordering all your ingredients and food items into one kitchen. This means you can purchase items in larger quantities and negotiate better prices. George Hartshorn says it himself: “Better pricing is possible for CPUs because you’re buying in bulk, and therefore have stronger negotiating power.”
Is a CPU right for every hospitality business?
In a word, no.
Don’t get us wrong — if you use a CPU at the right time, it can 100% fuel the growth of your business. But if you launch a CPU too soon? You might struggle to keep your profits above water.
Think about it — if you’re running a CPU with low demand in different locations, you’re essentially paying for premises that you don’t really need. In this situation, it might be better to keep preparing and cooking food from individual locations.
So how do you know when to open a CPU?
Honestly, it depends on a lot of variables like your costs, revenue, location, and so on. There’s no secret formula that applies to every business.
However, there are some signs to look out for. 👀
How much time do you spend prepping items?
If your team finds itself spending considerable amounts of time prepping food to meet customer demand, you might benefit from a central kitchen.
Stephen Burns, Group Operations Manager at Rocksalt, even says it himself:
“If you find that you’re rostering more than one person for 40 hours a week in multiple locations to work in a kitchen, just prepping items, it’s probably time to consider a CPU.”
Think of it like this: It takes one person 30 minutes to prep 10kgs of smashed avocado. Across three locations? That’s 90 minutes. But if you’ve got one person to prepping 30kgs in a central location, it might take them 45 minutes.
So if you find that you’re spending a lot of time preparing items to meet customer demand (and when we say ‘a lot’, we mean more than is manageable), a CPU could be the perfect next step.
Are you struggling with space?
If you find yourself shuffling equipment to try and make more room, or minimising how many kitchen staff are working at one time because you don’t have the space, a CPU may be the next step.
Take a look at one of the UK’s leading bakeries as an example.
Before opening a CPU, the team struggled with limited capacity in their kitchens. The size of their machinery was taking up a lot of space. Paired with the cost of finding venues big enough to actually fit the equipment, it made sense for the business to open a CPU.
“Before using a CPU, we had limited capacity in our kitchens. Now, we have more control over what we produce, where our raw materials come from, and the way we use these materials. It has totally changed the game in terms of being able to scale. Without the CPU, we couldn’t have opened any other stores.”
If you’re in a similar position, a CPU might fit the bill. It means you have one location with all your equipment. This frees you up to find better premises for diners and grow your business without kitchen restrictions holding you back.
Thinking about launching a central kitchen? Use Nory for your CPU
CPUs are a great way to centralise your operations, putting you in a good position to expand your business and get a better handle on your inventory management.
If you’re thinking about opening a central kitchen, having the right technology in place is essential. It provides you with the data and insights to make informed decisions about your operations.
This is where Nory’s AI-powered CPU can help. Use our AI-powered system to track real-time performance, monitor inventory usage, and optimise spending to meet customer demand across different locations.
FAQs about CPUs in hospitality
What is a CPU in a restaurant?
A CPU (central production unit, or a central kitchen) is a facility where you prepare food. Chefs in the CPU produce and prepare food for distribution to various venues. The food is either partially prepared or plated and ready to serve to customers.
What is the purpose of a central kitchen?
The main purpose of a CPU is to centralise food production. It ensures consistency across different venues, improving efficiency across the business and streamlining your logistics. It can also minimise costs, allowing you to order ingredients in bulk for lower prices.
What does a head chef do in a central kitchen?
In a central kitchen, the head chef oversees all culinary operations. They focus on ensuring consistency in food quality, as well as managing the kitchen staff. They’re also typically in charge of managing inventory, menu planning, and adhering to health and safety standards.
