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Portion Pal™ Kit
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Portion Pal™ Starter Set
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High volumes and fast growth may be great for a restaurant. But when it comes to creating consistent customer experiences and keeping margins in check, they can certainly create challenges.
Matt Deacon-Evans, Executive Chef (left) and Nathan Tower, Chef Logistics (right) of Warehouse Group Bars and Restaurants
Since 2011, Canada’s Warehouse Group has been expanding across the continent.
While their value driven $5.95 menus may lead you to assume their food is a loss leader, there to lure in the drinking crowd, you’d be mistaken. Executive Chef Matt Deacon explains how and why Warehouse Group (WG) turned to Portion Pal™ to ensure menu profitability while also creating a consistent customer experience across all 20 locations.
As WG began to grow, so too did the challenges of delivering a consistent customer experience. As Matt stated, “If someone is putting a different amount of sauce on a burger, it’s going to completely change the dynamic and cost of that burger.” Matt’s goal was simple – create a consistent experience across all locations. “We wanted to achieve the kind of consistency you get when you visit a McDonald’s in Paris, and you get the exact same cheeseburger you would here in Vancouver.”
“We’ve definitely seen our inventory variances come down between ideal and actual usage.”
As with any restaurant, keeping costs in check is a priority for Matt and his team. “If someone feels that something needs more sauce, they’re going to ladle that on there. With our inventory controls/program we’re going to see those variances and we really wanted to tackle those variances before they started to add up.”
When rolling out Portion Pal™, Matt took time to ensure his team understood the product, its benefits and why it would be simpler in the long run. “When someone’s worked in a kitchen for a long time and then you give them a new tool, they’re going to be way more comfortable with their old ways,” explained Matt, noting that his approach helped overcome potential resistance to change. Since bringing Portion Pal™ into their operations, “We’ve definitely seen our inventory variances come down between ideal and actual usage. Which tells us that it’s working!”
“Honestly, it’s a very simple tool. Once we’d used it ten or so times it’s second nature.”
~ Matt Deacon-Evans, Executive Chef of Warehouse Group