Top Tips about Transforming Catering with Digital Technology

Updated On: February 01, 2024 by   Ciaran Connolly

Neil Bradley, former chef and restaurant owner turned food technology innovator recently provided insights into how he developed a digital food safety tool which helps catering professionals with paperwork around food safety standards.

When running his own businesses, Neil was searching for solutions to help him save time in the kitchen spent filling out paperwork. He felt as though chefs were hired to cook, not to fill out paperwork; and so, the Food Safety System was born. The application allows chefs and caterers to retain updated food safety compliance documents automatically as they work on preparing and cooking food in a busy restaurant environment. 

By introducing the digital food safety system into the kitchen, the cloud space allows managers, owners and chefs to log in easily to check and ensure wireless temperature checks and bluetooth probes are all working correctly and are recording information about food safety accurately and in compliance with regulations. 

This is beneficial in a sector where finding staff is a challenge, with chefs unable to balance the busy restaurant environment with paperwork duties. Instead, with the wireless thermometers and bluetooth probes, their paperwork is being done for them, complying with UK and EU regulations, saving them time to focus on food preparation and service.

The Food Safety System is an important tool for the food industry as chefs can suffer bad ratings from inspection if their paperwork isn’t filled out. Remembering to do this isnt always easy, especially in a busy working environment within the food service industry.

As restaurants are being judged 24/7 with every meal they serve, it is understandable to see how paperwork may be forgotten about and filled out incorrectly. When so much effort is being put into top quality food service, the digital food safety system ensures that the paperwork is being filled out to a top quality standard as well.

As much as the importance of top quality food service matters, food safety checks are essential. In this day and age, around 80 percent of people will only eat in an establishment if their food safety rating is four or above. The Food Safety System helps to ensure that paperwork is being done in full compliance with food safety standards, which directly affects a business food safety rating or ‘score on the door.’

Bradley describes how in the past, the kitchen had been a digital ‘blackhole’ where getting chefs to use technology in such a busy environment was a challenge. However, the digital Food Safety System has been a great success in involving technology in the food service industry.

Whilst it isn’t customer-based, it is instead beneficial to chefs and caterers in running a more efficient kitchen, covering both food production and food safety regulations. 

The digital revolution in the food service industry has helped businesses compete in a fast growing and competitive industry to keep up their standards in a more environmentally friendly society, where it has also impacted on the use and need of paper and print-outs.

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