Whether you are a professional in collective catering, commercial catering, takeaway or a gourmet restaurant, you must offer an impeccable offer to your customers. The quality of raw materials, the price and their availability. Not sure how to make your choice? Here are some tips that can help you!

The items you will need in the kitchen

The beginning of the cycle in cooking begins with the preparation of ingredients. Yes, without products it is impossible to make dishes. The majority of the products come together in several families: meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, desserts, grocery store, cellar and bar. It is also not necessary to forget about the care products.

Purchases of fresh products, seafood, or dairy products will be made at local merchants or markets, to promoting the short circuit. For frozen or vacuum products, it is necessary to go to specialized suppliers. For drinks, cellar and bar products, go to a brewer or producer.

The characteristics of an excellent restaurant supplier

From cheeses to ice cream, including butchery products, dried vegetables, ham, creams, dried fruits, bakery products or pastry products, there are characteristics that will qualify a good supplier :

• It only sells quality products and he can take care of proposing exclusive products that will adapt to your gastronomic offer.
• He will do everything possible to hand over the most important orders to you. He knows your needs and the schedules of your services. In addition, he knows how demanding your kitchen is. He will deliver you according to the agreed hours in advance and this, despite the setbacks.
• He will show honesty and transparency with regard to prices and the provenance of products. It is a supplier for restaurant who you can trust. You must therefore have access to its prices, the quality of its products and their provenance.

What to do before applying for a supplier for your restaurant

For avoid food waste, you need to be able to evaluate your stock accurately. Before making stocks, you need to take into account what are the basic products consistent with your daily expenses and what are the occasional items. These will vary according to demand, seasons and events.

Then it is necessary to make a budget in the short, medium and long term. This will give you the opportunity to assess what are the margins to be spent and how much you will invest to make your card as profitable as possible.

Finally, you must well managing the relationship with the head chef. Why? Because this is the most important relationship there must be with the catering supplier. Thus, both sides must rely on communication, understanding and negotiation to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Find the best supplier of your foodstuffs

• Check references

In order to find out if the supplier reputation is positive or not, you can ask for advice from your other fellow restaurateurs or read the reviews on the internet. There are annual reviews so you can get an idea. You can also ask them for their licenses and accreditations.

• Select local suppliers

There quality of materials is always on top if you select suppliers with fresh or local products. If customers notice the difference in the quality level, they will not hesitate to pay the full price.

• Negotiate the best prices

The choice of your supplier must be based on prices.