Robert Scott joins Edlyn as Consultant Chef. He brings with him many years of experience working extensively as Executive Chef throughout UK and Europe as well as locally. A successful restaurateur, Robert also hosts a local popular cooking program on ABC Radio, and conducts culinary courses at local Victorian wineries and B&Bs.

As the festive season settles upon us, now is a time of enormous productivity and pressure. This is, of course, a natural thing to happen – perfectly expected! How we deal with it may be another matter altogether.

In the kitchen there never seems to be enough time, or staff, to meet these demands. We can plan and plot what we hope will happen and how we can deal with it, but like the old saying goes; “the best laid plans of mice and men, etc”.

Is there an answer?

Do we plod along and hope it turns out OK… Or do we hire extra staff and watch our wage expenses eat away at our profits… Or do we compromise our standards to meet these needs?

If your answer to the above questions is YES, YES and YES, then there is an alternative…

Convenience products!

That’s right - Products made outside of our kitchen walls! Often they meet and exceed the standards we demand for our individual establishments, and may just prove to be life saving! After all the secret is not to work harder but smarter.

Portion controlled products can be a real winner! Seafood, meat and poultry items all portioned to our size and weight requirements can, in the long run, save us money in the form of minimising wastage and labour cost while providing a consistent quality, and being very convenient. Other items to consider may be prepared vegetables, salads and dressing including sauces and some stocks.

Of course this attitude may not be suited to all establishments or chefs, and many of my colleagues may be more than keen to debate me on these points. However we must be realistic and keep our options and minds open.

We have the ability to adapt our menus to suit our capabilities; we therefore should have the ability to adapt some convenience products to also suit our requirements. We may be able to add additional condiments or ingredients to some products to slightly change their appearance, taste and texture; this may help give it authenticity and a characteristic that we are proud to call our own.

So remember don’t work harder, work smarter and keep your options open.