Cédric Delaunay, sector manager at Elior: "Too Good To Go makes it possible to reduce food waste and provides an additional take-out service"
What is the principle behind using the Too Good To Go app in a B&I restaurant?
Cédric Delaunay The principle is very simple. After lunch, employees can recuperate surplus uneaten meals that are featured on the daily menu in the form of surprise food boxes. Using the free Too Good To Go app they order their food box at a discount price then collect it from the canteen either before returning to work or at the end of the working day.
How do you put it in place, and what’s the advantage for your kitchen teams?
CD The app is quick and easy to use for Elior’s teams. It takes less than two weeks to set up in a restaurant, which is the time needed to order the containers and inform the guests.
After every meal, we indicate on the app the number of food boxes that can be saved. We respect the hygienic processes required for cooling food products which we then package in individual ecological containers made out of plant fiber. These containers are then stored in a cool place before customers come to pick them up. We receive support and training from the Too Good To Go teams during the process implementation stages.
This approach not only reduces food waste but has the two-fold advantage in that it also enables us to provide an additional take-out service, which gives fresh momentum to my catering teams. In the current sanitary crisis, it is to our advantage to be able to offer added value to our customers and our teams.
This approach not only reduces food waste but has the two-fold advantage in that it also enables us to provide an additional take-out service, which gives fresh momentum to my catering teams.
Cédric Delaunay, sector manager at Elior
What sort of feedback have you had from your guests?
CD All the feedback has been positive. On 4 restaurants, for example, we avoided trashing 700 meals in 3 months. Too Good To Go therefore has a real impact!
This service meets a real demand expressed by my customers. They are very satisfied with it, for two main reasons. Firstly, because it is in line with their CSR commitments, and secondly because it creates an additional catering service. In particular, employees working from home can take a meal home from work in the evening that they can eat at home the next day. It is therefore an excellent and truly interesting approach that is both useful and pleasant.
All the feedback has been positive. On 4 restaurants, for example, we avoided trashing 700 meals in 3 months. Too Good To Go therefore has a real impact!
Cédric Delaunay, sector manager at Elior
What other initiatives are you carrying out to fight against waste in your restaurants?
CD I have implemented several concrete solutions in my restaurants to fight against waste. For example, to avoid throwing away leftover bread at the end of the day, we turn it into flour to bake the cookies we sell the next morning. Another example is that we offer slices of bread rather than loaves, to reduce the quantity and prevent it from being thrown away at the end of the service. It’s just simple common sense, and enables us to easily avoid waste.
More generally, we are also finding solutions to reduce our waste, particularly plastic waste. We are installing more still and sparkling water fountains where employees come to fill their reusable cups. The goal is to reduce the consumption of plastic bottles, which has sky-rocketed during the sanitary crisis. In addition, we are doing away with plastic take-out containers and replacing them by glass containers with a deposit system. Here too, employees have been taking more meals outside the canteen in recent months, which has accelerated our transition to adopting more responsible consumption habits.
Comments(0)