Case Study: Grocer’s Company
August 13th , 2023 by kevin
With over 600 years of history, the Grocer’s Company is no stranger to evolving and updating with the times. As Head Chef, Graham Pratt is responsible for all foodservice operations at Grocer’s Hall, including 5-course banquets, canape receptions for up to 250 guests, catering for the 1100 plus members, and feeding the team of 30 full-time staff – rising to 70 team members at busy events.
Some of the biggest challenges Graham faces on a daily basis comes down to food safety. In a busy commercial kitchen, it can be difficult and time-consuming to train staff on how to properly conduct and fill in hygiene and safety reports, and even more so to ensure these checks are done correctly in the middle of a busy service. Education, culture, and accuracy of staff input played a large role when relying on paper-based records. To combat this issue, Graham introduced the all-encompassing Monika system to the Grocer’s Hall kitchen, as he explains;
“I first heard of Monika over 15 years ago working in a previous job. Around that time, I took a new position at the Grocer’s Company, and have spent the last 5 years as Head Chef there. I approached Monika when looking to implement digital controls for monitoring fridges, and our partnership has grown from there.”
Today, Grocer’s Hall uses the Monika equipment to monitor fridges, freezers, and blast chillers. Graham and his team also have two probes for goods in and cooked items, and use Monika’s handheld PA device to stay on top of probing checks and opening and closing tasks.
Since introducing the system, Graham explains how much easier it has been to train staff;
“Monika saves a huge amount of time that would normally be spent manually collecting data, and what’s more, it’s far easier and quicker to train all staff on how to use the equipment. The results are more accurate, and ensure checks cannot be missed or made up. Checks can be done easily, and are logged straight away which saves paper and storage.”
Monika’s smart cloud-connected system feeds all information gathered across Grocer’s Hall straight to a convenient dashboard, which tells Graham all he needs to know at a glance;
“The dashboard is very easy to navigate, and gives me all the information I need. Whether that’s live temperature readings, or problem notifications. I can add new procedures and adjust pre-set temperature ranges at the click of a button. I especially like that I can print off graphs and reports to look at purchasing and critical event data.
We have Monika look after our account, which I highly recommend. That way all important notifications are emailed straight to me. In emergencies, the hub in my office alerts me with an alarm and flashing red light, so I can quickly address the issue.”
In the case of these timely alerts, Graham and his team are able to take actions to fix problems. This may be as simple as a refrigerator door needing to be closed properly, or it may indicate malfunctioning equipment. This enables operators to address faults before they become expensive repairs.
Graham summarised his experience with Monika by saying:
“I would definitely recommend the Monika system to other businesses. We still have to monitor things, but it’s so much easier digitally. We are a small organisation, so it’s great that Monika saves us time and is so accurate. We’re very happy working with Monika and there’s always someone on the end of a phone to help. Also, when the EHO drop by and ask for information, it is very easy to show them. They are always very impressed!”