How to reduce unnecessary wastage in a restaurant

Abstract

This thesis examines the importance of preventing avoidable food waste in the food preparation area of a Quick Service Restaurant operating under a fluctuating environment in a specific setting, namely Espresso House Vantaa airport. The core objective is twofold: first, understanding why these food ingredient wastes occur, followed by creating supportable solutions. To meet these objectives, this study adopts a convergent methodology design, first analysing two months’ worth of kitchen food waste reports from the previous-autumn period quantitatively and supplementing it with an employee survey for qualitative insights. This thesis only concerns itself with ingredient food waste within the food prep level of the organization. This thesis shows that food ingredient wastes occur because of systematic over-preparation and inaccurate demand projections, both of which can be intensified by unpredictable airport activity levels for the organization mentioned in the abstract.