Conscious Kitchens

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From Inspector to Consultant

📃 Pre-inspection audits
🔓 Reopening post-covid
♻️ Zero waste LET'S MEET!

My name is Amy, Food Safety Consultant & Sustainability Expert with more than 10 years of industry experience internationally. I proudly present my brain child 'Conscious Kitchens', which was born from working closely with food businesses as an EHO and my passion for sustainability in the food sector. I have seen the fear that comes with inspection time for food businesses and I want to eliminate that fear. My aim is to empower and educate food businesses so you won't ever dread inspection time again. I also want to introduce a more sustainable way of thinking to the food sector, and assist those on their journey to becoming more sustainable. Whether you own a restaurant, café or takeaway business, I am here to support you and help promote a proactive approach to food inspections and food safety!

24/12/2025

Wishing all the food businesses, chefs, café teams and hospitality staff a calm, steady, and successful Christmas season 🎄

This industry works harder than most at this time of year, and I’m grateful for every business I’ve supported in 2025, from helping them transition to Zero-to-Landfill to pre-inspection guidance, and everything in between.

Here’s to a new year of smarter systems, less waste, and kitchens that run with clarity and confidence. Merry Christmas and thank you for being part of this journey 💚

19/12/2025

When I walk into a café, the coffee station tells me almost everything I need to know about the business, and I can audit it in under five minutes.

Here’s what I look at first:

🔍 Allergen controls: are alternative milks labelled? Is there a clear process to prevent cross-contact?
🔍 Wiping cloth habits: are cloths sitting in dirty water, used for multiple surfaces, or left on the counter?
🔍 Cross-contamination risks: are phones, cash, and food handled in the same workflow?
🔍 Milk handling: are jugs washed between uses? Is milk being re-steamed? Are best-before dates clear?
🔍 Fridge temperatures: is the milk fridge cold enough and logged correctly?
🔍 Pastry storage by the till: are items covered, protected, and displayed safely?

Most cafés don’t need a complete overhaul, they just need a sharper system at the coffee station, because that’s where food safety and workflow meet. If you want help getting your café pre-inspection ready, you can always book an audit and I’ll go through it step by step with you.

18/12/2025

In quick-service food businesses:
🔪 45% of waste is prep waste
🍽️ 23% is customer plate waste
🧊 32% is storage waste

That final number, storage waste – is a silent profit killer. It points to poor rotation, incorrect temperatures, and mismanaged grab-and-go fridges. 🥶📉

Much of the food waste in quick-service restaurants is predictable – and avoidable.

Once you understand the patterns, you can redesign the system to protect both your margins and your food safety.

If you want help identifying where your own waste is coming from, you can always book a waste audit and I’ll walk you through every opportunity in your business.
source: savourfood.ie

16/12/2025

Did you know these 3 surprising food-safety facts for Irish B&Bs?

👉 You can use eggs from your own hens if you keep fewer than 50.
FSAI allows unstamped eggs from your own flock of under 50 hens to be used in your breakfast service. Over 50 hens = eggs must be stamped and graded.

👉 You can serve homemade jams and preserves.
As long as they’re made safely on-site, stored correctly, and included in your food safety plan, homemade jams are fully allowed. They're considered low-risk when prepared hygienically.

👉 You can serve foraged foods with caution.
You may use wild berries, herbs, or plants if you can confidently identify them and ensure they’re safe and uncontaminated. If you’re unsure, you can’t serve it.

12/12/2025

After auditing hundreds of food businesses, I’ve noticed the same three habits in every well-run kitchen, regardless of size or style.

1️⃣ Cleaning is a system, not a task.
Clear schedules, assigned responsibilities, correct products, and consistent sign-offs. Nothing is left to chance, and nothing is “someone else’s job.”

2️⃣ Food safety is built into the workflow.
Strong kitchens don’t wait for inspections. They label correctly, store correctly, check temperatures daily, cool foods properly, and keep hygiene standards high, every single shift.

3️⃣ Staff know the standards, because they are trained well.
Training isn’t a once-a-year event. Teams are shown how to do things, reminded often, and supported until good habits become the norm.

4️⃣ Bins are used properly - every waste stream, every time.
Recycling, food waste and black bin systems are clear, convenient, and consistent.
Labels make sense. Placement makes sense.
And staff follow the system because the system actually works.

Simple systems. Consistent habits. Clear expectations. That’s what keeps kitchens safe, clean, and inspection-ready.

If you want your kitchen operating at this level, book your pre-inspection audit today.

11/12/2025

Every kitchen has fridges. Not every kitchen has a system that keeps them running safely. This carousel shows you how to build one that holds up, even on the busiest days 👉

09/12/2025

The black bin isn’t just a bin, it’s the clearest indicator of how well your business is managing its waste, its training, and its costs.

In the best-run kitchens, the black bin is almost empty. Not because they magically produce less waste, but because every other waste stream is set up correctly: clearly labelled, strategically placed, and effortless for staff to follow.

That level of control is never accidental. It comes from leadership, culture, and a system that respects both food and the people working with it.

If you want your black bin to reflect a better-run, more profitable kitchen, book your waste audit and let’s get your systems working smarter 📊

05/12/2025

Portion size isn’t just a customer-experience decision, it’s one of the biggest drivers of food waste and profitability in a food business. Getting it right is a balance, and it’s entirely achievable with a few simple checks.

Here are practical ways to know if your portion size is dialled in:

📌 Watch What Comes Back on the Plate.
Plate waste is your most honest feedback. If the same item keeps returning half-eaten, you’re serving too much. If plates are wiped clean, but guests are ordering extra sides, you may be serving too little.

📌 Weigh It Once, Repeat It Often.
Choose a standard portion weight and commit to it. Train your team with weighing scales until it becomes muscle memory. Consistency reduces cost, speeds up service, and guarantees the same experience every time.

📌 Use the Right Serving Tools.
The wrong spoon, ladle, or scoop size leads to variation. Assign specific utensils for each dish, and label them. In the best kitchens, equipment controls portions, not guesswork.

📌 Track Your Plate Waste for One Week.
A one-week waste diary tells you everything:
• which dishes create the most leftovers
• which portion sizes need adjusting
• where your profit is leaking
This one exercise saves businesses thousands every year.

📌 Ask Your Staff, They Always Know.
Front of house teams hear the comments. Chefs see what gets scraped into the bin. Your staff can spot a portioning issue long before accounting does.

04/12/2025

Pairing colour-coded labels with a visual prep board brings structure back into production planning. Staff can see quantities, dates, and priorities at a glance, reducing errors, unnecessary batch production, and food being discarded because the team wasn’t aligned.

A colour-coded labelling system isn’t just about organisation, it’s a simple, powerful way to reduce waste, improve food safety, and make inspections smoother.

SWIPE 👉 for my guide on how to implement a system that actually works in a busy kitchen.

02/12/2025

Buffets in hotels and B&Bs are uniquely challenging - not because of guest behaviour, but because of the invisible habits built into the service itself.

Most waste happens before a single guest arrives. Here are three shifts that make an immediate impact:

1️⃣ Staggered Display Instead of Full Setup
Instead of laying everything out at once, start with a smaller first wave.
Most breakfast rooms don’t hit peak flow until 8:30, but the waste starts at 7:00.

2️⃣ Visual Portion Guides for Staff
Buffet waste usually comes from over-generous topping up. A simple visual guide (e.g., “⅓ tray refill = 1 handful of berries / 3 pastries / 1 ladle of beans”) keeps the display appealing without overproducing.

3️⃣ A “Close-Down” Plan, Not Just a Set-Up Plan
Every buffet has a setup routine. Almost none have a structured wind-down. A defined last-replenish time reduces end-of-service waste dramatically, especially for hot food.

28/11/2025

When date systems are inconsistent, communication becomes verbal and reactive.
“But I thought that was today’s batch…”
“I didn’t know that tub was still good…”
“We made extra in case.”

Pairing colour-coded labels with a visual prep board brings structure back into production planning. Albeit, this is not a requirement by law, it will assist staff in a busy kitchen to see quantities, dates, and priorities at a glance, reducing errors, unnecessary batch production, and food being discarded because the team wasn’t aligned.

Is your current system helping your team make the right decisions, or creating more waste than you realise?

27/11/2025

Here are 3 low-waste swaps I recommend in almost every kitchen I visit:

1. Cling Film ➡️ Reusable Lids or Beeswax Wraps
Cling film is one of the most persistent sources of unnecessary waste in food businesses. Simple alternatives like silicone lids, plates, hotel pan covers, or beeswax wraps will cut single use items dramatically.

2. Single-Use Sauce Sachets ➡️ Refillable Bottles
Those tiny sachets add up quickly, and once contaminated, they are destined for the general waste bin. Switching to refillable, clearly labelled squeeze bottles reduces packaging waste, improves stock control, and keeps your waste streams cleaner.

3. Single-Use Gloves ➡️ Tongs, Scoops & Proper Handwashing
Many kitchens rely on gloves for tasks where they offer no real safety benefit.
Replacing unnecessary glove use with utensils and proper handwashing reduces plastic waste and improves food safety. EHOs prefer good handwashing over constant glove use, and so do I.

Address

Malahide Marina Village
Malahide
K36CX99

Website

https://www.conscious-kitchens.com/

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