Member Spotlight: Chrissy’s Kitchen

Specialising in offering exquisite corporate meal solutions and office lunch packages, Chrissy’s Kitchen hones a focus on seasonal produce. With weekly menu changes they foster room for lots of evolution and constantly fresh tastes.

Championing a Conscious Catering approach, sustainability is foremost for Chrissy’s Kitchen in and amidst the bustle of London. From humble beginnings in 2017, owner Chrissy Florman has geared Chrissy’s Kitchen into a well-oiled machine – we caught up with her to find out more about the business:

How do you incorporate your diverse heritage into your dishes?

Mealtimes were a big part of my childhood. I am half Greek & half Swedish; meals in our house always involve a lot of colour and fresh/ seasonal produce with everyone sharing/ eating together. This is a key feature of our offerings, we prioritise healthy seasonal sharing plates and encourage our clients to take the time out from their day to eat together.

Talk us through how you practice Conscious Catering?

Our practice of Conscious Catering stems from our supply chain into everything we do. We work on a pre order basis with a minimum of 72 hours notice; this way we are only buying what we need from our suppliers and it greatly reduces our food waste. We look at the food waste that we regularly have and turn what we can into our conscious canape menu (broccoli stalk fritters for example) but anything else is composted. All of our deliveries are done on electric cargo bikes making them carbon neutral as well. Our packaging is either bagasse (made out of sugar cane) or recyclable as much as possible but this is very tricky.

What more needs to be done for the sector to increase sustainability?

I think more needs to be done on packaging. We try our hardest to be sustainable but the reality is that most takeaway packaging is either not suitable for hot food, or made for individual portions. We are struggling to find suitable buffet platters for hot food that can be delivered on a bike.

What inspires you in independent hospitality?

I love having the freedom and flexibility to run with any of my crazy ideas. I love a challenge and the sense of pride as a team when we complete a big or challenging job!

Advantages you find in corporate catering?

We love working in corporate catering. It is always fun to meet new clients, assist with their individual requirements and see their offices. This means that every day is different and we are always cooking new things. We have built a level of trust with some of our more regular clients that they now trust me to come up with the new menus and suggestions for them.

What’s something that might surprise people about the reality of running your own business?

People say you end up doing a little bit of everything which is 100% true. It is fun and exciting and every day is a little different. This can be tricky when you are trying to grow and have to pick and choose subcontractors to trust to represent you.

Do you get more excited about designing a new menu, or working on specials?

I love working on specials. The beauty of what we do is we are often asked for bespoke menus for special occasions or celebrations and this is the best to organise.

What can the sector do to encourage more female business ownership?

I think more needs to be done to promote a work/life balance and I think as time goes on it will be easier for women as it becomes more of the norm. It is hard though, we have had a couple of times when I have had all communication with a client and it’s called Chrissy’s Kitchen – but when we arrive on site they have looked at any male chefs/ waiters on the team for authority and automatically speak to them first!

One change you’ve implemented that’s had a positive impact on the business?

We have really narrowed down and set our focus. Especially during covid we tried to do events, corporate lunches & freezer deliveries but this was very tricky to manage and we have learnt to stick with what we do best. This also allows for set time off for everyone and the team to enjoy a well deserved work life balance.

What’s the plan for the future?

We are always increasing the number of lunches we are able to offer daily as we want to ensure we can keep our bespoke and personal touch. Recently we have started supplying an office cafe as well as a few conferences and we are looking to increase our events/ offerings like this. There has been a big period of growth in the last 12 months, which I didn’t anticipate being so quick, we moved into our own kitchen space, taking on more regular clients and growing the team so I want to keep up with this growth and momentum! Whilst there is nothing officially set in stone I can’t wait to see what is coming our way!

You can find out more about Chrissy’s Kitchen here and follow their journey here.