Delicious, sustainable food without stress in the kitchen

Whether it is a five-star hotel or a small B&B, guests have increasingly high expectations when it comes to food. Any time of the day, they want to be able to order something delicious. While 'fresh' ingredients are often preferred, this is not feasible for every hotel. With SUPPER, founder and chef Arne Ramak has found an innovative food concept: flash frozen/frozen high-quality meals.

A dish prepared at the touch of a button by star-level chefs sounds unattainable. Yet with SUPPER's flash frozen components, it is possible. Ramak emphasises that SUPPER is more than just meals. "We offer a service and the equipment in addition to food. We centralise hotel kitchens, ensuring efficiency in the chain. That also makes the process sustainable. And we innovate for the hotels: we join the protein transition, from animal products to plant-based."

Ultimately, SUPPER's main pillar is simplicity. "The food remains frozen until the customer orders it. So you offer a wide range that is very easy for anyone to prepare. It's that simple!

Ramak did not come up with SUPPER overnight. There are many challenges for hoteliers that form the basis of his business.

"First, there is the changing guest. Dietary requirements such as vegetarian or vegan food have long since ceased to be the exception. And guests are increasingly demanding: they must always be able to order (healthy) food ánd it must be there quickly." 

That staff are hard to find, we all know. "You can only meet the demands of your guests now by hiring more staff, but that is often not an option at the moment. An efficient system is needed to solve it in the longer term."

We can no longer ignore sustainability either. "And I don't mean solar panels and insulation, but sustainability in terms of food," Ramak explains. "The idea now is that a buffet has to be as elaborate as possible before it impresses. The result is a tray of sausages that have to go and kilos of poorly prepared egg dishes. That really needs to change."

Then there is the problem of lack of knowledge. "People who work in hotels know a lot about hotels. But real restaurant knowledge is often lacking. That makes it difficult to prepare dishes at an appropriate level, which in turn makes you less flexible."

And the final challenge, according to Ramak? "Being consistent. This is hugely important for hotels. If you can't deliver what you promise, a guest will never come back. Do you promise fine dining, but fail to deliver? Then you definitely shouldn't offer that."

How do you bring all these challenges together in one solution? By mainly simplifying the process. "The idea now is that ultra-fresh food is the very best. But that is far too romantic a view. It is not an option for a lot of hotels to pick a fresh head of lettuce from their own garden for every meal, and it also generates a lot of waste."

Food should be tasty for the guests and easy for the hotel. According to Arne, it can just be done. "The food we prepare is brought back to temperatures well below 0 in a short time, which we call 'flash frozen'. Hotels can then use our pre-programmed equipment to regenerate the food without loss of quality. So no loss of flavour or texture!"

The delicious food is not even the biggest advantage of SUPPER, says Ramak. "You no longer need a real chef, all your staff can put down a delicious meal with our solution. As a result, you throw away much less food, and have more control over your costs."