The increase in the price of food raw materials changes the food supply of lunch places for working adults. For example, it’s hard to find whole salmon at standing lunch tables anymore.
Creamy Baked salmon as a fillet, warm smoked salmon or roasted salmon were quite familiar sights on lunch buffets even before. Now self-portioned salmon is a thing of the past in most lunch places.
The reason is that salmon is record expensive. HS asked a few operators who offer lunch how the increased food raw material costs are reflected in the lunch offer. In many places, the salmon that is served whole is the first to swim off the plate.
In actual Finland and the entrepreneur of Fresco Ravintoloin, which offers lunch at several locations in Satakunta Seppo Aronen says that salmon fell off restaurant lunch menus as a take-it-yourself product already last spring.
“We no longer serve salmon medallions or roasted salmon at lunch, which were previously served at the warm lunch table. They are now on hiatus. There are still salmon dishes, but they are practically salmon sauce, salmon fillet steak or salmon soup.”
Instead of or alongside salmon, more herring, cod or foreign flounder are used in fish dishes.
Also, instead of whole beef, lunch tables have mostly switched to dishes made from ground beef.
“It is difficult to predict what will have to be given up next. The prices of all raw materials have risen, from potatoes to flour.”
Turku CEO of Voiveljet oy, which runs six restaurants in the city center Janne Juvonen says that for the price of 11.30 euros for lunch, you can’t offer anything anymore.
“You can’t offer any fish for that price. If in the old days there was salmon on the takeout table, now there is no chance of that anymore. Salmon can be served mostly in portion salads, but the amount is very small.”
According to Juvonen, as the price of raw materials rises, the lunch offer also becomes one-sided.
“Beef meat is also almost completely eliminated, with the exception of minced meat.”
Another company that runs several restaurants in the center of Turku is CT restaurants. Its entrepreneur Carola Sintonen says that the company’s restaurants have only offered salmon at lunch time on a separate “Fish of the Week” list.
“It has a significantly higher price. We had to raise the price of a portion of salmon by about one euro in the spring, now the price of a portion is around 15 euros, depending on the location.”
According to Sintonen, beef is also very expensive at the moment, and it is less often offered at lunch.
cities, Kaarea oy, owned by the municipalities and the Varsinais-Suomen hospital district, serves lunch to the staff of the hospital district in three different staff restaurants in the Turku region.
The branch manager responsible for the company’s food services Sari Markkola-Niemi says that the company has not yet given up any dishes due to the rise in food prices. For example, there have been no quantitative or qualitative changes to the salmon dishes served at lunch during the last year.
“Menus have changed for other reasons, such as the increased popularity of vegetarian food. The changes in raw materials have been related to availability challenges, when, for example, dried peas were no longer available in the spring.”
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Compass Procurement and gastronomy director of Group Finland Ulla Kurkela says that the lunch restaurants of Amica and Food & Co, which are part of the Compass Group brands, still offer salmon products.
“Salmon is a huge draw-in product. A Finn comes to lunch when he sees the word salmon on the menu. Now, however, a piece of salmon of different sizes can be offered, and it can be a frozen piece product and no longer made from whole, fresh salmon. There is a big difference in kilo prices.”
More expensive ingredients, such as dishes containing salmon, can now be served less often and in a more regulated manner.
In addition to salmon, many other raw materials have become more expensive.
“All protein across the board is now expensive compared to a year ago,” Kurkela reminds.
Compass CEO of Group Suomen Hannu Rahnaston according to the company wants to stick to responsibility, nutrition and deliciousness even in times of increased raw material costs.
It requires almost daily negotiations with subcontractors who supply raw materials, updating contracts with customers, and honing one’s own operating methods by controlling waste and modifying the selection.
“Prices have risen and are still rising so fast that we have not been able to agree with all customers on new prices corresponding to inflation. The price negotiations will therefore continue, because we cannot fully compensate the increase in costs with our own actions alone. The situation is challenging.”
Throat says that the only way to keep operations on the plus side is to transfer the increased costs of raw materials to the contract customer’s or consumer’s prices.
It is not possible with all customers, so alongside the price negotiations, you can at least negotiate whether to change the lunch food selection or reduce the number of dishes offered.
“For example, it can be agreed that part of the food can run out towards the end of the service time and the kippas do not have to be on their mound until the last customer. Or you can reduce the options so that there is, for example, only one piece of food on offer, not two.”
Also in many cases, the ingredients can be modified so that the promise of the main menu remains the same.
“If it says meat stew, then don’t choose a stew with just beef, but beef and pork, for example. Or a fish soup or a fish piece dish can have light fish instead of salmon or in addition to it, for example flounder or seine.”
Kurkela says that with the help of these measures, no raw material has been completely abandoned.
Fresco Restaurants’ Seppo Aronen says that the government’s response would be especially important now.
“If the value-added tax on food were to drop from 14 percent to ten percent, then it would make even a dozen at lunch already 40 cents. It would have a big impact on the supply of the lunch side.”
Another wish is related to the tax value of the lunch.
“Now the price of lunch is 11.30 euros, which most customers pay with lunch vouchers or e-pass. If the taxman were to raise the value to 11.80 euros, we could return to the lunch offering such dishes that have now been removed.”
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