Based in Stoke-On-Trent, Cris Cohen’s FEASTED is changing the way we see fine dining. By giving customers set ingredients and carefully curated instructions, Feasted proves that anyone can enjoy fine dining, all from the comfort of their own home. Cris is passionate about innovation, sharing his craft and empowering customers to cook up a five-course fine dining menu in their own kitchens. And it doesn’t stop there. Cris is dedicated to using innovative methods to reduce waste and improve sustainability. A champion of fermentation and composting as a means to make restaurants more environmentally friendly, he is also passionate about finding tech solutions… and this is where we come in!

We spoke to Cris about why he chose Leafe and his time on the app so far. When we asked what he wanted out of a hygiene records app, it boiled down to 3 key factors: “Easy to use, cost effective and grows with the business.” Cris acknowledged how, “pen and paper is the standard” in hospitality at the moment, but that it comes with a whole host of disadvantages, describing pen and paper record systems as, “time consuming, unhygienic and bloated”.

“ (Leafe was) set up by chefs - that's somebody that understands the needs of the users”

When choosing a solution to digitise his team’s paperwork, Leafe really stood out to Cris because it was “set up by chefs - that's somebody that understands the needs of the users”. He loves how Leafe is “so streamlined and simple - that's the beauty of it. We had our first inspection about 2 months ago. We were given a five and EHO were very impressed with it.”

Indeed, he's not the first to appreciate our roots in the industry. We know what it’s like to have piles of paperwork getting in the way of your true passion - creating great food. Cris echoed this sentiment, explaining how, “having a good system in the background can motivate staff and gives people a sense of belief that you are doing great things”. He continued, “We are a highly ambitious, highly progressive business, and we want to use products around us that have [companies behind them] with a similar outlook - and Leafe fits in with that.”

Cris is looking to the future. He is most excited by the potential he sees in Leafe to contribute to restaurants’ sustainability. “Hygiene paperwork, as it stands, feels like it’s something that is being imposed on you. But, when it comes to food management systems that can be utilised to eliminate food waste, a change happens. If there's a focus on sustainability, there’s a much more interesting proposition that food hygiene and quality management systems can deliver.”

Until recently the hospitality industry has been relatively slow to the sustainability movement but now something’s changing. Chefs are beginning to put environmental consciousness at the core of their craft, incorporating sustainable practices into their daily routines through Leafe. This includes preventing and tracking food waste, one of the most pressing problems in the hospitality industry today. With our inventory tool you can keep on top of use-by dates, plus measure prep and plate waste by weight or cost, meaning that you can not only prevent unnecessary waste, but also measure how your waste quantity changes under different management strategies. 

Cris is excited, and so are we- finally it feels like we’re heading towards a world where chefs can do good for the planet without having to sacrifice time spent creating showstopping food.