Morrison's Cafe

vuvuzela

david39 wrote: »

Many years ago I knew a young man who was a trainee chef at a large high-class hotel in the Midlands. There was an arrangement in those days that trainees were exchanged between restaurants so that they became experienced in different kitchen practices and types of menu.

A large 5 star hotel had recently opened and I asked him if he was going to be working there at sometime. He told me that they did not have that type of kitchen there, all the food was pre-packed and prepared off-site and just reheated when ordered.

I expressed surprise and shock at this but he said that it was common practice, even in those days and that it had several benefits which included reduced risk of contamination, a guaranteed level of quality and portion size and a guarantee that if you liked the meal last time you would get exactly the same on your next visit.

I was always a little dubious of this tale - surely a 5 star hotel would not stoop to boil-in-the-bag food - but there was no reason for him to be telling me a story and he insisted it was true even long after he was fully qualified.

Some of Gordon Ramsey's places did this. Unsure if they still do, wouldn't surprise me though, as you say there are definite benefits to doing it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1171004/Theyre-freshly-prepared-Ramsay-defends-use-boil-bag-ready-meals-restaurants.html

scottishblondie

oldone wrote: »

I once asked for an omelette and told they had run out. When I pointed out they had a store full of eggs I was told all their food is shipped to them pre-cooked and frozen.
It appears all the dishes are massed produced and portion controlled to maximise profits. Given the prices, they can only be using very cheap raw materials.

Lol yeah the omelettes come in like pre-cooked frozen egg envelopes - they just stick the filling inside and microwave them. The fish comes in pre-breaded and and frozen - they just deep fry it. Most of the stuff comes in ready to be cooked TBH. On the bright side, everything is served very fresh from cooking, it doesn't lie about back there for ages.

However, they can restock from the store if they really need to. But it's a laborious process that involves paperwork and signatures, getting permission from the department you want to raid etc, so they won't do it unless they're out of a lot of things or something that sells an awful lot.

The Morrisons cafe is staffed by actual Morrisons supermarket staff, it's not separate. The deliveries are specifically for the cafe tho, it's all different stuff than the supermarket stock.

fannyvart

Yuck, don't like the idea of pre cooked omelettes

chewynut

Do the posters who don't like pre-cooked food buy popcorn when they go to the cinema? Because the stuff you're eating there's been in that box for a looong time.

soothyerboots

Popcorn is 'orrible. Give me a nice juicy lollypop any day of the week!

s_b

well i dont think morrisons supermarket cafes are good value at all
i went in one on the way to scarborough a fortnight ago (last time i was there i tried to use the self service checkouts and couldnt fathom the things with a bogoff,anyway)
went in this second time to use the facilities and as payback two cups of tea and a slice of something ,well the tea was £1.75 a cup and the cake prices were a joke
me and better half left and 23 minutes later were parked on the north front scarborough,went down to the clock tower cafe and had real tea in real cups and proper cake as we watched the waves roll in

morrison.s .......pah......3rd strike and their out in my book

Vaila

Azari wrote: »

Precooked omelettes? :eek:

What a disgusting idea.

Guess someone has never experienced hospital cuisine then!

lolseh

Vaila wrote: »

Guess someone has never experienced hospital cuisine then!

Powedered egg that comes in a packet.. Give me a reheated omelette anyday

BargainMad_3

The best in store cafes are Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer as they actually use the stuff from the stores.....but they are more expensive because of this !

Morrisons is perfectly fine in terms of quality/price ratio and even better if your kids eat free with each adult later in the day. But they are indeed run as a separate concern to the store.

The WORST in our area is Tesco - run by EuRest or EuroRest or something like that. You might get Tesco points but again they are a totally separate entity. The sad thing is they were "in house" until a few years ago and the quality and value was far better.

Asda is just as bad in our town too.

Owain_Moneysaver

Azari wrote: »

Precooked omelettes? :eek:

What a disgusting idea.

Very widespread. It means the egg can be pasteurised. Caterers are very risk-adverse to serving lightly cooked egg.