Has the CPU Taken Over the High Street?

Has the CPU taken over the high street? Key insights from restaurants using a central kitchen.

Every chef dreams of running a restaurant where every sauce is made from scratch. In reality, customers want high quality food, served quickly and consistently. They may not appreciate that a red wine sauce took five hours to reduce – but they do expect it to taste just as rich and flavourful every time they visit.

To understand how high street restaurants are balancing efficiency with quality, we spoke to several operators using a central production unit (CPU) to streamline their kitchens.

A Little Comfort Food Goes a Long Way

Whether influenced by American dining trends or an evolving British palate, today’s restaurants can no longer get by with simple sides like chips and mash. Diners now expect indulgent, elevated options – think bone marrow mashed potatoes or truffled mac & cheese.

For national chains like Middletons Steakhouse, a CPU ensures menu variety while reducing on-site prep. One of their most popular sides, Mac & Cheese, would be far too time-consuming for their chefs to prepare from scratch in a busy service. Instead, a central kitchen provides a consistently high quality product, allowing in-house chefs to focus on proteins.

Jordan Ellis, Operations Manager at Middletons, highlights the benefits: “The Mac & Cheese is a winner – you can really taste the depth of quality in the ingredients.”

Beyond side dishes, pubs and steakhouses frequently rely on CPUs for sauces like wild mushroom, cheese sauce, and gravy. These small but crucial additions enhance the dining experience without overloading kitchen staff.

Speed of Service Matters

A 2024 Christmas insights report revealed that 17% of UK diners ranked speed of service as their top complaint – overtaking value for money as the biggest issue over the festive season.

While an "everything made from scratch" approach might seem like a selling point, it can become a restaurant’s biggest weakness. Restaurants using a CPU experience fewer complaints about slow service because their production process is streamlined, ensuring quick turnaround times without compromising on quality.

Pan-Asian eatery Ollie’s House benefits from high quality base sauces supplied by a CPU. Line cooks simply heat and plate the sauce, allowing them to focus on proteins and ensuring faster service.

Owner Oliver Norcliffe explains, “I appreciate how reliable and efficient Mustard Foods are. They’re a longstanding supplier who always delivers the flavour and quality that our customers expect.”

Even trendy poke bars – where raw ingredients dominate – rely on CPUs for sauces and dressings. This not only minimises prep in compact A1 kitchen spaces but also improves stock management and service speed for small teams.

Labour Cost Outweighs Food Cost

Restaurant food costs generally don’t account for overstocking and yield variances. With multiple chefs working across different shifts – some of whom may be agency staff – it’s common to see inconsistencies in flavour, yield and portioning.

Food businesses that focus on consistency and portion management streamline their operations by reducing on-site dish preparation. A central production kitchen ensures uniform quality, leaving little room for inconsistencies.

In 2024, several high street boulangeries turned to CPUs for their winter soups and broths. When factoring in labour, gas, and procurement costs, outsourcing a slow-cooked French Onion Soup with fixed margins proved far more cost-effective than producing it in-house.

And with the UK’s employers' National Insurance contributions (NICs) set to rise from 13.8% to 15% in April 2025, labour costs will only continue to climb. With a shrinking pool of available chefs, supporting kitchen teams with CPUs is crucial to ensuring customers receive the quality and consistency they expect.