Pubs 'could save £10,000 on food prep'

Pub kitchens could save more than £10,000 every year by changing the equipment used for food preparation, a study has found.

The study by the University of Reading analysed data from Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) to assess the average energy use for a typical pub kitchen.

Researchers used a carbon energy calculator to measure the level of energy used in food preparation. It found that the average M&B gastropub spends more than £24,800 a year on powering kitchen equipment.

After analysing a range of scenarios, researchers found that if freezer capacity was reduced and the grill, fryers and microwave combi ovens were replaced with two combi steam ovens, the average site’s bills could be reduced to under £14,600 – a saving of more than £10,200.

However, the study added that average cooking time increased from 7.2 minutes to 18.6 minutes because of the change of equipment.

The report author Sam Mudie has worked for M&B as the company’s energy manager for five years and she said that the findings showed “a shocking amount of energy waste in the sector”.

Mudie said that a saving of £10,000 per site could potentially equal a £2m saving for M&B’s chain of gastropubs, £18m for M&B as a whole and £1.27bn for the entire UK pub sector.