A kitchen operation that needed control, and a tool that could travel with it

Before Cooking the Books, running the kitchen operation at Watering Hole Hotels meant making critical decisions on menu pricing, supplier relationships, and cost management without reliable, accessible data. The information existed in fragments – on paper, in emails, across spreadsheets. Getting a clear picture meant piecing it together manually, and by the time you had it, it was already out of date.

For a Group Executive Chef managing kitchens across multiple sites, that’s not good enough. Thomas needed two things: control over what was happening across the operation, and a tool he could use from anywhere – not one that kept him tethered to a desk or a single location.

Pricing decisions made in the dark

Without live recipe costs and real-time supplier data, setting menu prices was more instinct than insight. Every price increase carried risk. Every margin question went unanswered. And every time a supplier raised prices, the ripple effect on profitability was invisible until it showed up in the P&L.

Supplier relationships without leverage

Comparing supplier pricing, tracking price movements over time, and running structured tendering processes all require data. Without a centralised system, these were tasks that fell through the cracks – leaving savings on the table and no way to hold suppliers accountable.

Full-stack kitchen management, from ordering to sales reporting

Thomas and his team use Cooking the Books across every major area of the kitchen operation. It’s not a tool they dip in and out of. It’s the system the whole operation runs on.

Invoice & Supplier Management

For a hotel group dealing with multiple suppliers across multiple sites, invoice management used to mean manual handling and constant chasing. Now Thomas’s team processes, reconciles, and exports invoices for payment directly from CTB – saving hours and keeping supplier costs accurate.

Centralised Ordering

Watering Hole Hotels orders from multiple suppliers across its venues. CTB brings all of that into one centralised purchasing platform – so Thomas always knows what’s been ordered, at what price, and when it’s due, without needing to be on-site to find out.

Recipe Costing & Live Price Updates

Setting menu prices without live cost data is guesswork. Thomas uses CTB’s recipe costing tools to build scalable, accurate recipe cards that update automatically when ingredient prices shift – so margins are protected before a dish ever hits the menu.

Stock Control

Across a multi-venue hotel operation, stock variances used to go unnoticed until they appeared in the P&L. With CTB’s real-time stock control, the team can see levels across all venues at any time – and act on discrepancies before they become costly.

Deeper Access & Control

A Group Executive Chef isn’t always at a desk – and CTB was built with that in mind. Thomas accesses the full platform from wherever he is, keeping oversight of kitchen operations across every Watering Hole Hotels venue without being physically present.

Performance Reporting

Every week, Thomas reviews sales performance, purchase budgets, food cost percentage, and kitchen efficiency data through CTB. It’s not a reporting tool that produces documents – it’s how Watering Hole Hotels makes decisions and adjusts the operation in real time.

Weekly reporting that drives decisions

Every week, Thomas reviews sales performance, purchase budgets, and invoice activity through Cooking the Books. It’s not a retrospective exercise. It’s an active management tool that shapes what happens next. Decisions about supplier relationships, purchasing volumes, and menu adjustments are all grounded in what the data shows.

Better decisions, better margins, better control

Cooking the Books hasn’t just changed how the kitchen is run. It’s changed the quality of decisions being made at every level of the operation.

GP has measurably improved

With real-time recipe costs, live supplier pricing, and margin visibility built into daily operations, gross profit has moved in the right direction. The system didn’t create the improvement – it gave Thomas the data to make the calls that did.

Menu prices set with confidence, not guesswork

Pricing decisions are now made proactively, not reactively. Recipe margins are visible, supplier price changes flow through in real time, and every menu price can be defended with actual cost data.

Hours of invoice admin, eliminated

Invoices are processed and exported for payment directly from CTB. Less chasing, less manual handling, fewer errors – and accounts that are always up to date.

Full control, from anywhere

As a Group Executive Chef across multiple sites, Thomas no longer needs to be in the building to know what’s happening. Every metric, every decision, every report – accessible from wherever he is.

100% recommend

Thomas has used Cooking the Books from day one at Watering Hole Hotels, setting up recipe costs, establishing supplier relationships, and building the reporting foundations the operation now relies on. His recommendation to other venues is unambiguous.

For kitchen operators running complex, multi-site environments where the margin for error is thin and the need for reliable data is constant, Cooking the Books delivers exactly what Thomas was looking for: control, visibility, and the confidence to make the right call.