Inside working kitchens: What real chefs say about managing pressure, consistency & performance

Meeting the demands of modern kitchens

The pressure behind the kitchen counter never stops. In an increasingly competitive industry, customer expectations continue to rise, with diners looking for trend-driven menus, consistent quality, and greater value from every experience.

At the same time, rising ingredient costs and operational pressures are forcing kitchens to rethink how they work. Chefs today are balancing multiple demands at once: maintaining quality, controlling costs, managing teams, and still finding space for creativity and innovation.

At Unilever Food Solutions, we stay closely connected to chefs across the industry to better understand the challenges they face, helping us develop practical solutions that support more efficient kitchens.

We spoke to several chefs about the realities of working in modern kitchens and how they manage these daily pressures.

Building consistency across every kitchen

Chef Trevor Boyd, Operations General Manager for Food and Beverage at City Lodge Hotels, explains that one of the biggest challenges when managing four different hotel brands is menu planning and maintaining consistency across kitchens. Their solution, however, lies in the products they choose.

We’ve had to find partners that give us the opportunity to achieve the consistency we need through all four hotel brands. – Chef Trevor

For him, consistency is not about removing individuality from dishes but rather creating reliable foundations that teams can build on while maintaining standards across locations.

Using a partner like Knorr Professional gives us the opportunity to work with a great base product while still adding our own personality and creativity to the dishes. – Chef Trevor

The reality for many kitchens is that versatility and efficiency have become essential. Reliable ingredients and streamlined preparation processes can help reduce pressure during service while supporting more consistent results.

Confidence that frees creativity

Long hours, fast-paced environments, and constant pressure can take a toll on kitchen teams, making confidence and trust in ingredients especially valuable.

For Chef Sam Small-Shaw from Surf Riders Café on South Beach, Durban, her confidence in the quality of Robertsons spices allows her creativity and passion to flow.

Cooking is a passion, a talent, a gift. Every week, I change our specials because I want our customers to come every week to try new dishes, and Robertsons gives me confidence in the kitchen – it’s a consistent brand and I’m all about quality. – Chef Sam Small-Shaw

When chefs trust the tools and ingredients they work with, they can focus less on troubleshooting and more on creativity, service, and the customer experience.

Managing costs without compromising quality

Efficiency in the kitchen is also closely tied to cost management. With food prices continuing to rise, controlling waste and protecting profit margins have become major priorities for restaurants.

Products like Knorr Professional offer great consistency in our cost management as well. They give us the opportunity to get the job done quickly, reduce waste, and definitely improve productivity. – Chef Trevor

Protecting profit margins without compromising on quality has become crucial for restaurants. With rising ingredient costs putting increasing pressure on kitchens, the challenge is clear: how do you deliver exceptional food while reducing waste and maximising value?

For Chef Theo Chiloane from Brown Sugar Oceans, the answer lies in smarter products that offer a more efficient and cost-effective alternative to creating spice blends from scratch.

“Robertsons helps reduce some of that pressure because they source ingredients in bulk and at the right season, then bring them forward to us,” explains Chef Theo. “Cost control management is a huge part of this industry. Pricing needs to work not only for the business, but for the customer as well. It also makes standardising recipes easier and helps simplify stock control.”

Creating space for innovation

Behind every plate is a chef balancing multiple pressures while still striving to deliver a memorable dining experience. Across the industry, many kitchens are finding that efficiency is not about replacing creativity, but about creating more space for it.

Using the right products is not a shortcut; it is a powerful tool that unlocks efficiency, reduces pressure, and creates space for innovation to thrive. As Chef Trevor says, “My advice to chefs out there is not to be scared to use convenience products of great quality; they offer huge value to your establishment.”

Success today lies in finding the balance between creativity, consistency, efficiency, and sustainability – all while keeping passion for the craft at the centre of the kitchen.