How Easy2Cook make turn key projects of central kitchens facilities worldwide

Easy2Cook operates as a full-cycle technological integrator and provider of turnkey solutions for the creation of modern centralized food production and logistics complexes, known as central kitchen facilities. Our methodology is a systematic, end-to-end process that transforms the concept of mass catering from an outdated, costly operation into a streamlined, profitable, and technologically advanced enterprise. The following document outlines our proprietary framework, from foundational principles to detailed technical execution, ensuring every project delivers on its goals of efficiency, safety, scalability, and economic sustainability.

 Section 1: Foundational Design and Operational Principles 

Our approach is built upon a set of non-negotiable core principles that govern every aspect of the central kitchen facility's design and operation. These principles are not theoretical ideals but practical engineering and management mandates.

      The Principle of Technological Innovation and Integration:   This principle mandates the use of the most modern, internationally proven technologies throughout the entire production chain—from raw material receipt to the distribution of finished goods. We specifically implement and integrate systems such as cook&chill, cook&serve, cook&hold, cook&MAP, and our proprietary CapKold technology. Crucially, innovation extends beyond hardware into all supporting systems: automated accounting, control, planning, quality management, and human resource management. The objective is singular: to leverage technology to achieve the primary goal of providing accessible, high-quality food service.

      The Principle of Ergonomic and Spatial Efficiency:   This principle is realized during the "object design" phase. By utilizing compact, high-performance equipment and optimized process flows, our designs achieve space savings of up to 400% compared to classical culinary production layouts. Ergonomic efficiency means maximizing output per square meter while rigorously preserving workflow convenience and safety for personnel.

      The Principle of Modular and Scalable Architecture:   Every production block within the central kitchen facility is conceived as an autonomous module with significant inherent capacity, capable of producing an assortment of up to 500 different culinary items. This modular construction allows for the phased scaling of production power by commissioning new facility modules. This approach provides investors with a low-risk entry point—they can implement a first, innovative module to validate the concept and model the future reorganization of the entire enterprise's food system.

      The Principle of Comprehensive Resource Conservation:   Conservation is engineered into the facility's DNA. It is ensured through the deployment of energy-saving technological equipment and engineering systems, the rational use of human resources via automation, the application of large-tonnage industrial technologies to lower unit cost, the use of resource-efficient thermal energy sources (e.g., steam), and the implementation of "smart" automated systems for managing energy supply, lighting, air conditioning, and ventilation.

      The Principle of Product and Market Universality:   The central kitchen facility is designed for flexible production, capable of manufacturing everything from simple, popular dishes to gourmet-class ("gourmet") items. This is supported by the development of alternative sales channels beyond the primary client, including retail food chains, HORECA networks, dedicated culinary stores, and other organized collectives and enterprises, ensuring multiple revenue streams and business stability.

      The Principle of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) as a Core System:   For a large-scale production facility, HACCP is not a luxury but a fundamental operational necessity. The significant volumes produced present a potential hygiene risk that is mitigated by embedding HACCP principles directly into the quality management system and even into the technological equipment via modules of computerized control. This systemic approach protects consumers from foodborne illness threats and drastically elevates the overall hygiene and quality of the output.

  Section 2: Strategic Goals and Integrated Management Systems 

  2.1 Defined Goals and Tasks for System Reorganization 

Our projects are initiated with clear strategic objectives defined in collaboration with the client. The typical goals for reorganizing an industrial enterprise's food system are:

    Reconstruction of physically and morally obsolete catering blocks.

    Increasing the coverage of the workforce with hot meals to 80-90%.

    Enhancing employee motivation for responsible work.

    Creating a new, modern catering system that operates on a self-sufficiency principle and generates stable profit.

To achieve these goals, we execute a concrete set of tasks:

    Stimulating the solvent demand of the workforce for catering services.

    Introducing modern innovative and resource-saving technologies.

    Creating a transparent and reliable management system for the enterprise's catering sphere.

    Developing alternative channels for the sale of finished products (external sales).

    Reducing the energy intensity of catering facilities.

  2.2 Policy in the Sphere of Economic Accounting and Management 

We implement a management accounting system that addresses the core tasks of the enterprise's economic policy: ensuring efficiency in logistics, production, and sales; guaranteeing transparency and operational speed of accounting; achieving a high degree of automation (full, phased transition from paper to electronic document flow); optimizing the tax base; implementing planning and budgeting; instituting control over balanced economic performance indicators; and establishing an effective management accounting system.

Our solution is based on a specialized 1C software product family for central kitchen facilities. This classical system architecture comprises:

    Front-offices and Back-offices.

    Peripheral equipment (scanners, scales with label printers).

    Data processing and storage servers.

    Communication channels (telephony, fiber-optic, mobile).

This system ensures high mobility in processing primary information (invoices, contracts, bills), data transmission, and processing in the management accounting module. The result is a threefold reduction in financial and economic staff, transparent business processes, and real-time financial visibility for management at any level through online balanced scorecards. This enables increased cash turnover rates, creates an effective motivation system for managers tied to operating profit, reduces costs, and allows for efficient cash flow management.

A dedicated Managing Company (or Management Department) is responsible for the effective operation of all Business Centers. Its functions are comprehensive, covering:

      Standardization & Planning:   Standardization of processes, personnel certification, and detailed planning (annual, quarterly, monthly, daily) for operational activities (sales, production, procurement), financial activities (attracting/repaying loans), and investment activities (acquisition/sale of fixed assets).

      Core Management Functions:   Management accounting for all three activity types, economic analysis of expenditure efficiency, and full bookkeeping for all legal entities.

      Operational Oversight:   Product management (studying consumer preferences, pricing recommendations), logistics (minimizing delivery costs, developing transport chains), procurement (market price monitoring, assortment adjustment, contracting), sales (contracting, operational distribution control).

      Support Functions:   HR (personnel selection, record-keeping, motivation systems, mentorship, training, corporate culture), legal support, IT infrastructure maintenance, and quality control of products and services.

The accounting system is physically integrated with the packaging and marking process. All products for transportation are hermetically sealed in bags and reusable large plastic trays with heat-sealed film. Each item of raw material and finished product carries a unique barcode label. Goods are received and accepted at sales points via scanner, ensuring automated control over every stage of product movement.

  2.3 Policy in the Sphere of Personnel Management 

Our HR policy for the central kitchen facility is based on 10 key principles: legal and financial transparency in employer-employee relations; creating conditions for career growth; providing social guarantees and protections; strict competitive selection of candidates; respect for and adoption of corporate values; collective material responsibility; decent pay and financial stability; development and encouragement of mentorship; continuous, mandatory off-site skills upgrading; and strict adherence to an employee ethics code.

The staff structure is lean and tiered, reflecting the high degree of process automation:

1.    Managing Company:   Highly paid, highly motivated, and competent specialists.

2.    Management Level:   Technical and technological specialists.

3.    Service Level:   Service chefs (on distribution and free-flow lines) and technological equipment operators.

For a standard facility producing 20,000-25,000 rations per day, the total three-shift staff is approximately 86 people, meaning no more than 20 individuals work per shift. This represents a drastic reduction compared to traditional kitchens. Quality is controlled by master trainers, master chefs, bakers, confectioners, and shift foremen, who oversee lower-skilled equipment operators, ensuring high standards while optimizing the wage fund and enabling easy staff interchangeability.

  Section 3: Technological Implementation and Technical Design 

  3.1 Forming the Technical Specification (TS) 

The development of the TS is a collaborative, multi-departmental effort. A team of expert auditors, marketers, and economists conducts an on-site visit to the region to collect critical data, including: planned production volumes (number of rations); delivery geography; the material-technical state of existing sales points; availability and quality of local raw materials; feasibility of deploying a laboratory-analytical complex; availability of communication channels for the accounting system; local wholesale price levels; proximity of suppliers (vegetable stores, greenhouses, poultry farms); and a thorough technical-technological audit of the building intended for the central kitchen facility.

Following data collection, five working groups collaborate to build the business model and project:

1.    Project Design Bureau:   Designs all production, storage, and logistics areas in isometric and 3D projections, including all ventilation, sewage, lighting, and heating systems based on specifications from the technology department.

2.    Technological Working Group:   Models all technological chains, determines equipment lists, calculates machine-hours, and computes needs for raw materials, consumables, energy, etc.

3.    Complex Fit-out Working Group:   Calculates the full investment for equipping both the production-logistics center and all finishing/distribution points, including installation, commissioning, and service costs.

4.    Financial-Economic Working Group:   Synthesizes all data to produce a detailed Feasibility Study, a 3-year business plan, an investment plan, project estimates, financing schedules, and all necessary justifications for banks or investors.

5.    Project Management Group:   Oversees the entire process.

The final, consolidated TS is presented to the client for approval.

  3.2 Technological Concept: Key Production Zones and Equipment 

Our design encompasses a fully integrated production flow:

      Loading Zone / Receiving:   Equipped with scales, washing baths, sanitary pass-through systems, unpacking tables, an express-analysis lab, and an automated control point. All incoming goods are unpacked into standard GN gastronorm containers.

      Vegetable Processing Area:   Features production lines for washing vegetables, root crops, fruits, and leafy greens, including vibratory washers, automatic peelers, conveyor belts for manual finishing, and cyclone dryers.

      Cold (Pre-preparation) Area:   Maintained at +12°C, equipped with high-speed, versatile American-made vegetable cutters capable of over 100 types of cuts, offering 8-10 times the speed of conventional machines.

      Salad Assembly Area:   Utilizes gentle rotary kneader-type mixers for delicate salads and volumetric dosers for precise portioning.

      Hot prep Area:   Comprises low-temperature boiling baths, pressure steamers for fast, economical vegetable cooking, steam-jacketed kettles for soups/sauces, smoking cabinets, tilting skillets, and autoclave chambers.

      Meat Processing Area:   Features a diverse suite of equipment for cutting, tenderizing, larding, grinding, mixing, forming, massaging, and casing. This includes patented, energy-saving American technology.

      Product Chilling Area:   Employs an efficient water-ice bath system connected to a glycol chiller, rapidly cooling products from +80°C to +6-8°C. This method offers significant capital and energy savings compared to blast chillers.

      Sanitation Systems:   Implements a strict HACCP-aligned regime using sanitary pass-through stations, steam generator washers (+175°C), foam generators for walls/floors, and no-touch hand/foot cleaning systems.

A core part of our value proposition is demonstrated through comparative efficiency. Our documentation includes a detailed table comparing classical and innovative processing methods, showcasing savings of 20-30% in product mass and energy, 100-300% in energy for chilling, 20% in product loss during defrosting, and significant reductions in personnel for packaging and dosing operations.

  3.3 Technical Concept and Project Documentation 

The complete technical package, developed to UK standards, is provided to the client. It includes all specifications for construction and engineering networks. The material-technical base encompasses buildings, utility points, equipment, inventory, and transport.

The   Technological Project Documentation   package is comprehensive and includes:

    General project data.

    Floor plans (scale 1:100) with equipment layouts, axes, columns, passages, and all dimensions.

    Technical Specifications for all engineering networks: Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC), Water Supply & Sewage (VK), and Electrical Equipment (EO), including all connection points and technical requirements.

    A full specification of all technological equipment with type, dimensions, power consumption, quantity, country of origin, and 3D images.

    A detailed Explanatory Note (TX.PZ).

    All documentation is developed in full compliance with active Russian construction, sanitary, fire safety, and trade norms (SNiP, MGSN, SP).

The final deliverables are presented as a set of ready-made documents: equipment layout plans, technical assignments for all utilities (HVAC, plumbing, electrical), and 3D models with explications of all premises, providing the client with a complete blueprint for construction and implementation.