A day at Classic Cuisine

A team meeting at Classic Cuisine in Northampton.

We’ve been making delicious dishes at Classic Cuisine for over 30 years, but no two days are ever the same. We’re constantly innovating, creating new recipes, and improving our processes to make our food, and service, the best it can be.

But what does an average day making, testing, and developing food in our kitchen and factory look like?

5am The early bird really does catch the worm – our chefs arrive and start cooking. The factory has the capacity to make up to 30,000 products a day, so they will start preparation on the dishes we’re working on. The factory runs according to a production schedule to accommodate all orders usually on a two-week rolling basis.

6am Production staff arrive in the factory to start making and finishing dishes. We’re known for our expert hand finishing so depending on the production schedule, our team might be working on the finishing touches to desserts or savoury dishes, that make plating up and serving in the final kitchen so much simpler.  

7am The packing team prepares finished products for delivery. Our products are used across the country, and we work closely with clients’ distribution networks to make delivery efficient and simple. Delivery pick-ups will happen all day according to agreed schedules, and our location in logistics capital Northamptonshire makes transport across the country very easy.

9am Our team leaders get together in the morning to review plans and schedules for the days ahead.

10am Our new product development team is responsible for coming up with new dishes, either based on clients’ briefs or new trends in the industry. They work closely with new and existing clients and our sales team to ensure dishes are delicious and can be brought to life.

11am Everyday at 11am, products made the previous day are tested for appearance, quality and taste to make sure every single dish lives up to high standards. Our technical team is responsible for food safety and quality systems within the business.

12 noon We generally run two shift patterns in the factory, so our second shift team may arrive to begin work.

1pm Our sales team spend much of their time with clients in person at their offices or in our in-house development kitchen, where we’ll often present, taste and review dishes together before final sign off on briefs.

2pm In the factory, our goods-in team will be busy all day managing incoming deliveries of raw ingredients for upcoming dishes according to the production schedule, checking for quality. Our maintenance team looks after the day to day running of the factory and equipment.

3pm In the hub, our admin and business teams are responsible for the day to day running of the business, from HR to marketing, planning the production schedule to accounts.

4pm Our staff have an average of 13 years working with the business, reflecting the experience and skills of the team. We’re proud to be a business that builds long term relationships with our staff as well as customers, creating an environment where people want to work together, and that thrives on team spirit.

6pm – 8pm The factory closes depending on the volume of food production. We’ll close down the lines and close up the site, ready for another day of innovation and cooking.