The right supplier can provide the cuts, preparation and quantities you need, and deliver on the days your kitchen can take an order. Settle those in writing first, then work through product information, ordering terms and how changes get handled. Price belongs in the same conversation, as long as every quote you're comparing is built on the same specification.
Start with what goes on the plate
Before you ask for a price list, write down your core menu items and the meat each one needs. Include your busiest service, the dishes that sell every week, and the products you only order for functions or specials. That short list gives your team and any supplier something concrete to work from.
A cafe making pies has different preparation needs from a restaurant portioning steaks or a caterer feeding a full venue. Say what you cook and how your kitchen runs, including who preps, how much bench time they have and where the pressure points fall. The conversation then gets to the useful part quickly: cuts, mince blends, portions and packaging.
Put the product specification in writing
A specification is simply an agreed description of what you expect to receive. It keeps your chef, whoever places the order and the butcher working from the same information, and it gives you something to point at when a delivery doesn’t look right. Here’s what’s worth pinning down before you start.
What to agree before the first order
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What to agree before the first order
Discuss
Ask about
Cut and preparation
The cut name, bone-in or boneless, trimming and any preparation you want done before delivery.
Portions
Target raw weight, thickness, and the variation your menu can live with.
Origin and product information
The origin of that specific product and the information available to support your menu descriptions.
Packaging
Pack weight, portions per pack, chilled or frozen supply, and what fits your storage.
Ingredients
Current ingredient and allergen information for prepared products, including sausages and marinades.
Changes
How you will be told about a substitution or a change to the agreed specification.
Does the ordering routine fit your week?
Ask about order cut-offs, which days deliveries reach your address, lead times for prepared products, and any minimum order or delivery charge. Then check the human side: who takes your order, what happens when your usual contact is away, and how to flag a problem with a delivery that lands mid-prep. Ask what details help most when you report one, so your team knows whether to note the docket number, the batch identification or both.
Keep the agreed details somewhere everyone who orders can see them. If you’re working out quantities for a function, our guide to planning meat order quantities is a sensible next read.
Ask what will arrive on the label
Ask what appears on labels and delivery paperwork, and how to identify a batch if you have a query weeks later. Supplier details, product identification, relevant dates and your own receiving notes are what let your team match what arrived against what was ordered. MPI’s food business record templates are a useful reference for the kinds of information a receiving record can capture; use them alongside the procedures that apply to your own business. There is more detail in our guide to meat traceability for food businesses.
Compare the cost of what your kitchen can actually use
Line up quotes for the same cut, trim, weight basis and packaging, and check whether GST, freight and preparation are included in each one. Then add the work your own kitchen needs to do: the time your team spends trimming and portioning, and how much of the delivered weight becomes a saleable serve.
When you change a core product, a small agreed trial before it goes into a menu is worth the effort. Record your own preparation time and the portions you get out of it. Our guide to whole cuts and portion-cut steaks sets out a simple way to run that comparison.
Bring your menu to our team
At Preston Foods, we work with businesses on cuts, mince blends and packaging to suit their menus. If you’re weighing up a new supplier, have a look at what we produce, then send us your cuts, expected weekly quantities and delivery location. We’ll tell you what we can do for your kitchen and where to go next.
The cut or prepared product, the quantity, your preparation requirements, pack preference and delivery location. If portion consistency matters, add your target raw weight and thickness. Then ask that the quote states its weight basis, GST treatment, delivery charges and how long it is valid for.
Only once the specifications match. Line up the same cut, trim and pack, then factor in preparation time, usable yield and delivery. Price per kilogram only means something once you know how many serves your kitchen gets out of it.
Often, yes, but talk through each side separately. A restaurant usually runs to a steady weekly pattern, while catering volumes move with bookings. Agree early how forecasts, event orders and late changes will be handled.
