Carvery takeaway

[fieldsalesguy]

Just deciding on a takeaway tonight for me, the missus and the kids and realised how limited the choice is really. Really fancy a carvery but cannot face going out in the rain at the minute!

This got me onto thinking about a carvery takeaway service, does anybody know of such a service?

Could this be a potential business idea? I even thought down the line of contacting a carvery restaurant to see if a deal could be struck up to buy from them on a nightly basis at a reduced rate whilst using my own packaging and offering a delivery service?

This way you would not need to buy, prepare food or haver the cost of a kitchen etc and you could sell your own drinks and desserts.

Any thoughts?

 

[Urban Publications]

What if I wanted 2nd's

 

[fieldsalesguy]

Hopefully the portion would have been big enough to quench your hunger. Greedy sod!!

 

[Astaroth]

I am not sure it doesnt miss what to me the main point of a carvery is?

As you say you dont want to go out into the rain we are evidently talking about a delivery service. In my mind the "benefits" of a carvery is that you get to see the joints of meat, chose which one(s) you want and then select your own veg/ accompliments.

If a roast dinner just turns up in a box then that is more a.... well... roast dinner rather than a carvery to me.

If you widen the question to should there be a british food home delivery service rather than just indian/ chinese/ thai/ mexican etc etc then possibly but I would suspect that takeaway is generally something you cannot cook as well/ easily at home (or at least that is the perception) and people may not buy into the idea of that for none ethnic food (other than fish&chips)

 

[t4ttg]

I think I would buy, as long as the food hadn't gone soggy (potatoes) and was still warm then I would be happy. Gravy etc would need to be in seperate tubs as with other sauces etc.
Think its a good idea, saves hours of cooking one..

 

[joiner]

I've thought this idea many times and think its a brilliant one in theory, obviously it always boils down to the calculations in the end- profit for you as a business and the price for the customer. To expand the idea- how about deliverd full english breakfast etc etc as well? Can I put my order in now? lol. My serious suggetion is to for you to start getting some costing together, if you can truely make it work on paper you are one massive step closer to making this idea a reality. Good Luck, Mark.

 

[Urban Publications]

Agree with Astaroth

I think I would use a takeaway that just offered good english dishes though.
Mad how there is untold Pizza and kebab houses but very little takeaways that offer good UK food

They all must be in Turkey and Italy.

 

[joiner]

I am not sure it doesnt miss what to me the main point of a carvery is?

As you say you dont want to go out into the rain we are evidently talking about a delivery service. In my mind the "benefits" of a carvery is that you get to see the joints of meat, chose which one(s) you want and then select your own veg/ accompliments.

If a roast dinner just turns up in a box then that is more a.... well... roast dinner rather than a carvery to me.

If you widen the question to should there be a british food home delivery service rather than just indian/ chinese/ thai/ mexican etc etc then possibly but I would suspect that takeaway is generally something you cannot cook as well/ easily at home (or at least that is the perception) and people may not buy into the idea of that for none ethnic food (other than fish&chips)

I disagree, we all have a limited amount of time per day (in this hectic world blah blah blah), when I come home at the end of the day and my Mr's is on an evening shift (i.e- no dinner waiting for me when I get home!) quite often I feel like having a proper meal but its not really worth the agrro so I'll stop to grab a takeaway of some sort, given the choice between grabbing a Mc'D's or a roast dinner I know which one would be clear winner..

 

[Digger]

Agree with Astaroth

I think I would use a takeaway that just offered good english dishes though.
Mad how there is untold Pizza and kebab houses but very little takeaways that offer good UK food

They all must be in Turkey and Italy.

Not tried a Parmo then?

YUMMY

(I had to make my own like - not living in Middlesbrough )

 

[fieldsalesguy]

Thank you for the replies. Why does it have to be more than a carvery service? Why does it have to be complicated to start with?

If I was able to order whichever meat I wanted or a mixture and then which potatoes, vegetables, yorkshire puddings and gravy/sauses etc I would be very happy.

I was thinking along the line of having each items in seperate containers so the food doesnt get all mushed up!

My main question though was do you think it would be a viable business if you was buying the actual hot food from a carvery restaurant instead of making it yourself? You would supply the desserts yourself and drinks.

Im just thinking this would be a very easy business to set up this way instead of having your own kitchen to produce the food.

 

[kontracta_com]

I've never seen one here but they are certainly around in Australia and I visited them on occasion at lunch or if working late. They were more out in the suburbs but were really good in my opinion. I never saw an empty one at lunchtime or dinner either.

They were definitely more of a takeaway layout like your chip-shop or kebab shop but at least some of them worked over there in a better climate so there's no reason why they can't here. I guess it's just a question of doing your research and costings and then having to educate us all about it as an alternative to your more established types of take-away food.

I'd highly doubt if any of the shops down there would have websites as they were all independent take-aways. however I'm sure there are some forums based in Aussie where you can at least get some pointers.

Good luck - it's making me hungry.

 

[joiner]

The only way you can find out if the business POTENTIALy will be viable is to do the figures (in a very down to earth way.) M:redface:

 

[Urban Publications]

Wiki says

A carvery is a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings for a fixed price.

So this is not your business model

Have a look into the carvery doing the food for you, but is it a carvery with a good or bad rep.
The trouble comes when people complain about the food, wrong order, what if you were at fault for the mistakes the carvery are not going to give you free food if you get it wrong. Whos going to pay that bill.

I was watching good old Gordon in America yesterday and he came up with an idea of a family feast, why dont you do that so there is no complaint

ie

Fields Home Carvery Service
We bring you the beef

Small Lamb Joint sliced £2.50 (cost to you approx)
Small Beef Joint sliced £2.50
Small Pork Joint sliced £2.50
Roast Taters (pence)
Mashed Taters
Peas
Carrots
Aunt Bessies Yorkshire Puds

Feed the family for £25


And you have to introduce Hotpots and Stews in winter time

 

[Waveney Books]

I've always imagined how wonderful this would be on Christmas day.

Lunch at home. All the trimmings. None of the hassle. No lingering smell of sprouts.

Yummy.

 

[FaerieB]

I've thought about this many a time and I realy can't believe it hasn't been dome over here in a pretty big way.

Proper home cooked food to takaway or delivered would have such a wide catchment, including those that live alone and older people.

Like someone has already said, wholesome stews and casseroles, as well as proper dinners ....

Mmmmmmm .... yummy.

I know for a fact that my Dad doesn't eat as healthy as he should because he just can't be bothered. Lets just say the average takeaway price was £5 then it would cost him £35 per week for his proper meals. I think there's a huge market in this if done properly.

Denise x

 

[sellickbhoy]

i'm a bit of a fan of Urban Publications idea

you could probably look at doing something like "the great british dinner - delivered"

Sundays would be your carvery/roast day

but you could offer different dishes each day of the week

Lancashire hot pot
Stovies (mince and tatties if you've never heard of it)
Fish and Chips
Bangers and Mash
Fish pie
cornish pasties

etc etc etc

make up a menu offering 2 items per night, then work on building upa customer base who quite fancy something different from the usual take away

use the local ingredients, organic veg, free range, UK reared meat, if you can name the chef/restaurant cooking it (if you aren't doing it yourself)

You can easily add on soup/starter/desert as well as drinks

 

[Chris34]

It's a fantastic idea that can't fail. As a single person I haven't got the time or money to go out and buy all the ingredients and cook a decent meal so many a time I reluctantly have to go and get junk food from a local takeaway. I don't really want to eat it but I have no option because it's late at night, I don't want to turn the oven on and start roasting potatoes and cook for an hour after a long day and if I don't eat something then I'll wake up in the night hungry. If there was somewhere offering say a stew or roast chicken dinner or steak and ale pie and potatoes at a takeaway competitive price then I would more than likely go there nearly every night for my dinner.

I would also like to point out that the idea has got a healthy but want to eat it appeal and by that I mean that you crave for the food but it's actually a healthy well balanced meal unlike a pizza or chinese or indian.

If I was in the takeaway game I'd open up one immediately as there is no competition at all and there is an absolutely huge market to sell to. You could be the dominoes of enlish food in no time at all.



Chris.

 

[Babybots]

Haven't read through everything, but there is a carvery takeaway in Weston Super Mare and one in Bristol, both are really really busy but only on Sundays!! the rest of the week one is closed and the other doesn't ever seem to be busy.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

Non starter I'd say.
Massive overheads.
Very expensive kitchen to keep Environmental Health happy.
Three or four staff to run kitchen?
Several drivers?
Specialist vehicles to keep food hot.
PL insurance costs.
Staff uniforms.

Do your costings properly,then re-consider the idea.

 

[RoyaleGraphics]

I went to a local carvery on Friday for dinner and it cost £3.59 per person in the week. Very tasty it was too.

A takeaway carvery isn't really for me I prefer to go and sit down in the pub with a drink and see my food before I pick what I want.

 

[Urban Publications]

Non starter I'd say.

Sorry vvaannmmaann my glass is always half full

How do all the fast food shops do it, you often see three or four pizza, kebab houses next to each other, how do they survive with such comp on each others doorsteps.

Massive overheads.

Not really depends how you want to play it.
If you just had a kitchen from a closed down takeaway with A5 consent then you do not need to open the front of house, you could just do pure deliveries.
We have a pub next door he has a kitchen doesnt serve food, so I am sure a few £ notes under his nose he would let us use the kitchen. There is many ways to attack this to reduce costs.

Very expensive kitchen to keep Environmental Health happy.

If you are taking on a small takeaway outlet...already found some in our area starting at 10k pa so not a bank breaker. The premises should almost be fully kitted out for the purpose, as long as the food certs are in place, the place is immaculate and no sign of rodents then you should have no problems. It certainly isnt going to break the bank.

Three or four staff to run kitchen?

Why, surely a great husband and wife business. AM peel the spuds, veg and leave in water for the cooking later, PM all to do now is throw the joints of meat in the oven. Cook, mash, serve and deliver. OOO dont I make it sound easy.
Employ staff as the business grows

Several drivers?

Wouldnt say several in the first few months of trading, grow the business then delivery drivers get employed, I bet you could get away with 2 to start If you open the doors today and it gets extremely busy then you know tomorrow you will need a new driver. No heartache.

Specialist vehicles to keep food hot.

Silver thermal food bags £16.00 for 500
Hot bricks in towels in a cooler box the food in said silver bags should stay a good temp.

PL insurance costs.

Goes without saying

Staff uniforms.

Small cost

Do your costings properly,then re-consider the idea.

Just like any business then

Quick calculations say to me that this is a viable business that could make someone some good money.
By the repsonse on this forum alone, approx 85% agree its a good idea and how little the market has been tapped into shows that there maybe a decent little idea in the making.

 

[fieldsalesguy]

Thank you for the responses. It's like any idea, some people will like it, some not.

The only thing I cannot get my head around is why isn't it something that is already up and running in every town?

 

[coxdabd]

I think it could work if marketed correctly and your food is of good quality. Sometimes you've just got to go for it, if you looked at all the pitfalls you'd probably never get started. Best of luck to you.

 

[TotallySport]

To me it depends on location and price, if there are pubs near I would prefer to go to the pub, and if the price is close to pub prices then it would make sense to go to the pub.

However you couldn't simply use the equipment for a current take away, as the equipment wouldn't suit, our local pizza take away doesn't have any conventianal ovens or hobs.

My only other consern if how will you cook and keep the food warm to order, without it going to mush? will you do split shifts or stay open all day?

One more thought, if I thought I wanted a roast dinner or cottage pie, why would I not pay £1-£2 from a supermarket, than paying you maybe £5?

 

[varanassy]

Just to say I have often wondered why takeaway offerings in UK are so limited... Pizza, Chinese, kebabs or Indian.

However rather than roast dinner takeways I have a hunch that perhaps what people want is healthier (but still tasty) takeaway options. Takeways usually are covered in grease and are incredibly fattening!! There must be a huge market for people who are lazy but concerned about their weight. Why not tap into that?

Also what about public outdoor events where dodgy burgers and deep fried fatty food is all that is ever on offer. May be you could look at doing something in this area.

Personally I feel roast dinner (while yummy) is not the sort of food people want every day. Secondly people do tend to make roasts for a special occasion and I think they enjoy cooking it themselves as part of a "family experience".

The only problem I see with this type of business is that you would be asking people to change their culture :| But if you start with humble beginnings it could work.

You would have to think hard about pricing and market though.

 

[sellickbhoy]

RIGHT!!!

I've been thinking about this.

the OP wasn't thinking about opening their own premises, but buying (at a discount) from an existing varvery business

this would allow them to start up with very small overheads - invest in some packaging, get a delivery vehicle and do up some flyers/marketing to get some customers in.

They don't have to limit themselves to ONE restaurant either - so it doesn't have to be a carvery - they could target a few different establishments that do a better uality, healthy, british menu. (personally, i think they should play up the more healthy take away menu with a sunday carvery for the traditionalists without the time for a big sunday meal to cook)

IF (big IF) it starts to take off, they can then look at their own premises.

I'd suggest they don't go for a simple takeaway, but open a cafe/bistro/coffee shop - which can trade during the day as normal - maybe doing a sandwich delivery service at lunch and at night they have a GOURMET/BRITISH/HEALTHY type take away/delivery service

Customers place their order by 2/3pm each day, they make meals to order and deliver when ready

almost like a lunch time delivery service, but an evening service with a better menu

ideally, if the cafe runs properly, it'll pay for the day to day overheads and therefore any money taken at night is almost all a bonus.

anyway, just a thought!!

 

[snakeeyes121]

Its really a non starter, if it was a good idea dont you think the likes of yates, toby carvery, wetherspoons etc would already be doing it?
They could set it up at the drop of a hat.

 

[Independent Trader]

The takeawy home delivery market is crying out for a healthy tasty service. Also how many people have access to a Fish and Chip shop delivery service that is not linked to a Chinese takeaway?

The other thing that amazes me is how few takeaways appreciate how much quality matters, so few realise that they are only as good as their last delivery, customers are won and lost on being consistent.

 

[Urban Publications]

Its really a non starter, if it was a good idea dont you think the likes of yates, toby carvery, wetherspoons etc would already be doing it?
They could set it up at the drop of a hat.

Dont agree with that...Wetherspoons is a totally different model.

Why do you think wetherspoons are one of the most popular pub chains that can still attract the crowds, because they offer two seperate things that go together

Cheap Beer
Cheap Food

You go in their for a cheap drink see the menu buy, you go in there for food and it goes without saying your going to drink.

Why would wetherspoons or any other successful pub chain take away half their takings by delivering food.

 

[varanassy]

I don't agree with snakeboys comments that a takeaway service for British food is a "non-starter". Toby, Yates and Wetherspoons are massive chains and for these companies to start delivering takeaway service they are clearly going to have to invest in a huge amount of infrastructure in terms of delivery people, insurance etc...

The OP would not be competing against these and would start local

For me, I think it is important that there is a clear vision. If the vision is to start a delivery agency for carveries then obviously there is an issue of getting the carveries to sign up to the idea. This is immediately a limitation.
Cooking your own food may mean there are greater overheads but there is more flexibility then in the business model.

Also the OP needs to consider whether the food from carveries is the type of quality that people want taken to their door. Personally I wouldn't order a take away for Toby's carvery as it is a mass produced product that is no way near as good as a home cooked roast. :redface:

I think the idea of delivering British food to someone's door might be a good one but offering people food from bog standard carveries may be missing the point. The fact is that British people are rather in love with their Indian and Chinese takeaways (I say that even though I am not so keen) so any alternative would need to be infinitely better. Just my opinion

I personally think that for this business to be successful it needs to answer a problem. I think there is a problem and that is that it is currently impossible to order a healthy takeaway meal with premium ingredients. I think the next thing to do would be to look at the target market ie what type of people are going to want an alternative to the standard takeaway option.

 

[leemason]

This is something my wife has suggested would be great on a number of occasions when we are looking through the takeway/home delivery menus that constantly come through the door. They are almost all Indian, Chinese, or Pizza. Something different and English would be great. We would certainly want to use such a service.

 

[fieldsalesguy]

Thank you again for all the replies.

Firstly I don't think it is a non starter at all. I never said I was looking to start a global brand or chain, i just said about providing a service within the food sector where I feel there is a gap.

So far I have taken on board that to have a carvery only delivery service is not the way forward as mentioned in alot of the replies. I really like the idea os having a small menu of say 5 dishes per night of healthy british favourite meals ideally with locally sorced produce. Maybe a special dish every evening on set days every week?

I also think to start with the best idea would be to approach local restaurants to see if a deal can be done to "outsource" the actual cooking and preperation and then if the business seemed viable then to look at renting a kitchen?

What I am struggling to get my head around is if for example you have 5 different meals available every night how would you go about the ordering process. Obviously certain meals take longer to prepare than others and if the work was being outsourced to begin with the restaurants will also have their own customers to serve. Do you think it would be possible to have a cut off for ordering the evening meal at say 3pm so that a order schedule and delivery route can be planned or do you think more often than not people prefer to order when they feel hungry!!!??

I hope this makes sense?

 

[patientlady]

Thank you for the responses. It's like any idea, some people will like it, some not.

The only thing I cannot get my head around is why isn't it something that is already up and running in every town?

If the quality of the food is the same as Toby Carvery I cannot see it working. We have one close to us. The meat is tasteless and the vegetables are mush. Yorkshire puds tasteless and overcooked too. The problem I see is the presentation of this style of food. You will have at least 6 items on the plate that need all to look appetising and kept warm. A curry and rice is just two separate boxes.

 

[movietub]

To take this in another direction...

I often get the impression in my nearest big town (Peterborough) that all the takeaways are facsimilies of one another. All (using the word 'all' as thats the impression one gets!) the fish and chip shops are run by the chinese, and as such they nailed down a sort of agreed formula. The kebab shops are all either turkish and near identical, except for the indian kebab shops, which are the same minus the charcoal grill the turkish insist on.

Once, I visited a chinese girls family home for a birthday, and relatives had come from all over the place. The conversation at our table, a table of at least 20, was fish and chip shops. All the senior members were passing on their knowledge as to how to move over, get a premesis, what you will need and what the british like to see. One of them even laughed and declared that 'it's all we can do in England', other than own a 'chinese' takeaway, I presume.

So I wonder if the lack of variety has less to do with lack of demand, and more to do with some very efficient and hard-working ethnic minorities following a safe and proven formula.

If that were the case, then such a situation would make it possible for a limited number of alternatives to succeed simply by breaking the formula. As for carvery takeaway, well, supermarkets now sell roast potatoes and veg to take away along with their fresh-roast meats. So why not? When they first started they sold roast chickens only, now my local TESCO's sells at least 20 varieties of hot meat to take home. Someones buying it.

 

[movietub]

The problem I see is the presentation of this style of food. You will have at least 6 items on the plate that need all to look appetising and kept warm. A curry and rice is just two separate boxes.

So you're suggesting that the insurmountable problem with this business, is getting some suitable multi compartment boxes sourced? I'm sure I deal with bigger headaches every day here!

And this probably compares more to chinese food than indian. Many people ordering a chinese takeaway end up with at least 6 differet items. All of which are in their own containers, well presented, and then divvied up at home. So one container of roast potatoe, one of roast veg, one of mash etc etc.

 

[vvaannmmaann]

OP,have you actually properly costed this idea?

 

[MrsPWN]

As a caterer with 3 single brothers I have thought of this for a long time, they are lorry drivers and sick of the burger van or foreign take away options and would love a good casserole or decent pie. However the problem you will have is getting an established restaurant that will want the hassle of you phoning up 8-10 times a night saying "Can I have a cottage pie, lamb stew, pork chops and veg for 3" it just wouldn't be viable for the small profit they would make, enabling you to also make a profit on what would retail for about £6pp.

One option you could look at is a local pub that doesn't do evening meals (few and far between these days) where you could go in, provide this service for the pub as well as a take away option. How many times have you left a pub after a few drinks and wanted to eat at home but can't be bothered! I ran a similar business in Houson, Texas many years ago in an English expats pub and it went down a storm!

 

[DBMark]

Not quite the same idea, but here's someone selling pies (and scotch eggs) in Madrid, Spain, of all places
http://www.great-british-food.com/
If you could perfect a "Toad-in-the-hole" that kept its shape and texture, you'd be onto a winner. But please make sure it doesn't taste like the supermarket rubbish you put in the microwave - terrible!
Incidentally, I've seen Caribbean take-aways that serve a Sunday special very similar to the British Sunday roast. So it can be done...

 

[varanassy]

OP, I think there is an idea here but only if the quality of the food is fantastic ie same level as a good gastro pub.


If I had something like this in my area, I would order from time to time - especially on evenings where I realised that all I had was beans and toast (and couldn't be bothered/had too much wine to drive to the supermarket)

However if you outsource the cooking, you surely won't have any control over the costs of the ingredients, labour etc... This is going to make it very hard for you to make any profit as your margins will be too low (as you need to keep pricing at a reasonable level) ...

 

[direct sales pro]

roast to go, that was the name i thought of