With the opening of Grupo Quina’s first restaurant in June 2009, a very fruitful partnership began. Centralmed has supported this project of excellence, endorsed by Chef Vítor Sobral, to this day. Operating in the restaurant sector, topics related to food safety and hygiene have occupied a central place in this collaboration.
Currently, Grupo Quina is responsible for a variety of dining spaces, namely: Padaria da Esquina (Lisbon), Oficina da Esquina (Azores, Angra do Heroísmo), Taberna da Esquina (Lisbon), Otro restaurante (Lisbon, Avenida), and Lota da Esquina (Cascais).
“Initially, the main challenge was the initial support for the opening of the first unit, namely overseeing the construction, the project, the acquisition of equipment, the development of workflows, among others,” says José Figueiredo, Head of Procurement of the company.
With the opening of more establishments, Centralmed has proven to be “a fundamental support and an indispensable partner.” This support extended, for example, to organizing the prerequisites necessary for implementing the HACCP system, creating all the supporting documentation for the HACCP plan and its constant updating to the training in good hygiene and food safety practices, including overseeing the pre-opening of all units.
The desire to collaborate with Centralmed arose, according to the Head of Procurement of Grupo Quina, “from the name, recognition, and prominence in the market of this food safety company.” Over time, this partnership has proven fundamental in the constant monitoring of the various units, namely through audits of the facilities or the training of workers, which, in this case, are conducted by the Food Safety department (and not by the Training department, as usual).
Indeed, the company highlights some of the solutions adopted since 2009 throughout Grupo Quina:
“For Grupo Quina, led by Chef Vitor Sobral, a bastion of Portuguese gastronomy, excellence is the goal. This, therefore, requires finding partners who exceed our expectations. Thus, Centralmed emerges as the natural choice for consultancy in hygiene and food safety.”
The connection between Grupo Quina and Centralmed has been cemented, above all, around trust and proximity. Indeed, the restaurant sector company emphasizes in this regard the availability and personalized support that has been maintained since 2009.
With the various training sessions developed over the years, it is “unequivocal and evident that there is now a greater awareness of food safety within Grupo Quina.” The constant improvement of practices adopted in the various units has certainly contributed to the optimization of available resources.
José Figueiredo further adds that this “improvement in organization and use of raw materials” has resulted in “a reduction of some expenses, among other fundamental benefits.” Consequently, he confesses that, despite all the challenges faced by the sector (lack of workforce, employee turnover, etc.), it has been possible to maintain a trajectory of “excellent evolution over the years.”
When asked about the relationship with Centralmed and all its professionals, the Head of Procurement of Grupo Quina emphasized the decisive role played by this “indispensable partner.” In his words, “the rigor, excellence, availability, professionalism, transparency, and proximity are the characteristics that gave us the confidence to integrate (Centralmed) into our circle of partnerships since 2009.”
If you are looking for a food safety company, check out the range of services that Centralmed has at your disposal. Count on the excellence and proximity of our team!