Guides · Running the place
Farm to table in a small café: what it really costs
Double the price, and when it's worth it.
For a few years I ran Time Café & Bar as a farm-to-table place: meat, fruit and vegetables straight from farms, free-range eggs from a named producer, edible flowers for the cocktail garnishes. Here's what it cost and whether I'd do it again.
What it cost
Honestly: more than double what the cheap wholesalers charged for the same basket. A typical weekly farm delivery ran to a few hundred pounds, with separate invoices for eggs and for the produce. Edible flowers in particular are expensive per gram and don't keep.
Why I did it anyway
Because I wanted to serve food I was proud of, and because the cheap stuff tasted cheap. That's a real reason, but it's not a business plan on its own. What made it work:
- I said it everywhere. On the menu, on the boards, on the socials: the farm's name, the egg producer's name. If you pay double for provenance and don't tell anyone, you've just got a smaller margin.
- I priced for it. A farm burger isn't a £9 burger. Run the numbers in the costing calculator with the real ingredient prices before you print the menu.
- I used the garnish twice. The edible flowers went on the cocktails as well as the plates, which is where the theatre and the photos came from.
Would I do it again?
Partly. I'd keep the eggs, the meat and the garnish, where customers can taste and see the difference, and go back to a normal wholesaler for the things nobody notices: onions, potatoes, bulk veg. Premium where it shows, sensible where it doesn't. That's the version that keeps the GP healthy.
If you're thinking about it
- Start with one category, eggs or meat, and see if customers respond before you switch the whole kitchen.
- Agree delivery days and minimum orders in writing; farm suppliers are smaller and less forgiving of a missed payment than the big wholesalers.
- Keep the supplier invoices for your allergen and traceability records; the EHO likes to see where the meat came from.