Catering Consultant in Swansea
Swansea is about an hour along the M4 from my base in Newport, close enough to stand in your kitchen during a service. That tells me more than any phone call.
I am René Chapman. Most of my work starts with a decision that is expensive to get wrong: a new opening, a refit, a menu that is busy but not making money or an EHO inspection coming round again.
35+ years in the hospitality sector. As Rational's regional sales manager I covered every SA postcode, so Swansea kitchens are familiar ground.
Catering equipment in Swansea
I specify commercial kitchen equipment for Swansea restaurants, cafés, pubs and hotels, then manage the supply and installation through to commissioning. Sized to your covers and your menu, not to a brochure. More on catering equipment and combi ovens across South Wales.
Commercial kitchen design
Layouts for Swansea kitchens, planned around how the food actually moves from delivery to wash, with extraction and drainage in the plan from the start. More on how I approach commercial kitchen design.
EHO pre-inspection audits
In Wales your food hygiene rating has to be displayed where customers can see it, so a poor inspection follows you for months. Before the EHO comes round, I walk your kitchen the way an inspector would: how food is handled, stored and cooked, cleaning, temperature records, pest control and the food safety paperwork behind it all. I check allergen information too, because it gets looked at on the same visit, though it does not count towards the rating. You get a plain list of what to fix first. I cannot promise you a 5. Nobody honest can.
Staff training
Food hygiene and food safety training for kitchen and front of house teams. On site, on your own equipment, in short sessions that fit around service, aimed at the gaps an inspection would find.
Menu and gross profit
Every dish costed properly, so you know which ones pay for the rest of the menu and which ones need to change.
Swansea Council grants for hospitality
Swansea Council's Local Growth Fund can put real money towards a new or growing hospitality business. As of November 2026:
- Starting up. Up to £25,000 before you start trading. The first £2,000 can be fully funded, then up to half of eligible costs. Equipment counts.
- Growing. Up to £50,000 for a new product or service that creates jobs, at up to half of eligible costs.
- Cutting energy costs. Normally up to £10,000, at up to half. Worth asking about if you are replacing old kit with more efficient equipment.
You still put in your own money, VAT is not covered and nothing bought before the award counts. The pre-start grant also needs a business plan and a 12-month forecast. Only businesses based in the Swansea council area can apply and the council can change the terms.
That is where I come in. Whether you are starting up or your kitchen needs new equipment, I can work out what it actually needs and what that should cost, so the equipment figures in your plan are built on real costs rather than guesses. More on the Swansea grant terms. If you are planning a grant-funded kitchen, book a free consultation first.
Who I work with
Independent restaurants, cafés and bistros, from the city centre to Mumbles and the Gower. Pubs and gastropubs. Hotels. Contract caterers. Care homes. Education catering. Food production.
Where to start
A free first conversation about what is actually going wrong, whether that is equipment, a menu or a hygiene rating you want to lift. If I cannot see a way to make the numbers work, I will tell you at the start.
Serving Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Mumbles, Gower, Llanelli and the surrounding areas.