Webinar Recap: Leanpath & Galley: Turning Data into Profits
Leanpath & Galley: Turning Data into Profits
Galley Solutions recently joined forces with Leanpath for a chef-to-chef conversation on practical ways to tighten operations, protect margins, and put sustainability at the heart of kitchen culture. The discussion also unveiled their new integration, which connects menu-level data in Galley directly to Leanpath’s food waste tracking, giving operators better insight and faster paths to action.
This collaboration pairs two leaders in culinary technology. Galley offers an AI-powered Culinary Resource Planning platform that brings recipes, inventory, procurement, and production together in one system. Leanpath is widely known for its AI-driven food waste management tools. Together, they allow kitchens to track waste against specific menu items, making waste reduction more precise, more visible, and more measurable than ever.
Meet the Chefs
The webinar featured Chef Ben Murphy of Leanpath and Chef Nate Keller of Galley Solutions, both veterans of the kitchen and longtime advocates for smarter, more sustainable operations.
“I always wanted to link my culinary skills with my passion for the environment,” Murphy explained. “Now, I work with chefs to help them track and reduce food waste through creative solutions — and it’s incredibly rewarding.”
Keller, who calls himself a “culinary operations therapist,” described his shift from cooking to tech-driven support: “I’ve moved from years in kitchens to helping organizations leverage their food data for better outcomes.”
1. Embrace Data—Not Gut Feel
The conversation began with a clear message: In a modern kitchen, measurement is non-negotiable. Murphy stressed that without tracking what’s wasted, where it’s wasted, and why, “you’re missing real opportunities for improvement.” Granular data—from overproduction trends to trimming losses—points directly to solutions, whether that’s revising forecasts, honing knife skills, or rethinking purchasing choices.”
Keller added that data only works if it’s unified: “A single source of truth, such as Galley, means everyone is making decisions from the same facts. That eliminates guesswork and improves accuracy.”
The impact of this approach is clear in the field. One operation, for instance, spotted a spike in ground-beef waste during the third shift. Digging into the numbers revealed a simple, costly habit—cooking burgers before close just to shut the grill down early. Without data, the issue would have stayed invisible.
2. Plan Ahead—And Plan for the Plan to Fail
In Keller’s view, the best kitchens never rely on a single plan. “You always need backups for your backups,” he said. Waste is inevitable, but with a system in place it doesn’t have to be expensive. That system should include documented playbooks for forecasting, production, and end-of-service decisions, along with an “A-B-C” strategy that outlines how excess will be repurposed, preserved, or safely disposed of.
Murphy agreed, warning that “making decisions in a panic is a recipe for more waste.” Instead, production sheets, forecasting tools, and historical data provide the confidence to make adjustments mid-service—and the insight to improve for the next one. At the end of service, a senior team member should evaluate what’s left to determine if it truly belongs in the bin or could become tomorrow’s special.
3. Fix the Room You Cook In
Organization, both in storage and on the line, quietly drives efficiency. Murphy compared it to stretching mise en place from the station to the entire kitchen. When coolers, dry storage, and prep areas are well-planned, ingredients are easy to store, rotate, and find—and costly mistakes are avoided.
Keller recommended clear labeling and dating, grouping similar items, using transparent containers, and posting maps of storage zones to make inventory visual and intuitive. Murphy underscored the need to keep waste visible as well: “Don’t let black holes in the kitchen attract waste. When you see it, you can track it, talk about it, and reduce it.”
4. Let AI Do the Heavy Lifting
Both chefs noted that artificial intelligence is poised to take much of the guesswork—and the paperwork—out of kitchen efficiency. Leanpath’s AI engine analyzes waste patterns, then suggests targeted fixes for specific items or processes. Galley uses AI to speed up forecasting, production planning, and other routine tasks, freeing teams to spend more time cooking and less time managing spreadsheets. The combination of human expertise and instant, data-driven recommendations helps kitchens act before small inefficiencies become major drains.
5. Engage Your First Customer—The Team
The final theme looked at the people. “Your staff is your first customer,” Keller said. “Take care of them, and they will take care of you.” That care means mentorship, skill-building, and giving cooks ownership of the mission. For Murphy, food waste prevention is a powerful tool for recognition—celebrating a successfully repurposed ingredient or a service that hits waste targets not only builds morale but also strengthens reliability.
Consistent training in forecasting, production, and creative repurposing fosters teams that solve problems before they cost money. Just as important, it roots the work in purpose. “Chefs control one of the world’s most vital resources — food,” Keller reminded. “When the team understands the weight of that responsibility, their habits change.”
Why This Matters Now
Throughout the discussion, the chefs returned to the same truth: a profitable, responsible kitchen relies on deliberate systems. Meaningful data, proactive planning, an organized space, AI-driven insights, and engaged teams all work together to cut waste, control costs, and run a tighter operation. With the Galley–Leanpath integration, those systems now connect more seamlessly—turning menu data and waste tracking into actionable intelligence.
Watch the recording or see the integration
Want to listen to the full conversation with these two chefs? Watch the on-demand webinar and ask us about connecting Galley with Leanpath for your operation. Or reserve a demo and we’ll show how menu-level waste tracking, clean production data, and simple playbooks can raise margins in weeks.
