The demands on professional kitchens have never been higher. In today’s kitchens, chefs must master the delicate balance between high-volume output, flawless consistency and professional quality – all while managing staffing and labor costs.
Those demands are all too familiar for chefs Matt Abdoo and Kayla Robinson. What started as a weekend grilling hobby for Abdoo evolved into a full-fledged passion for barbecue, ultimately leading him to a career in some of New York City’s top-rated four-star and Michelin-star restaurants. Now, he is the executive chef and co-founder of Pig Beach Barbecue. Robinson, a Food Network champion with nearly two decades of experience in the culinary industry, now runs her own smash burger concept, Commander N Beef, while also consulting for other restaurants.
Here, the chefs share their strategies for achieving efficiency without sacrificing the standout flavor their guests expect.
In a high-volume setting, what are the biggest challenges in maintaining consistency for complex items, such as scratch-made sauces, and how can chefs ensure quality control across multiple shift changes?
Chef Robinson: When I was consulting for a very small kitchen with limited staff, I saw firsthand how quickly quality could drop when labor was stretched thin. We needed a foolproof component for a key menu item that would perform the same every time, no matter who was on the line. Products like Land 
O’Lakes® Extra Melt® Cheese Sauce became the perfect bridge to guarantee that fantastic, consistent product.
Chef Abdoo: Consistency is everything, especially with signature items like our award-winning burgers and mac and cheese. When developing the menu, I used just about every cheese on the market to see which performed and tasted the best consistently across all our services. We needed ingredients that we could rely on daily, and Land O Lakes® products always stood out in both performance and flavor.
Labor costs and prep time are critical. Where have you found the greatest opportunities to streamline your preparation without compromising the outcome of the flavor profile?
Chef Abdoo: For us, it’s about minimizing the points of potential error. Using a product like Extra Melt® Cheese Sauce and Queso Bravo® Cheese Dip just makes our prep easier, faster and creates less waste. I don’t have to worry about a team member burning a cheese sauce or making a mistake with the recipes. They simply heat up the product, add in a touch of barbecue sauce, and it’s ready to serve. This is a massive time-saver for the team.
Chef Robinson: We instantly cut down on our labor. Instead of babysitting a from-scratch sauce that requires constant attention, we get a reliable base that holds its flavor and texture perfectly. This frees up staff to focus on other, more complex components of service. Reliability is key — it’s always smooth and creamy, making it a consistently reliable product every time.
From a technical standpoint, what ingredients or techniques are non-negotiable for you when scaling up a recipe for high-volume service or quick-turn environments? How do these products perform in high-volume or quick-turn environments?
Chef Robinson: You need ingredients that are built for pressure. Extra Melt® Cheese Sauce holds up perfectly during a long service—it won’t break or separate on the line. Similarly, Queso Bravo® Cheese Dip stays creamy even when you’re cranking out hundreds of portions back-to-back.
Chef Abdoo: Their quick prep and ease of use mean they thrive in high volume. The quick melt time saves my staff precious minutes on pickups during service. It also becomes one less thing to worry about on their forever-growing prep list because the quality is consistent and ready to go.
Ultimately, efficiency must deliver on taste. What has been the guest feedback on dishes where you’ve integrated a performance product, such as Extra Melt® Cheese Sauce or Queso Bravo® Cheese Dip, to improve your consistency and speed?
Chef Abdoo: Very positive feedback, usually on the taste and how silky and creamy the cheese is. It very often becomes a regularly ordered item when they return, which proves the taste is absolutely there, even with the improved efficiency.
Chef Robinson: Guests rave about the flavor and texture. They describe it as super delicious, creamy, and indulgent. They absolutely love the Queso Bravo® Cheese Dip and Extra Melt® Cheese Sauce. The fact that we can deliver that consistent, high-quality experience is what brings them back.
Get inspired with these recipes and learn how you can incorporate Extra Melt® Cheese Sauce and Queso Bravo® Cheese Dip to your menus and LTOs.
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