Why Capital City College chose Labl.it to keep up with a kitchen that never stops
Training the next generation of chefs without cutting corners on compliance
“It is incredible how easy it is and how well it can track everything in your kitchens”
Jose, Senior Chef Lecturer at Capital City College
Capital City College Group is one of London’s largest further education providers, and at its Westminster campus, the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts is at the heart of it all. The kitchens here are professional environments in every sense - high volume, fast-paced, and held to the same food safety standards as any commercial operation.
With around 600 culinary students across the college and classes running across morning and afternoon shifts, the kitchens are constantly in motion. Students rotate through sections on a cycle of four to five weeks, meaning lecturers are regularly welcoming a completely fresh cohort.
In that environment, consistency isn’t just good practice. It’s essential. And when it comes to food labelling, the margin for error is zero.
The problem
Handwritten labels weren’t keeping up with the pace
Before Labl.it, the college relied on handwritten stick-on stickers - a system that worked in theory but created real headaches in practice. Writing dozens of labels by hand is time-consuming at the best of times. In a teaching kitchen, where lecturers are managing classes, mentoring students, and overseeing production all at once, it became a significant drain.
The issues went beyond speed. With students still developing their skills and handwriting quality varying wildly, labels could be hard to read, important information was sometimes missed, and calculating correct use-by dates was left open to human error.
Allergen information presented another challenge. With dishes changing week to week and students moving between sections, making sure every container was clearly and accurately labelled with allergen data was a constant concern.
The solution
A labelling system the whole kitchen can use from day one
Senior Chef Lecturer Jose first encountered Labl.it at the HRC show. He saw the machine, understood immediately how it would fit into the college’s workflow, and was sold - not because it was flashy or complicated, but because it wasn’t.
“My first impression was how easy it was, and how easy it was going to be for our students to use”
Jose, Senior Chef Lecturer at Capital City College
That ease of use is critical in a college setting. Unlike a restaurant brigade that might stay together for years, CCCG’s lecturers are constantly onboarding new students. Any tool that requires significant training is a tool that creates friction, and Labl.it removes that friction entirely.
Students can select a food category, choose the item, and have a fully compliant, clear label printed in seconds. The machine automatically calculates the correct use-by date based on how the food is being stored and allergen information is built in, prompting students - and lecturers - to think carefully about what’s in each dish.
According to Chef Lecturer Tom, for bulk production, the time savings are immediate.
“In the past, it might mean writing out ten labels. Now we just click plus ten and they’re done”
Tom, Chef Lecturer at Capital City College
The result
Consistent, compliant kitchens - ready for any inspection
Labl.it is now a core part of kitchen operations at Capital City College’s Westminster campus. Every fridge is organised and fully compliant, and the lecturers have one less thing to worry about.
Perhaps most importantly in an educational environment, Labl.it has become a teaching tool in its own right. By prompting students to engage with allergen information and storage timelines at the point of labelling, it reinforces the food safety knowledge they’ll need throughout their careers in the industry.
For a college that trains the next generation of professional chefs, having a kitchen that runs with the discipline and compliance of the real industry isn’t just an ambition anymore. With Labl.it, it’s reality.
