Inside Turtle Bay: the Labl.it effect on a kitchen that never slows down

Inside Turtle Bay: where every minute matters

“Without Labl.it, our next work day would be chaotic to say the least. This simplifies everything - it just takes the headache away.”

Aaron, General Manager at Turtle Bay Southampton

At Turtle Bay, the kitchen never really slows down. Chefs arrive at 9am and hit the ground running: prepping, checking the line, and gearing up for a lunch service that can swing from quiet to full-on within the hour. By the time dinner service wraps, the team still needs to close down the kitchen thoroughly and prepare for the next day.

In that kind of environment, every tool in the kitchen needs to earn its place. Food safety compliance is non-negotiable, and so is speed. They needed something that could keep up, and that everyone, from experienced chefs to new starters, could use instantly.

That's where Labl.it came in.

The problem

Handwritten labels couldn't keep up with the pace

Like many high-volume kitchens, Turtle Bay had relied on handwritten labels and day dots to manage food storage and HACCP compliance. But in a busy service environment, handwriting creates real problems - most obviously, legibility. Chefs in the middle of a packed service don't have time to write neatly, and labels that can't be read clearly are a food safety risk.

At the end of service, close-down procedures required significant time spent writing and organising labels by hand - for both the kitchen team and bar staff like Josh, who had to individually date and label every prepped item before finishing a shift.

It was time-consuming, repetitive, and there was always the risk something would get missed.

The solution

A device that every team member could use instantly

Labl.it replaced handwritten labels across the site with a single, easy-to-use device that produces clear, consistent, and compliant labels in seconds. There's no training curve - as bartender Josh put it, he could simply find what he needed and get it printed straight away without having to think twice.

The notifications and alerts built into Labl.it gave Aaron and the head chef real-time visibility over what needed changing, removing the reliance on memory or manual checks during busy service.

HACCP compliance became significantly easier to manage, and the risk of human error in labelling was virtually eliminated.

Labl.it's wastage recording feature has also become a valuable tool for training and development. With new staff joining regularly, having a standardised system that mirrors what's used across the wider Turtle Bay estate means chefs are immediately familiar with it wherever they work. It also supports the brand's sustainability goals, helping the team reduce food waste by keeping a closer eye on stock usage.

“It's nice that you get the notifications and you can see when things need to be changed as opposed to leaving everything to chance.”

Aaron, General Manager at Turtle Bay Southampton

The result

Faster close-downs, better compliance, less waste

Since introducing Labl.it, Turtle Bay has seen a meaningful improvement in how the kitchen team manages both food safety and their time. 

Close-down procedures that used to eat into the end of service are now wrapped up in minutes, freeing up the team to focus on what matters most: food quality and guest experience.

For Aaron, the value of Labl.it goes beyond convenience. It's removed a category of problem entirely; no more illegible labels, no more supply issues, no more guesswork on what needs to be changed. 

Labl.it has become a quiet but essential tool in Turtle Bay's daily operation - simple, reliable, and exactly what a high-volume hospitality environment needs.