Consistency at Scale: How Zizzi Azzuri Group: Delivers Quality Across the UK with Automation

For operators of multi-brand restaurant groups, growth brings opportunity and complexity. With hundreds of restaurants across the UK, the Azzurri Group has learned that maintaining consistent quality, speed, and service excellence is just as important as expanding the estate.

Home to beloved brands like Zizzi's, ASK Italian, and Coco di Mama, Azzurri Group serves millions of meals each year while striving to ensure every guest enjoys the same experience, whether they’re in Edinburgh, Manchester, or Brighton. That’s where kitchen automation technology has become a game-changer. 

The Operational Challenge: Delivering Identical Quality Everywhere

Despite best efforts, traditional kitchen workflows can struggle under the weight of variation. Each site has a unique layout, different equipment, and a mix of team skill levels. This means that during peak services, bottlenecks and inconsistencies can occur.

On top of that, bringing new team members up to speed adds further strain. Standard training approaches don’t always translate into consistent performance across a large estate, particularly when every kitchen is under pressure. Azzurri needed a way to unify operations without relying solely on individual team efforts.

ConnectSmart® Kitchen: A Central Nervous System for Kitchen Operations

To solve this, Azzurri Group implemented ConnectSmart Kitchen, a kitchen automation and display system designed to bring clarity and control to busy kitchens.

At the heart of the system is real-time visibility; teams and management can see orders, timing, and routing across the whole operation. By connecting front-of-house and back-of-house systems, the technology automates and prioritises workflows so kitchens operate smarter, not harder. 

Features that make a difference include:

• Centralised dashboards that provide operational visibility across all sites.
• Automated ticket routing and cook-time pacing to ensure orders flow smoothly.
• Data and analytics tools that help leaders identify trends, bottlenecks, and opportunities for improvement.
  
  

Results: Consistency, Speed, and Shared Best Practice

The benefits have been tangible. Since implementing ConnectSmart Kitchen, Azzurri has been able to:

• Achieve ticket times of 12 minutes or less on a high proportion of orders, helping kitchens stay efficient even during the busiest rushes. 
• Standardise best-in-class practices across brands and locations, lifting overall performance.
• Improve team communication and training, because the system supports staff with clear, intuitive workflows rather than relying on memory or paper notes.

By replacing fragmented processes with a unified technology platform, Azzurri Group has turned data into action—and action into consistent guest experiences.

What This Means for Enterprise Restaurant Groups

The hospitality sector in the UK is more competitive than ever, and brands that succeed are those that can scale without sacrificing quality. Connected kitchen technology like ConnectSmart Kitchen brings precision to operations that were previously difficult to achieve at scale.

Real-time data not only increases day-to-day efficiency, it also empowers smarter strategy, from training teams more effectively to informing future menu development and site decisions. 

In a world where diners expect fast, reliable, and delicious food regardless of location, that level of operational excellence isn’t just an advantage—it’s essential.

Learn more here.