At Mjolner, Good Bone Marrow, Lamb Shoulder and Tomahawk Steak Start With a Trusted Meat Supplier

Managing a kitchen means navigating constant variables: seasonality, fluctuating prices, consumer demand and unpredictable supply. A good chef knows how to stay dynamic and adapt to change – but consistency, where possible, is what steadies the ship.

Zach Jones, head chef of Mjolner, knows this balance well. He’s spent the past four years leading the venue’s Nordic and Viking-inspired menu. While dishes change regularly, meat remains central, meaning that strong supplier relationships are essential.

Luckily for Jones, his relationship with Bravofoods’ Adam Cremona extends beyond business.

“We’ve built a great relationship,” Jones says. “[Adam is] always sorting me out with new products to put on the menu, anywhere from suckling pigs to lamb shoulder. We’ve also got our beautiful bone marrow, which is our main entree attraction. Adam sources the best for us.”

Cremona worked as a chef for 20 years (including at Odd Culture Group), before joining Bravofoods, and he says that experience shapes how he works with venues today.

“I always used to hate reps that would just rock up and do a paint-by-numbers,” Cremona says. “It’s really impersonal. [Zach and I] have a proper sit-down and get to know exactly what’s going on. And if he’s busy, I just leave him the fuck alone. That’s what chefs appreciate more.”

That background also means Cremona can help guide menu decisions, whether that’s flagging supplier specials or recommending alternative cuts when prices spike or products fall out of season.

“For example, lamb is pretty expensive at the moment,” Cremona says, “but there’s a handful of cuts that are still maintaining a good price point. I speak with the chef, say, ‘Hey, you can put this on the menu, or you can actually give a better-sized portion, have something that’s not normal for the market but still eats perfectly like anything else, and not be chasing your tail on making money.’”

Using under-utilised cuts isn’t just economical – it’s environmental, too, and closely tied to the venue’s ethos. Nordic cooking is rooted in using what’s available, minimising waste and respecting every part of the animal.

Jones uses a recent special as an example: pork and scallops – a classic combination – reimagined with pig’s ears.

“Everyone probably thinks that pig’s ears are for dogs or get fed to animals,” he says. “We confited the ears in oil and garlic and rosemary and all the good stuff, then sliced them really thin and deep-fried them, and it was kind of like pork crackling. It’s pretty cool to put pig’s ears on the menu without scaring people away.”

Bravofoods sends regular email updates with specials, but chefs can also check real-time stock availability through Ordermentum, the online ordering platform both businesses use.

“As soon as anyone logs onto Ordermentum, they can see a carousel [of specials],” Cremona says. “We update that every month.”

Profiles can also be customised so chefs can save favourites or repeat orders, filter proteins, compare prices and align availability with menus. But according to Jones, the supplier relationship still comes first – digital tools simply help support it.

“It’s pretty easy, especially for young chefs, to get blurred lines of what they want and what the supplier has,” he says. “I think once you’re on the same page, then you both kind of get the idea, and there’s a lot of trust built from that.”

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Ordermentum.