This article was written by our MD, Ian Wood, and a shortened version of it has just been published in RAC Magazine (issue date - June 2009). It would be interesting to hear what you guys think of it ...
New chill in small kitchens
Reducing a kitchen footprint to increase front of house floor space requires updated thinking regarding catering refrigeration explains Ian Wood, MD of Adande Refrigeration.
Accommodating more customers in front of house increases sales revenues and makes property assets work harder.
But smaller kitchens can compromise operational efficiency, food quality, and safety. Equipment design and layout must be carefully planned in terms of functionality, flexibility, footprint, and operational efficiency.
Combi-ovens and rapid cook ovens meet the more demanding selection criteria for smaller kitchens. But what about refrigeration? Fridge and freezer cabinets are large pieces of equipment with big footprints and volumes, but the basic design has not changed in over 70 years (ask your grandmother).
So let’s examine the downsides of using conventional catering refrigeration in small kitchens.
Conventional Catering Refrigeration Wastes Energy
Firstly, the cold air falls out every time the door is opened, to be replaced by warm moist kitchen air that then has to be cooled down. And with repeated openings in hot busy kitchens the refrigeration struggles to maintain its set-point, product temperatures rise, and electricity consumption goes through the roof.
Failing seals are expensive to replace and contribute further to poor storage conditions. Poor storage conditions have a direct relationship with food quality and energy consumption. In addition, overworked refrigeration pumps excessive heat into small kitchen spaces, exacerbating the problem.
Conventional Catering Refrigeration Displaces Worktops
Secondly, upright refrigeration displaces worktops. Preparation worktop is at a premium in small kitchens, so generally uprights are located in out-of-the-way places. Staff spend more time walking and less time working as they move between the cooking and prep areas and the uprights. That slows down meal production and adds cost.
Conventional Catering Refrigeration is Hazardous
Thirdly, although counter refrigeration overcomes the worktop problem associated with uprights, access through the doors to the food is difficult and hazardous. An operator needs to kneel or bend double to gain visible access to contents. Even when bent double, only the products at the front of the shelf can be easily removed or replaced.
The products towards the rear of the shelf are very difficult to access and usually require the removal of products at the front of the shelf. Bending double or kneeling is also a serious health and safety issue in busy cook-lines and passageways.
Conventional Catering Units are Small and Fragile
Fourthly, counter units with drawers could overcome the access problem of counter doors, but drawers tend to be very small, limiting the range of products that can be stored in them. Conventional drawers also break because the runners are in the cold with the food, and don’t work for freezers at all because the runners ice up. Conventional counter units with drawers are also difficult to clean thoroughly.
Why So Many Different Units?
And lastly, why do we need so many different types of refrigeration? Tell a chef with a combi-oven that they should have one oven for low temperatures and another for high temperatures, and yet another for steaming and they would laugh in your face. But the same chef will have separate fridge cabinets, freezer cabinets, fish keep, and blast chiller. Why is that?
Because we are deep-rooted in incumbent refrigeration and all its failings; it is the norm so we just accept it.
QSRs Are Addressing These Issues with Adande Technology
Quick Service Restaurants like KFC and McDonalds have over the years been developing and refining layouts and equipment selections that produce the highest meal volumes from the smallest kitchen footprint.
Fine dining restaurants in expensive city centre locations also have to plan their small kitchen layouts and equipment very carefully. But now they have found a new technology solution to help them.
Adande have applied new thinking and have developed unique refrigeration to deliver important operational benefits in smaller kitchens.This new thinking with its significant user benefits changes the rules for setting-out smaller kitchens.
- The cold stays with the food to give better food quality and consistency
- Point of use and ease of access for faster meal production
- Fridge and freezer and blast chiller settings for each drawer for operational flexibility
- Greater usable storage capacity for smaller footprint
- Warranted seals, low energy, and minimum maintenance reduce the cost of ownership
For a full information pack, please visit http://www.adande.com/more-information.htm
