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Prime Cooking Equipment

Energy Focus

August 08 - Fast Food

Fast food has become a bit of a misnomer: associated with burgers and chips, it equally applies to a host of other quick, easy to serve meals. Quick service is a more accurate description. It can be prepared quickly and covers a wider range from fries to salads, burgers to baguettes. Full article ...

WEEE

Advice to Final Users

WEEE stands for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. The legislation took effect from 1st July 2007 and states that, under certain circumstances, the final user of a piece of electrical or electronic equipment (EEE) can get it collected and recycled at no charge at the end of its life. Full article ...

Related Equipment

Energy Bar

Most equipment is now designed to maximise energy savings but it pays to check for lime scale build-up in bain maries - this can significantly reduce efficiency and increase energy consumption. Often hot serveries are fitted with a heated overhead gantry to prevent excessive heat loss. In chilled units regular inspections ensure the refrigeration system is operating at peak performance.

Both heated and chilled serveries have thermostats to keep the food at the correct temperature - these settings should be checked frequently as it is easy to make the unit too hot or too cold incurring extra energy charges.

When siting mobile units it is essential to ensure that the chilled units have sufficient clearance for the ventilation system to function effectively. And, wherever possible avoid putting a chilled unit right next to a heated unit.

 

Counters and Serveries

A food serveryCounters and Serveries are an integral part of any successful self-service restaurant/cafeteria design. They not only contribute to the overall concept and shape of the area, but can also be an important branding tool, and ultimately can dictate the success or failure of the operation. It is a broad category that can include stand-alone serving units, island display configurations, mobile serving stations and fixed bespoke installations.

Although contact between customers and servers is important in designing counters, protection of the food waiting to be served is essential. Many serveries are fitted with a sneeze guard or covers to protect the dishes.

Bespoke Counters

A good counter design will consider the number of customers queuing, the staff behind it, and points of eye contact and interaction (for example, to hand over the plates). It needs to take into account not just existing food hygiene laws but, as these counters could be in situ for many years, to anticipate what measures might be introduced in future. A host of other issues such as energy savings, staff comfort, customer safety and accessibility all need to be considered.

Theatre cooking is adding another dimension to cafeteria dining and counter design. This allows caterers to show off their chef's skills and offer something special at a premium price. Theatre cooking counters often include inset induction hobs and other advanced cooking equipment.

Mobile Serveries

These are useful in cafeteria situations and especially where an area needs clearing quickly after serving - such as in school halls, function rooms, hotel dining areas and hospital wards. Mobile serveries can be rolled into position and linked together to provide all the features of fixed serveries but with added flexibility.

Heated Serveries

These essential pieces of equipment keep cooked food piping hot and ready to serve. They are equally well suited for standard serving lines or for island serving areas, and also provide a useful temporary serving area for function catering. Most have toughened glass surfaces over heating elements to provide a large level heated area for the dishes.

An alternative heating method is the bain marie, where the gentle heat from a reservoir of very hot water keeps the food warm. Some serveries have an illuminated gantry that not only keeps the food at a perfect serving temperature but also display the dishes to their best advantage.

Refrigerated Serveries

Refrigerated units ensure that chilled food is stored at the correct temperature prior to serving. They usually comprise either simple refrigerated wells or chilled cabinets. Another alternative is 'blown-air cooled' where a chilled air-curtain is directed down onto the food items.