Ice-cold in the kitchen

The long hot summer was great for pubs with outdoor areas, as customers lapped up the rays in pub gardens across the country with long cool drinks.

And those fortunate enough to have a good beer garden will have enjoyed the benefits of a boost in covers for a good trade in summer eating.

Few thoughts were spared for folk slaving away behind the scenes as kitchen temperatures soared. But chefs tend to be hardy souls - armed with litres of water, they get through their shifts.

But can the same be said of refrigeration? Fridges designed for sale in the UK are generally built to operate in no more than 28ºC. This summer, countless pub kitchens will have exceeded that maximum.

When the mercury regularly tipped the 30ºC mark, the wisdom of buying top-quality commercial refrigeration will have shown up, according to Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA) director Keith Warren. "Any pub that has tried to cut costs by buying domestic refrigeration will just not have been able to cope," he said. "Domestic fridges are not designed to have the door constantly opened and closed and sited in a very hot kitchen. For one thing, the level of insulation is unlikely to match that of commercial refrigeration."

Refrigeration is under continual pressure from exceptional heat at the Millbank pub near Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire, a converted mill owner's house set on a hillside in the Calder Valley.

Millbank manager Joe McNally says that the south-facing position of the property means that the kitchen is subjected to the full force of the sun's heat for much of the day in summer.

But despite the exceptional temperatures, he says that the top-quality commercial refrigeration has coped well.

Joe says: "We only have one domestic fridge, which keeps food, like butter and sauces, cool for the front-of-house staff."

He operates a strict rotation system of first in, first out with the meat and fish in his fridges. And the Millbank kitchen, which receives deliveries of perishable ingredients on a daily basis, spends time pre-

dicting likely demand to keep fridge stock to a minimum.

Fish may be popular with customers as a lighter meal option, but it brings storage problems as it spoils in the fridge more quickly than meat.

For most pubs, the fridge temperature setting has to manage a range of chilled ingredients including cheese, cream, butter and salads, all of which can be safely held at 8ºC; meat - best held at about 4ºC - and fish, which keeps better at 2ºC. Because the natural salt content in fish prevents it from freezing, wholesalers often hold it at 0ºC.

Any pub with a high turnover of fish will benefit from investing in a dedicated fish fridge, not just when the sun is at its hottest, but throughout the year.

The special fridge's temperature can be set very low, its shelves have drip-catch trays and there is no risk of cross-contamination from fishy aromas moving on to other food. All leading manufacturers of commercial cabinet refrigeration include fish fridges in their product range.

As outside temperatures rise, fridges have to work harder. And as its motor works overtime to keep the contents chilled, the likelihood of breakdowns increases.

Food will spoil within hours if the fridge motor fails, so it pays to have a fridge with an LED display of the internal temperature. This device enables a busy chef to keep an eye out for stealthily-rising temperatures and avert disaster before double figures are reached.

A simple method of combating high temperatures in the kitchen is siting the fridge in a cooler part of the kitchen.

If there is more than one fridge, an adjacent preparation room or pantry can be utilised for a fridge that is less frequently used throughout service.

The same applies to freezers - only if a food operation relies heavily on frozen food for its menu, is there a case for siting a freezer in the main kitchen.

And as prevention is better than cure, pub chefs are also advised to implement a planned maintenance programme. It may seem tempting just to call out a refrigeration engineer when something goes wrong rather than pay someone every six months to say nothing is wrong, but lack of planning can lead to false economy.

Any refrigeration service - even just an annual check-up - will test parts of a fridge and let you know if anything needs

replacing sooner rather than later, helping to signal potential problems before they cause major headaches and hurt wallets.

Regular checks should prevent the pub kitchen suffering Defrost's Law: fridges choose the worst moment to break down.

The Hoste Arms in Burnham Market, Norfolk, has been using its refrigeration to overcome another hot-weather issue.

It suffered badly from the endemic pub-kitchen problem of rotting food waste in wheelie-bins sending unwelcome smells to greet customers in the pub's car park.

The Hoste Arms invested in a screened-off cold room in the car park to manage its food waste between collection times.

The wheelie waste bins are held at 8ºC in an enclosed Williams Refrigeration cold room, solving three food-waste management problems: customers are spared the effects of waste bins; vermin are kept out and any bacterial growth is contained.

Owner Paul Whittome says chilled food-waste storage is a sound investment. "All busy food pubs should consider a temperature-controlled waste-holding area as bins are so unsightly and smelly," he says. "It was difficult to hide six large bins in our car park area and to make matters worse, our outside seating was nearby.

"This new waste-holding area is a great way to solve our problems."

New products

Apuro has introduced a stylish pair of gastronorm-compatible matching refrigerator and freezer cabinets to its Atlanta range. Available in both single and double-door versions, both fridge and freezer have ventilated cooling, built-in evaporator and wipe-clean highly-polished stainless-steel finishes. All models have self-closing lockable doors to ensure security and minimise temperature fluctuation. The fridges and freezers have automatic defrost and an electronic thermostat to improve energy efficiency and are designed for durability and ease of cleaning. All internal surfaces are wipe-clean with rounded corners. Lockable fitted castors increase manoeuvrability for general kitchen cleaning and maintenance.

Apuro claims its free delivery service on Atlanta refrigeration units goes further than other delivery services. As well as delivering equipment into the kitchen, it will unpack units, plug them in and dispose of packaging. For a small charge, Apuro will remove the old fridge.

Apuro is the principal UK distributor for the LEC Commercial Refrigeration range, which includes British-built under-counter and upright fridges and freezers. The LEC catering fridges and freezers have new door gaskets that are easy to remove and replace, designed to enable the customer to change them without having to call in a specialist engineer.

For more information on the company's range of products contact Apuro on

0121 744 0968 or visit www.apuro.co.uk

Valera has launched a range of heavy-duty, slimline upright and counter chillers and freezers, ideal for kitchens where space is at a premium or access is limited.

The single and double-door upright units, only 720mm deep, are suitable for general purposes or storage of fresh meat and include the option of a separate section for fresh fish or frozen food for added versatility. Features include bottom- mounted compressors, digital controller and temperature read-out, coved corners for easy cleaning, replaceable door gasket, self-closing doors with stay-open facility; automatic defrost system and an interior light. The counter units, just 600mm deep, also feature a condensing unit that pulls out and are available in two, three, four and five door configurations,

For information on Valera's catering and refrigeration equipment visit www.valera.co.uk or e-mail info@valera.co.uk

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