Best of the bunch

PubChef looks at new equipment launches and ask licensees and chefs to tell us about devices working well for them.

My fab four

Chris Bicknell, head chef at the Wheatsheaf in Grayswood, near Haslemere in Surrey, reveals his top kitchen kit.

Chef's knife

I like my large Global chef's knife. We also use SekiMagoroku kitchen knives which are Japanese - they cut through anything.

Steamer

This is great for holding things. We use it for steamed puddings - our steak and kidney pudding is a best-seller. Unfortunately our Bartlett steamer has just given up on us so we need to replace it. I'd like a nice new Rational but I'm waiting to see what the owner says.

Magimix food processor

A decent food processor is a must - we use it for breadcrumbs, biscuit bases, soups and sauce ingredients. We've had our Magimix for a long time; the suppliers are located up the road in Farnham, so if we need a spare part it only takes us 20 minutes to get it.

Sharpening stone

Every kitchen should have one!

John Fraser is sous chef at the Spring Inn in Sulhamstead, nr Reading, Berkshire. He identifies his favourite equipment

Falcon oven

It's a 6-burner gas oven. I much prefer gas because it gives a better heat and cooks more evenly.

I wouldn't use electric equipment - it tends to be rubbish.

Salamander grill

Again this is a Falcon. It's been here since the pub was a Mulligans - at least 7 to 8 years - so it's obviously reliable! It heats the plates up

nicely so that they go out consistently hot.

Hot plate

I don't know what make ours is, but it's a really important piece of equipment for keeping the food hot. Without it the food would go cold

and we'd have a lot sent back - with an

average of 1,000 covers per week, that would be no joke!

Knives

The one I use most is my 1- inch chopping

knife. I like Global knives best.

Secure shelter

Calor has launched an outdoor smoking shelter called Smokin' Joe.

The shelter provides a comfortable, affordable and easily-operated outdoor smoking area.

The Smokin' Joe provides heat and shelter from the elements and allows outlets to plan for the smoking ban and ultimately create smoke-free environments indoors.

The Smokin' Joe's large walls provide customers with excellent protection from the wind, and a patented reflector roof system provides shelter and maximises heat radiation.

Fitted with a central 13kw LPG powered patio heater, the shelter provides an efficient and cost-effective heat supply.

The shelter includes wraparound seating and a drinks table, and an option to include a patio heater with a built-in gas mantle light, making it suitable for use during the winter months when the nights draw in.

Smokin' Joe's integral ashtray and butt disposal tubes take care of the problem of cigarette-end litter.

The shelter's huge sidewalls provide an excellent space for branding or advertising.

For more information contact Calor on 0800 662 663

Firm favourite

Robert and Johanna Mabey set up the Regatta restaurant in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 15 years ago. Chef Robert operates a daily- changing menu that features fresh fish, local game and vegetables.

Robert has been using a Pacojet specialist food processor in his restaurant's kitchen for two years to make dishes such as ice-cream, sorbets, stuffings, and mousses for meat and fish dishes.

For example, Robert uses his Pacojet to create warm scallop and smoked salmon terrine.

He says: "This dish is a personal favourite and has been in my repertoire for years. To prepare it by hand takes almost two hours, making it uneconomic. It takes 10 minutes to make in the Pacojet. The processor enables me to use all the trimmings, which are tasty but would otherwise be thrown away."

Robert uses the machine to make the grouse mousse to stuff his breast of pheasant dish. The mousse is made with cream, garlic, wild mushrooms, egg whites and grouse - all placed in the Pacojet.

He says: "The texture is fine and consistent - you simply could not achieve that manually".

Pacojet has a list price of £2,095 plus VAT.

For more information email sales@magrini.co.uk

Coping with fish

Foster Refrigerator has added wine and fish temperature options to its 600 litre Gastro Pro cabinet range.

The options will enable pub caterers to keep expensive products in optimum condition.

Cabinets are now available with a choice of five temperatures - refrigerator, freezer, meat, wine and fish.

The new fish model keeps contents at between -1°C and +1°C and has a cooling system that is specially designed to prevent the surface of the fish from drying.

For more information contact 0500 691122 or visit www.fosterrefrigerator.co.uk​