Power to the pub kitchen

There isn't much food preparation that can't be done by hand, but for a busy food-led pub it's much more time and cost effective to have a range of powered food preparation equipment.

What equipment a pub chooses depends on the style of the food operation, but these are the main items of food preparation equipment and what they can do:

Food processors​: These are at the heart of food preparation equipment in the pub kitchen. While it is tempting to buy a domestic food processor, they can't perform all the functions of a professional machine and will be nothing like as robust.

A professional model will be able to meet the food output needs of the busy pub kitchen. It will also offer a far wider choice of cutting shapes, as well as slicing and grating functions. The chopper blade can purée food, smooth sauces, mix batters, whip cream and perform many more time-consuming food preparation jobs.

Veg preparation cutters​: These are similar in appearance to food processors, but are more powerful and can cut vegetables into many shapes. There are blades for cutting chips of different sizes, shredding lettuce and cabbage, slicing onions and producing batons and juliennes of vegetables such as carrots.

Stick blenders​: These can process large quantities of foods very quickly and have a wide range of applications. They are used to make soups, sauces and purées in pub kitchens everywhere.

Potato peelers​: One way in which food-led pubs are differentiating their menus from the competition is producing real chips from fresh potato rather than using frozen chips. The sides of the peeler are gritted, but it is the revolving gritted base plate that does 90 per cent of the peeling work. It is possible to buy double-sided base plates, which feature a coarse grit for peeling old potatoes and a lighter grit for soft-skinned new potatoes.

Don't overfill a potato peeler, as this will slow down the peeling process and tends to throw squared potatoes, which is very wasteful. Another important working practice is to get the machine running before putting the potatoes in. Loading the machine before switching on puts the motor under great strain.

Gravity slicers​: Mainly used for cutting fine slices of cooked meats, but cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan can also be thinly sliced. With cooked meats, the benefit is that whole cooked boneless joints can be used, giving a fresher, juicier slice that is far cheaper for a pub with a busy sandwich and salad trade than buying pre-sliced meat.

CESA, the Equipment Suppliers Association, has buying and using information on every aspect of kitchen equipment. Learn more and find a supplier by visiting www.cesa.org.uk, or click on the link on the right