Clever kitchen cuts costs without compromises

This application story illustrates how a well-specified kitchen can improve safety and hygiene, as well as reduce utility bills and contract cleaning costs.

There is a lot more to planning a kitchen than just picking out a swanky range and going for the most impressive 'must have' bits of kit you can think of.

Mechline is a company that prides itself on its innovative hygiene and safety-related products for kitchens.

It is a small company evolving and developing new ideas to make life easier for chefs and operators in the minefield of kitchen hygiene and health and safety regulations.

Some of the products the company designs and manufactures itself; others it sources.

Everything must meet the Mechline criteria of being innovative, practical and able to stand up to hard wear and tear.

Peter Galliford, director of Mechline, says: "Your budget must start in the kitchen.

"If you cannot get that right, forget it".

When Space Catering Equipment of Gloucester landed the job of refurbishing the picturesque Swan at Salford, Milton Keynes, an upmarket gastro pub in the Peach Inn estate, Mechline's products were specified.

Andrew Coath - director of the operation which includes The Swan and The Black Horse at Woburn, says: "With an 'open' design kitchen, it is essential that customers can not only see the great skills of the chefs and the theatre that goes with that, but that they can also see the high standards of hygiene, both personal and in the kitchen environment.

"This is high on our agenda.

"With that in mind, a hand wash sink, with a Moel no-touch electronic soap dispenser adjacent, was installed featuring a Delabie Tempomatic 3 fully automatic tap which only operates when it senses hands directly under the tap head.

"No physical contact is necessary, avoiding cross-contamination and thus increasing hygiene standards.

"The simplicity of the action leads to people wanting to wash their hands as routine.

"With the tap delivering unbelievable water savings (up to 80 per cent), not only are hygiene standards improved, but utility costs are also seriously reduced by up to £1300 per annum in a fairly standard foodservice operation.

"Hand washing is sometimes just plain difficult," says The Swan's head chef Ross Whitmill.

"Dirty taps, basin in wrong position, and poor habits.

"The Delabie tap makes hand washing simple, and people do it more often.

"It is not rocket science".

For easy cleaning of floors, walls and the equipment itself, QuickLink was fitted.

This is a mechanical services system that, by simply lifting a handle, disconnects the water and waste services - just like a three-pin electrical plug.

Equipment is then free to be moved to allow cleaning of floors and walls, and to provide maintenance access.

QuickLink systems can be fitted to normally fixed equipment such as sinks, dish wash tabling and combination ovens.

Dormont gas hoses were fitted to appliances, also making them very easy to move.

The hoses boast the patented SafetyQuik, disconnect coupling - which only allows disconnection of the gas hose when the gas is turned off and isolated.

Staff can now safely move and clean thoroughly in dirt traps and behind the equipment, saving as much as £1000 a month, as outside cleaning operators no longer need to be called in.

Over the sink, a French-made Delabie pre-rinse spray with a high-pressure, high swivel spout that can douche or jet was specified.

Last, but not least, Mechline supplied the Moel Insectivoro which kills flying insects without 'zapping' them and distributing their body parts all over the kitchen.

Mike Mellor, managing director of Space Catering Equipment, says: "In developing the kitchen plans, it was essential that we reviewed and advised on the operational and running costs.

"It was important to reduce cleaning and maintenance costs, reduce utility costs, and save staff time.

"All of which contribute towards efficient kitchens.

"With Mechline's equipment in place, we are also providing an easy to operate and easy to clean kitchen.

"There is simply no point in demanding high levels of kitchen hygiene practise if the kitchen is not properly equipped," says Andrew Coath.

"Non-fixed easy-to-move equipment, and hands-free wash stations are a great advance.

"With ever increasing food poisoning figures, meeting basic hygiene legislation requirements is now not sufficient alone.

"The rising impact of traceability and corporate responsibility are now real modern pressures.

"This, and facing up to ever increasing utility and operational costs, motivates change.

"End users must start to ask about water saving, energy reduction, safety- and hygiene-based products.

"Get past: 'How cheaply can we put that kitchen in?'.

"They need to take a longer term view, and take into consideration optimisation of efficiency, and recognise their safety and hygiene responsibilities.

"The right choice of products, is a long term decision".

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