From intimate chef days to London’s biggest catering show
From chef-led days to London’s biggest trade show, Adande Refrigeration looks back on a brilliant few months showing its commercial refrigerated drawers.
From intimate chef days to London’s biggest catering show
The past couple of months have been some of the most enjoyable the Adande Refrigeration team has had in a long time. From small, hands-on chef days to a large London trade show, each event has been a chance to catch up with familiar faces, meet new ones and, most importantly, get people to open a drawer and see for themselves how Adande works. Here’s a look back at where we’ve been.
The Depot Kitchen Sessions: a chef-led day in Northamptonshire
The first Depot Kitchen Sessions was one of the most relaxed and rewarding days of the season. Hosted by Charvet and Premier Ranges at The Depot in Weedon Bec, and organised with Bite Hospitality, it was designed as a different kind of chef event: not a showroom open day or a traditional exhibition, but a day of live, themed sessions showing how equipment, ingredients and expertise come together to make complete kitchens.
Chefs Josh and Luke served some truly delicious plates, while the partner brands pitched their products to the chefs in each session. It was fascinating to hear the history behind some of the industry’s leading equipment, cookware, refrigeration and specialist food brands, and to meet the people behind them, including 32 Dumas, De Buyer, Pacojet UK, WMF, Ceramics and Steel, Udale Speciality Foods and Unox.
A small, friendly event like this makes it easy to have real conversations with chefs, and to talk them through how a fridge drawer fits into the way they cook. Thank you to Charvet Premier Ranges and Bite Hospitality for the invitation. The organisers hope to bring the sessions back in early 2027, and the Adande Refrigeration team is already looking forward to it.
Prep to Plate Journey: two days with our partners in Surrey
Next came the first Prep to Plate Journey, held on 20 and 21 October at the Unox Experience Centre in Camberley. Adande Refrigeration joined Unox, Valentine, Mechline and Meiko to walk visitors through the whole commercial kitchen workflow, from cooling to cooking and cleaning, with live demonstrations and a focus on practical ways to improve sustainability and efficiency.
The Adande Refrigeration team showed the VCC1 compact drawer for tight cooklines, and the HCR1 Chef Base, which sits under a combi oven. Over the two days there were plenty of good conversations with restaurateurs and consultants about sustainable kitchen design, and about how much energy and food waste can be saved by choosing equipment that holds its cold. Thank you to everyone who came along, and to Unox, Valentine, Mechline and Meiko for being such good partners.
The Catering Innovation Show
At the other end of the scale was the Catering Innovation Show at the Business Design Centre in London. This is a much bigger event, bringing together equipment brands and foodservice professionals from restaurants, hotels, contract catering, healthcare and leisure, and it was a great opportunity to reconnect with long-standing contacts and meet new faces. [Add date and any visitor numbers or highlights.]
On the Adande Refrigeration stand were the SVS2 combo unit and the compact VCC1, with a range of drawer management options fitted inside. Visitors could see how dividers, racks and pan layouts level up ingredient organisation, and how a drawer can be set up around the way a particular kitchen works.
What we took away
Whether it was a handful of chefs around a demonstration or a busy trade show floor, the best moments were the same: someone pulling out a drawer, seeing everything at once and saying how much easier it would make service. It’s been a pleasure to reconnect with customers, partners and friends in the industry, and to meet so many new people along the way.
If you caught us at one of these events, thank you. And if you missed us, or would like to see how fridge drawers could work in your kitchen, get in touch with the Adande Refrigeration team.