Whitbread Plc
Oxford Beefeater, Oxford Tech Park
Whitbread Plc created an efficiency test kitchen at their Oxford Beefeater site, in Oxford Park. This all electric kitchen was geared around ergonomic effciency and meticulously planned to deliver every saving possible to the company, from the best equipment available. Under the helm of Kitchen Platforms Manager, Michael Jessop, the project has yielded brilliant results. The kitchen used Adande refrigerated drawers throughout. Here, Managing Director Karl Hodgson discusses the new approach with Michael and what it will mean for one of the nation’s favourite brands.
How did you design a kitchen like this?
In terms of refrigeration? Having planogram/template and comparing Adande vs other brands meant I could reduce the overall space required for the kitchen & ensure we give back more space for valuable diners, which allows increased revenues. We used Adande throughout the kitchen.
Has using Adande in Whitbread kitchens helped make an impact with kitchen flow (ergonomics)?
Yes, using Adande offers users a much reduced step process in food production, for example – opening a drawer is a lot quicker and easier than opening a door on an undercounter unit, thus reducing access time and speeding up the task.
What is the key benefit of having an Adande unit which can work at both fridge and freezer temperatures within the kitchen cookline?
Having both fridge and freezer offers a vast range of opportunity with produce. It also allows chefs direct access to products within a short reach reducing the need for more steps, speeding up service. At Beefeater we are known for our steaks & holding these prime cuts of meat in Adande drawers means a more consistent temperature where the meat does not shrink & lose its moisture resulting in no unhappy diners.
Using all Adande, at various stations in the kitchen, we are saving on average 46% energy use. In essence our energy use has basically halved… The saving is huge.”
Have you seen a difference in food quality by holding food in the Adande units compared to other brands?
Adande makes a significant impact, for example – using Adande on the dessert section to store ice creams maintains the product at perfect serving temperature resulting in better quality & less wastage.
We have tested the Adande’s in your kitchen & the results are fantastic.
Yes they are, it’s staggering. Using all Adande, at various stations in the kitchen we are saving on average 46% of energy use. In essence, our energy use has basically halved. Quantify that into £s and you can imagine, the saving is huge. Not only that, but using less energy helps reduce our carbon footprint in line with our company goals.
We have delivered other efficiencies for you too though, haven’t we?
Yes, absolutely. We moved away from standard, undercounter door cabinets because when a site needs to access these some 2000 times a day, you need to do it in the quickest time possible. We found we can save 7 seconds using Adande drawers, per opening. That equates to 4 hours of saved time, more or less, per day, per kitchen. Again, multiply that across our estate, & the impact is enormous. I’d also like to point out that despite a smaller footprint, we saw increased capacity. We had 13% additional gastronorm capacity on average, using all Adande, throughout the kitchen. Being modular units, it means we can also up-cycle some of the parts at their lives end. Ie worktops & heat shields can be retained from existing units and fitted easily onto new units reducing waste & replacement costs.