Flow & Function provide point of difference

By Craig Cunningham, Wildfire Commercial Kitchens & Bars, General Manager-Sales

Today there is no such thing as a standard kitchen line up. In the past if you had a six burner range, fryer and combi oven you were all set for service. Where as today’s outlets are constantly looking for unique points of difference.

Being able to be flexible with equipment is becoming more wide spread with menus wanting to be different to the one ‘next door’. Operators are looking for the edge not only with food products but also styles of cooking equipment.

Wildfire Commercial Kitchens and Bars has been privileged to be at the forefront of design and specification in many of the new openings recently. All outlets like to have a point of difference and we thrive on working with them to make their dream a reality – this could include Rotisserie style cooking like the impressive Rotisol Ovens from France, or Pizza Ovens like the Authentic Pizza Oven ‘front of house’ in Liqourette.

Opening a new restaurant or kitchen is an exciting time for all and delivering a new style of set up and food delivery in keeping with industry trends is paramount.

Charcoal Ovens such as the Mibrasa enclosed oven or a simple open hearth oven like the Wild Series from Authentic Ovens are all versatile show pieces of equipment.

In some instances, a ‘bespoke show piece’ is easier said than done, mainly due to site restrictions with access or extraction limitations. Where possible, we engage local suppliers such as Authentic Ovens to achieve positive outcomes for all, adapting kitchen equipment to look the same but have different out puts depending on the site.

An example of this is a kitchen environment that is unable to extract from a solid fuel charcoal oven but still wants the feature look of this style of oven. Saxon and Parole’s ‘Wild Series’ chargrill is exactly this … a gas grill adapted to look like solid fuel.

This complies with building restrictions, and resonates with outlets looking to ensure their ‘point of difference’ with unique pieces.

Post lockdown earlier this year, enquiries for pizza ovens and wood fired ovens/grills have been huge. Local leads were extended with many new installs all around the country. Although hospitality has been heavily affected by the lockdowns, it will come back, and people want to be ready to attract new customers.

Design and flow within a kitchen is critical to the success of the outlet, and engaging a specialist for this is where you will save time and money in the long term. A poorly designed kitchen will not be efficient - having the wrong equipment in the wrong location will potentially require too many staff to operate and will cost the operator money. Whether you want an open theatre kitchen to showcase your equipment and chefs, or a back of house kitchen, the answer is the same – flow and function are imperative, to provide a ‘point of difference’.