Category Archives: Self Cooking Centre
16 Jul |
The Pudding Club- like a medieval banquet with custard |
If your dining-out days go back to the 80s, you’ll remember the sweet trolley; always full of promise but so often a bitter disappointment. Restaurateurs copped out of adding daily delights to the menu and instead delivered a gilded trolley to your table creaking with exotic names – most straight from the freezer. New York Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Black Forest Gateau, Mississippi Mud Pie, fruit salad and those awful stringy oranges swimming in a brandy-flavoured soup. I blame the sweet trolley for my dislike of all those puds, which I am sure taste wonderful in Manhattan or Milan.
Pioneering
What the sweet trolley had done was to run the traditional English pud out of town. And when Keith and Jean Turner, who ran the Three Ways House Hotel at Mickleton in the Cotswolds, realised what was happening they started something that was to become a world-wide phenomenon. In the winter of 1985, they held the inaugural meeting of the Pudding Club. Thirty passionate and pioneering pudding eaters enjoyed a light main course, no starter and no bread, and then feasted on no less than seven fine traditional puds such as Jam Roly Poly, Syrup Sponge, Spotted Dick and Bread and Butter Pudding.
Over the years that followed, the Pudding Club gained some local notoriety but it wasn’t until Jill and Simon Coombe took over the hotel nearly 17 years ago, that they began to spread the word (and the custard) with missionary zeal – taking the Pudding Club to the four corners of the world. They travelled to Japan and the Americas, published pudding recipes and even campaigned for Spotted Dick when Tesco tried to change the name to Richard. No surprise they attracted comments – “Like making love in a thunderstorm”, “It’s like a medieval banquet with custard”. It has even been described as “The eighth wonder of the world”.
Indulgent
Today the award-winning Three Ways House Hotel hosts a Pudding Club Meeting every Friday night (and sometimes on a Saturday too.) Self appointed Chief Pudding Taster, Simon describes these occasions as “fun, relaxed but indulgent evenings”. The format remains the same as in 1985. No starter, a light main course and seven glorious puddings washed down with lashings of syrup and custard. At the end of the evening the members vote for their “Pudding of the Night”.
And, to continue the pudding theme, if too much Roly Poly has made you a trifle lethargic, you could always book into one of their famous and exquisitely decorated pudding rooms – Sticky Toffee, Oriental Ginger, Syrup Sponge, Summer Pudding, Lord Randall’s, The Chocolate Suite or Spotted Dick and Custard.
Just in case you’re wondering if we have gone off our sweet trolley, the reason I mention Jill, Simon and the Pudding Club is that they, of course, use a Rational oven, which is serviced and maintained on contract with AC Services and has been since it was installed four years ago.
Investment
The oven is a ten grid Self Cooking Center and lies at the heart of their kitchen. The majority of the puddings are steamed in a traditional way, but most of the other dishes from the a la carte and brasserie menus are cooked in the Rational oven – breakfast, lunch and dinner. With 48 bedrooms, and up to 100 residents, the hotel may serve up to 150 covers on a busy night across its main restaurant, the Randalls Bar Brasserie and the Pudding Club itself.
“We need to use the latest technology to improve our service, drive down our costs and make working conditions as good as we can for our 60 staff,” said Simon.
“The oven is part of our investment behind the scenes of the hotel. It was an expensive piece of equipment that is used very heavily and we don’t want it standing idle because of some failure that could have been avoided. It made absolute sense to take out a Gold Maintenance Contract with AC Services. They have good engineers and we have had no major issues considering the use it gets.”
Published Date: 16th July 2013
Category: Blog, News, Rational, Self Cooking Centre, Service plan
Tags: Case Study
21 Jan |
Mass Catering with Fine Dining Cooking Standards |
Mass catering doesn’t automatically have to mean the type of cooking that many people associate with canteen style cuisine. Before we get tons of comments from disgruntled canteen chefs, we’d better elaborate that that’s not supposed to infer that canteens cook badly. But they do tend to get put under a lot of pressure to serve food in bulk quantities, and things like al dente pasta and vegetables, and the quality of presentation can, and often do, suffer.
Technology Marches On
We all remember the jokes we used to make about mass catering and school dinners in particular, (and we expect they’re still being made). But things have moved on big time in terms of kitchen equipment in the past 2 or 3 decades. Technology now exists that allows mass catering and fine dining to go hand in hand. So if your dream business is to serve top quality cooking to a discerning audience, such as a large group of wedding reception guests for example, you can compete for cooking quality with some of the top restaurants in the country. Continue reading
Published Date: 21st January 2013
Category: News, Rational, Self Cooking Centre, White Efficiency
Tags: Combi Oven, Rational Ovens, SelfCookingCenter®, whitefficiency®
09 Jan |
Did your wish at Christmas for a new Rational oven come true? |
If not, then for 2013 make it your New Year’s Resolution to buy a Rational SCC White Efficiency or a Rational Combimaster Plus Oven.
Not sure what oven size you need or what model is right for you?
Then your first choice is to visit the Hospitality Show on the 21 – 23 January at the NEC Birmingham, where Rational UK have a stand and will be able to discuss your requirements and demonstrate the SCC White Efficiencies capabilities to help you decide what you need from your most important investment in 2013. For details on the Show visit the website. Continue reading
Published Date: 9th January 2013
Category: News, Ovens, Rational, Self Cooking Centre
Tags: Combi Oven, Rational Ovens, SelfCookingCenter®, whitefficiency®
23 Oct |
Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® – Top Choice for Schools, Colleges and Universities |
The Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® epitomises modern catering. But it was only about 20 to 30 years ago that when you thought about food in the education sector, the horror of school dinners raised its ugly head. The food was so bad that most kids would rather take home-made sandwiches.
From a Pig’s Ear to a Silk Purse
The past couple of decades have seen a wholesale change in the quality of school meals. The the same goes for cooked meals in higher education establishments including colleges and universities. The reason? – Technology has marched on. The quality and performance of commercial ovens has come on by leaps and bounds – literally turning the pig’s ear into a silk purse. Take one of the top European oven manufacturers – Rational – based here in the UK, in Luton, Bedfordshire.
Automated Excellence
Rational produce the SelfCookingCenter®a range of ovens. They are so called because of their advanced automatic programming software. Also known under their trade name of whitefficiency® these ovens are capable of producing gourmet quality meals. Automation does not necessarily mean run of the mill, production line repetition. You may be surprised to know that some of the country’s best eating houses, like Raymond Blanc’s flagship restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons have Rational SelfCookingCenter® ovens in their kitchens.
So if you’re in the process of searching out the best commercial oven to buy for a school, college or university, Why choose Rational? What makes the Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® better than the competition?
Top Reasons for Choosing a Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter®
• Reliability. Rational ovens are one of the most reliable ovens on the market. When you’re catering for schools, colleges and universities, having a reliable oven that won’t let you down is key.
• 2 year guarantee. The new Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® ovens are sold with a no quibble 2 year guarantee. Also, if your establishment is based the South, the Southwest or in South Wales, you can appoint AC Services (Southern) to service and maintain your Rational oven thereafter. ACS are one of Rational’s top service partners with a customer service record that is the envy of the industry.
• Versatility. A new Rational SelfCookingCenter® is so versatile it’s difficult to believe. You can roast, boil, grill or steam any combination of dishes at the same time in the same oven. The range and flexibility of the programming is truly awesome.
• Health & Safety. A Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® makes complying with health and safety, and industry regulation as simple as a stroll in the park. One of the great things about Rational’s whitefficiency® range, is that they all come with a pre-programmed, fully functional HACCP software program installed. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is the food industry’s bespoke regulation. A SelfCookingCentre’s programming ensures that the operational and services aspects are all correctly documented and recorded.
• Fully Automated Self Cleaning. A Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® cleans itself. All you have to do is select the most appropriate program for how dirty the oven is. This will tell you the quantity of cleaning and care tablets that are required. Simply insert them into the correct places in the oven, and shut the door. The program will then run overnight, providing the most hygienic clean at the flick of a switch. AC Services (Southern) stock the necessary cleaning products. Another good reason for appointing them as your service partner.
The Time is Right
It’s that time of year again – when schools hold their open evenings – a time looked forward to by both pupils and parents alike. Well most of them anyway. It’s an opportune time to decide on the brand and model of that new oven. And with Christmas fast approaching, (the TV adverts are already priming us), what more could you wish for than a brand new Rational whitefficiency® SelfCookingCenter® in which to cook all that wonderful festive season food? Why not drop in on Rational’s website and find out more about whitefficiency®?
Published Date: 23rd October 2012
Category: News, Ovens, Rational, Self Cooking Centre, White Efficiency
Tags: Ovens, SelfCookingCenter®, whitefficiency®