Middlesbrough College. Middlesborough, Teeside, UK.

“I’m so pleased we went with RATIONAL, we are providing students with the experience of equipment they’ll be using in the industry, and it's helping to modernise our operation too.” - Alister Wrigley, Catering Manager

Modern catering equipment.

Middlesbrough College, offers an extensive range of further education and higher education courses.

Catering manager Alister Wrigley oversees 58 catering staff servicing six outlets. “We have three main cafes, a sandwich bar, a fast food outlet, the college shop as well as the award winning Waterside Brasserie, which gives students the opportunity to gain experience of working in a professional foodservice environment,” he says. “It’s a very flexible environment, we do everything from commercial cookery to restaurant quality meals.”

The kitchens were recently refurbished and upgraded with modern equipment, including five RATIONAL SelfCookingCenter^® and a VarioCookingCenter^®. “Our priorities were to get modern catering equipment that would help us to reduce energy use, and save time. Since the college opened in 2008 it has grown substantially, and our more traditional equipment wasn’t able to cope with the increasing demand,” says Alister.

“I’ve used RATIONAL equipment in the past, so I knew how advanced it was. But once I saw how far they’ve come in recent years, the choice was obvious.”

Alister Wrigley, Catering Manager.

The RATIONAL Solution.

“The new equipment has changed the way we work in a number of ways,” says Alister. “We have more available space in the kitchen – it gives staff much more room to work in, and they can concentrate on making the best food they can.”

The SelfCookingCenter^® powerful control system also lets it cook different foods at the same time, adjusting cabinet conditions and using alerts when staff intervention is necessary. Alister continues, “Knowing that we can fill it with the individual elements of a cooked breakfast, at the same time, and they’ll each come out perfect is fantastic, it lets our staff concentrate on more important stuff.”

“We make everything from scratch, so consistency is vital. We can prepare soups or curries with the VarioCookingCenter^®,” says Alister, “then quickly clean it before using it to cook rice or braise meat. It’s incredibly versatile!"

Benefits.

Both the SelfCookingCenter^® and VarioCookingCenter^® are multifunctional appliances, capable of performing a range of traditional cooking techniques in a fraction of the space.
The market’s leading combination oven, the SelfCookingCenter^® has a footprint of less than 1m² yet is capable of roasting, baking and grilling as well as steaming, poaching and stewing.
The VarioCookingCenter^® is a multifunctional unit that combines the functions of a kettle, sous vide, fryer, griddle, bratt pan and frying pans.