Versatility and speed are built into every aspect of both Rational appliances. “I love the multizone feature of the VarioCookingCenter®. Being able to set different temperature zones in the pans opens up even more possibilities.” - Mark Nixon, Senior Chef Manager.
Originally founded in 1413, St Andrews is Scotland's first university. Mark Nixon, Senior Chef Manager, has responsibility for keeping over 2,000 students and staff fed every day. “We have a four-week menu cycle, which includes lunches with a choice of three hot items and dinners with four, plus soup and dessert. Obviously we also offer a vegetarian and vegan choice with every service, and we have big challenges around allergens and dietary restrictions,” says Mark. “We also have a commercial catering team who handle internal delivered catering, conference catering, the Principal's dinners, graduation garden parties and lunches and more. It's very varied, and busy, so we need our equipment to be reliable and versatile.”
Student catering is prepared separately among the nine halls of residence, with one hall designated for students with nut allergies, allowing food to be prepared in a controlled environment. Space is at a premium, so to maximise output Mark knew he needed modern multifunctional appliances.
Mark Nixon, Senior Chef Manager.
“In nearly thirty years of working in catering, RATIONAL is a brand I've used regularly,” says Mark. “I was visiting trade shows to get an idea of what was available, and I was blown away by how powerful the latest models are so I knew they would be ideal.” The University of St Andrews currently has two VarioCookingCenter® appliances, as well as eight SelfCookingCenter® 201 appliances in kitchens across its campus.
The flexibility of RATIONAL appliances helps Mark's staff produce the variety of food the menu cycle requires. “Every Friday we have fish and chips, we can use the VarioCookingCenter® as a deep fat fryer. It can prepare over 400 servings at once, which is pretty astonishing,” says Mark. “It also uses less oil, and it's far easier to filter it for reuse than with conventional appliances.”
“The staff love them too, we rotate the chefs between sites and one of our chefs was recently moved from one of our kitchens that has the VarioCookingCenter® and SelfCookingCenter® equipment to one that doesn't,” says Mark. “She really missed them, she's been calling them her baby and keeps asking to come back to one of the RATIONAL powered kitchens!”
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