Articles

01Apr

Convotherm Maxx: Live Question and Answer

At Kitchen Solutions we are proud promoters of the new Convotherm Maxx Combi Oven - a brand new, streamlined combination oven that can do all the work of the traditional combis but that comes at a much lower price. Anyone who has used one knows that these are great machines but, we do also understand how tricky it can be for an established kitchen to introduce new equipment or even change brand sometimes! For this reason we decided to team up...

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09Mar

Harry Brearley (18 February 1871 – 14 July 1948)

Last month, on the 18th February was Harry Brearley's 150th Birthday. It's quite amazing how many of us in the catering industry and beyond have no idea who Harry Brearley was. Yet his 1913 invention is crucial to us even today. Every day. See, back at the start of the 1900s Harry was working in Sheffield, well known for its steel foundries. This was also the time leading up to WWI and the country...

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09Feb

“Most common pitfalls and how to avoid them”

Ah, mistakes, mistakes - they’re not funny and can be very costly and time consuming.  Buying the wrong catering equipment can be both these things so here we offer some real life examples of some of the pitfalls our customers have fallen into and more importantly, how to avoid them!  Customer 1:  "The fryer I ordered has just arrived.  It’s too small, I can’t fry my large fish in there!?! " Tip:  before you part with your cash look for the dimensions...

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21Jan

Church Kitchen in a seemingly impossible space?

Back in the Autumn, not long before Christmas, we received a visit from Father Michael, a very pleasant and kind man of the cloth who was looking to upgrade his church kitchen. He explained that he needed to reorganise the cooking area in his church so that they could provide food and refreshments to their congregation and community. We were obviously very happy to help, especially during this difficult time when there are more people needing food than ever....

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08Jan

James goes to a Combi Maxx demo

Convotherm have very proudly announced the launch of their new combination oven, the Maxx. Their tag line, as above, is "Just Right". We have all the specificaitons on our sales page for the Maxx avilable as a 6-Grid or 10-Grid, but what is it like close up? James of Kitchen Solutions went to a demonstration of it and here we hear his feedback from the day. "Look at that steam!" Hi James thanks for sharing your experience. ...

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17Dec

…and it continues….

As COVID19 continues to wreak havoc through the world, the country and society at large, as everyone has seen from the news and personal experience, the hospitality sector continues to feel the brunt end of it when it comes to closures, loss of jobs and loss of businesses. We stand strongly with all restaurants, pubs, bars cafes, event caterers and anyone else who is affected. For us here what continues to be difficult is staffing and deliveries. Strangely, there...

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29Sep

What a strange year so far….

...and strange is not the only word to describe the year since March 23rd when Lockdown was first announced. Back in March when lockdown was first mentioned on the news, our conversation in the office turned first to our long term customers and then the industry in general.  It seemed clear even then that next to the Arts our industry, the industry of eating out, events catering and catering for large canteens was going to find it difficult to adjust. ...

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14Aug

HOW TO… Clean your Stainless Steel Furniture

Our most FAQ is “How do I clean my Stainless Steel table/sink?” so here is the simplest answer we can give you: 1- Use a standard washing up liquid with hot water, not scolding, obviously 2- Use a standard sponge scourer (the green & yellow one will do) 3- Wipe the stainless with a soapy wet scourer (scourer side down) and go with the grain of the Steel (on most table tops and drainers this is left-to-right / legs are up-and-down) 4- Wipe...

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24Jun

Local Company, Local Refit

We do have a soft spot for projects in our own area. This one was in Bournville, the home of Cadbury's chocolate. But it also happened during the #Covid19 lockdown - no need to say we were delighted not to have to complicate things by travelling a long distance to site. The Hub at Bournville had a tired little kitchen that to be fully useful to its owners needed a refit. Unfortunately we have no before photos, but here are...

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18May

Two-week kitchen refit, during Lockdown!

There we were all cosily locked up working from home when we received a call from a Nursery in Northampton that needed a new kitchen fitted in a hurry, ready for the return of children after lockdown.  Without knowing how long lockdown was going to last we agreed to completing the works within two weeks.  The nursery wanted to keep some of their old equipment but replace all the furniture and some of the appliances.  We began by visiting...

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