Peach Pub Chain’s New Bedford Site is First to Install Energy+

Revitalized Bedford pub hotel says new warewasher is ‘a godsend’

When the award-winning food-led Peach Pub Company took over the long-established Embankment Hotel in Bedford recently, one of the first priorities for new owner Andrew Coath was to replace the old existing dishwasher.  He’s just had a new Winterhalter GS 502 Energy+ energy-saving dishwasher installed, and says “It’s a godsend!”

A classic Tudor-style building on the river front, the Embankment had been a popular place to eat and drink for many years but its traditional carvery format was flagging somewhat when Peach took it over in May 2008.   An initial refurbishment was designed to freshen up the pub, revitalise the food and bring the Embankment’s standards in line with Peach’s own.

And for the new kitchen, that meant the old dishwasher was one of the first things that had to go.  “We had to ensure all our crockery was properly clean, a tall order given the terrible state of the previous dishwasher,” Andrew Coath says.  “The local Bedford mains water is very hard, very poor quality, and it looked like the water softener hadn’t been properly recharged for years.

“The old dishwasher also looked unhygienic. It was almost white inside from limescale and although we tried, initial cleaning seemed to make no difference to the quality of the wash.”

Given Peach’s quality focus, the new machine not only had to give perfect results – that was a given – but it also had to fit with the group’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint by being sparing on its use of valuable resources like water and energy.

The company’s immediate response was to order the GS 502 Energy+, the latest energy-saving version of the mid-range pass-through machine that is also in use in other pubs on the Peach estate.  But with the kitchen still awaiting full refurbishment, and with the electricity supply not yet ready for any extra demand, the professionalism and knowledge of Winterhalter’s engineers were essential in ensuring a safe and efficient installation.

The Energy+ feature was critical to reducing the power taken from the pub’s ageing and previously overloaded system.  Winterhalter says that a typical Energy+ installation can reduce the total load by up to 6kW at peak times.

Energy+ recycles exhaust heat from the steam and hot wastewater and returns it to heat the incoming fresh cold water. This not only slashes water heating costs, but by condensing the steam to remove its heat, it also removes the need for a separate extractor hood, and makes kitchen working conditions more pleasant.

“It’s too early to say what it’s saving in running costs,” says Andrew Coath. “But going through the figures with Winterhalter, they say it could be over £1,000 per year from just the one machine. I guess that figure can only rise as electricity costs increase.”

Now that the initial priority of the dishwashing is sorted, further refurbishment later this year will take the kitchens and the rest of the pub into the 21st century for facilities, without spoiling its classic Tudor feel. The pub is already attracting plenty of new customers, with cover numbers steadily rising and after the refurbishment later this year, Andrew Coath hopes the Embankment will cater for over a hundred diners a night.

“The aim is to provide simple but very good quality locally sourced food and drink,” he says. “The Embankment will have 20 rooms in a boutique hotel feel, but ultimately we will still be a pub at heart.”

One thing that won’t need further refurbishment is the dishwashing.  The GS 502 should cater for the pub’s needs for many years.

The GS 502 is a pass-through dishwasher with powerful, fast operation and an easy-to-operate one-touch button control pad to eliminate operator errors. To cope with different types of tableware it uses an innovative wash system with fixed lower wash arms and a rotating upper arm. These combine to ensure a uniform, powerful water-jet pattern to tackle heavily soiled items.

The machine uses Mediamat Cyclo, Winterhalter’s exclusive new wash water purification system which ensures long-lasting, clear wash and rinse water and helps to reduce water, detergent and energy consumption. Seamless wash tanks further add to the overall cleanliness of the machine while fully insulated cabinets reduce heat loss and minimise energy consumption.

Winterhalter provides a total solution for warewashing, from pre-sales advice to after-sales service, training and maintenance. Alongside its market-leading dish and glasswashers, the company’s range includes utensil washers, advanced water treatment machines, cleaning chemicals and detergents. For further details, call Winterhalter on 01908 359000, see www.winterhalter.com/uk-en/, or email info@winterhalter.co.uk.