Bread, Brûlée and Braised Ox Cheek: The Hoste Arms’ SelfCooking Center® is "spot on", whatever the recipe

The Hoste Arms is a seventeenth-century coaching inn in Burnham Market, a stone’s throw away from the beautiful North Norfolk coast. It was created to offer ‘the ultimate convivial inn,’ appealing to both residents and holidaymakers, offering local seasonal food and service of the highest standard. Its reputation for great food has made it one of the best-known and busiest eateries in the region.

Food is served in the bar and restaurant. In peak season the inn serves hundreds of covers every day, with breakfast, lunch, cream teas, dinner and special functions. Given the combination of high volume and the Hoste’s commitment to food quality, it’s no surprise that its kitchen is top-drawer. But a recent investment has changed the way the kitchen operates: when the Hoste installed a Rational SelfCooking Center, to replace an old steam oven, head chef Aaron Smith was so impressed that subsequently he ordered three more units.

The first two units were installed in the pastry kitchen, where all the baked products and desserts, ‘from bread to brûlée’, are now baked or cooked in a SelfCooking Center. Once Aaron saw the potential of the Rational technology, he ordered the other two units for the main kitchen.

"We prep everything that’s cooked on the menu through a SelfCooking Center," he says. "The intelligent cooking programmes are just amazing, I had never seen anything like them. You just select the food, push a button and that’s it.

"Roasting, steaming, duck confit, confit of pork belly: there’s a choice of cooking processes for each type of food. For example, we use the braising programme for our braised ox cheeks. What’s more, the programmes are spot on, they cook everything to perfection."

Aaron is also impressed by how easy the SelfCooking Center is to operate. "We had a couple of hours training and that was it," he says, "it was all we needed. Ease of use is brilliant."

He’s also keen on the SelfCleaning programme. The Hoste has the latest Rationals with the new CareControl feature, which monitors the combi and tells staff not only when it needs cleaning but also what level of cleaning programme is required. "Then we just pop in the tablets, push the button and leave it to get on with the job. It’s dead easy and the amount of time we save is phenomenal," says Aaron.

The Rational SelfCooking Centers at the Hoste Inn are ‘Combi Duo’ units, so each pair of combis is mounted one on top of the other – a six grid on a 10 grid. This saves valuable kitchen space, giving the Hoste Arms the maximum flexibility and capacity in the minimum footprint.

For more information on the Hoste Arms visit www.hostearms.co.uk or call 01328 738777.

For information and brochures, or to arrange to come to a free SelfCooking Center® ‘TeamCooking Live’ seminar, contact your dealer, freephone Rational UK on 0800 389 2944 or call +44 800 389 2944. For product information and contact details see www.rational-UK.com for information about Club Rational Visit www.club-rational.com/gb