School’s Space-Optimising Refrigeration

The variety of True’s range allows a Norfolk primary school to pick cabinets that exactly fit their bill

Aldborough Primary in North Norfolk is officially the Most Fun School in Britain, according to a competition supported by Puffin Books.  A high achieving school, it puts emphasis on healthy eating and recently had a new kitchen built.  To keep in budget they used the equipment they already had – but in the case of the refrigeration, they bought new cabinets, manufactured by True. 

“The issue was space,” explains school chef Tracy Hindry.  “We simply couldn’t fit the old cabinets into the area allocated to refrigeration.  One of the great things about the True range is that they offer so many different sizes and configurations, which is a big plus in a quality refrigeration brand.  It means you’re pretty much bound to find what you need.  The two double-door models we now have could have been tailor made for us.” 

The two True cabinets at Aldborough are a T35 refrigerator and a T35FZ deep freeze.  Each measures 1004mm (w) x 750mm (d) x 2074mm (h) and has a capacity of 991 litres. 

As well as cooking for Aldborough, the kitchen supplies meals for two more local village primary schools, at Colby and Erpingham.  Children can pick and choose when they want to have a school dinner, so on any day Tracy Hindry and her team could be cooking from 100 to 200 meals.  The menu changes daily: typical meals include roast turkey, chicken curry, fish cakes, lasagne, and stir fry with noodles, all with vegetarian options.  They use a local butcher and grocer for most ingredients and this emphasis on fresh produce, combined with the variation in the number of meals prepared, places great pressure on the refrigeration. 

“The space restrictions meant that the True cabinets had to be sited in a relatively warm part of the kitchen,” says Tracy Hindry.  “Despite this, their performance is reliably excellent – they pull down to temperature quickly and efficiently, whatever the ambient temperature.” 

The speed of pull-down temperature is a result of True’s heavy-duty refrigeration system, which features evaporators, fan motors, condensers and compressors that are 20 to 40% larger than the industry standard.  Because the system is more powerful it pulls down temperature more quickly, which in turn means it uses less energy.  Faster temperature pull-down times also enhance food safety and quality. 

Tracy Hindry is a True fan: “Another big plus is that the True cabinets are simple to clean,” she says.  “All in all, they’re very easy to live with.” 

The T35 and T35FZ feature in True’s Essential Refrigeration Product Selector, a guide to the True range.  It is available to order free from truemfg.co.uk – any foodservice professional ordering a copy online before Dec 31 2011 will be entered into a free prize draw to win the latest iPad. 

The complete True Refrigeration range is available through dealers across the UK and Ireland.  For more information visit www.truemfg.co.uk or call True UK on +44 (0) 1709 888888.