Classeq warewashers at Barnsley College clean up after students

Learning To Cook – Fresh Ingredients And No Clutter

Barnsley College is receiving glowing reports from OFSTED and has been awarded Beacon Status from the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). It’s sited on its own campus in a brand new state-of-the-art building. The newly finished catering school, which teaches students practical as well as managerial skills, is a gleaming stainless steel paradise.

HK Projects has been involved in the design and project management of the new catering kitchens since their inception three years ago.

“We had to keep the budget down, without cutting back on the quality of training that would be delivered to the catering students,” says Jason Fish of HK Projects. “For the kitchen we specified Classeq machines for their reliability, performance and affordability.”

There are three training kitchens at the college which are in use every day. To ensure sessions run smoothly and to maximise teaching time, staff prepare GN trays of ingredients for the students in advance. Once the students have finished the trays are cleared away.

By using standard gastronorm containers they can be neatly stacked on trolleys and wheeled straight into the wash area. The Classeq utensil washers are just right for the training kitchen, the trays fit in easily and because they are waist-heigh, staff do not have to do unnecessary lifting or bending to get the trays from trolley to machine.

Altogether Barnsley College has three Classeq machines: an Alto 100 dishwasher capable of washing up to 100 racks per hour; a Hydro 957 pass through dishwasher with a 1.5 or 3 minute wash cycle; and a Viso 55 front loading utensil washer that has intensive 2, 4 and 6 minute wash cycles.

Typically there will be 18 to 24 students per class and three classes per day. Each student will have one or two trays, depending on what is being cooked, plus any pots and pans used for cooking. In order to keep the training area clean and tidy, the Classeq machines are in operation throughout the day.

“The Classeq machines are standing up well to the throughput at the college,” says Jason Fish. “This is another reason we chose Classeq – they are value-for-money, compact machines that are designed for heavy use.”