Fish wish: catching the gluten-free customers

Maguire’s Chip Shop expands menu to include special dietary options with new Rational SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency®

Maguire’s Chip Shop in Rowlands Gill, Newcastle is a family-run business. John Maguire and his wife Carole opened the shop in 1989 and it has been serving takeaway fish and chips ever since. John and Carole have now been joined by their daughter, Karen and son-in-law Michael Sutherland, to take the business forward.

Following frequent enquiries from customers for gluten-free fish and chips Maguire’s decided to look into other ways to cook their classic recipes. A critical issue was what new equipment would need to be purchased. In November 2012 Michael, who manages the shop, attended a Rational CookingLive event at St James’ Park, the home of Newcastle United FC.

“I’d heard about the SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency and wanted to see it in action before making a decision,” explains Sutherland. “As soon as the Rational chef put the machine through its paces I realised it was just what we needed to expand our menu options. It’s in a different league to other cooking appliances.”

Maguire’s ordered an electric ten grid SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency straightway and it was installed in late November. Already it’s proved to be a valuable addition. Maguire’s operates as a takeaway six days a week from 9am-2pm and 5pm-9pm so there isn’t a lot of free time for learning how to run new equipment.

“It’s great for baked, steamed and dressed fish. The results are actually better than when fried,” says Sutherland. “We also use it for jacket potatoes.  It’s so quick and easy to use and we didn’t have any trouble getting started. We just select what we are cooking and the Rational does the rest. It even tells us when it needs cleaning.”

As well as the gluten-free options, Sutherland has plans to roast joints of ham and other meats so Maguire’s can offer sandwiches and baguettes – something they couldn’t contemplate before installing the SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency.

“We’re taking it slow,” says Sutherland. “There’s just so much we could do with the Rational. We’re listening to what our customers want and adapting our menu options to suit. If we need advice, Rational experts are on hand to help.”

At the moment Sutherland estimates that the Rational is used for about 20% of the menu. He is going to experiment with blanch-frying the chips and then finishing them off in the Rational for a lower fat option. Chips cooked this way have at least 80 per cent less fat and 36 per cent less calories than those conventionally deep fried.

The new Rational SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency can replace 40-50% off all conventional cooking appliances such as ovens, tilting pans, boilers, steamers or grills. It is this multi-functionality, in a small footprint, that is so useful for chips shops and other takeaways. The Model 101 measures just 847mm (w) x 771mm (d) x 1,042mm (h). Through the new HiDensityControl and Efficient Level Control, it delivers consistency of cooking, whether in small or large batches.

With the Rational, Maguire’s now have the option of responding to all sorts of special dietary requests, expanding their menu options and building up a reputation for customer care and food quality.

“We hope to reach more customers now we can offer more choice,” says Sutherland. “Businesses have to be able to adapt to keep ahead of the competition.”