Falcon and Williams provide theatrical flourish for Salon Culinaire

Top British manufacturers supply equipment for live cookery competition at this year’s Hotelympia

Falcon Foodservice and Williams Refrigeration will be supplying equipment for Hotelympia’s International Salon Culinaire competition this year.

Salon Culinaire is the largest and most prestigious chef competition programme in the UK. This year’s contest features 80 classes within four categories, and once again celebrates the skills of the UK’s hospitality industry.

For more than ten years, the organisers of the Live Theatre competition have chosen equipment from Falcon and Williams. These are timed cookery challenges, with the added pressure of a live audience watching every move. With competition at this level it’s vital that the equipment available to competitors performs well under pressure.

Falcon has supplied ten of the company’s award-winning G3101 ranges, fitted with splashback and plateshelf, along with ten Pro-Lite LD22 electric grills. The G3101 is a versatile, energy efficient oven range with six powerful burners and an interior that can accommodate 2/1 Gastronorm pans and has space for up to five shelves. Winner of the “Best cooking range” in the Chef’s Choice Awards for four years in a row, it is a highly efficient and flexible addition to any commercial kitchen. The LD22 is a sturdy and versatile electric grill. Constructed from easy to clean stainless steel, it can be mounted on a wall bracket, floor stand or on optional legs.

Williams has provided six Jade J1 upright fridges, along with one Jade LJ1 upright freezer. Jade J1 cabinets are sleek yet tough, with an internal capacity of 611 litres, and are designed to be as energy efficient and sustainable as possible. Williams’ CoolSmart controller minimises power consumption and ensures consistent temperature control, while the high-density polyurethane insulation provides excellent thermal efficiency, low GWP and zero ODP. The Jade models have top-mounted refrigeration systems and are capable of holding both 1/1 and 2/1 pans.

The live theatre element of Salon Culinaire takes place throughout the four days of Hotelympia 2016, with challenges ranging from Perfect Pasta and the Dough Ball Challenge to the hotly contested Freestyle Dessert – plus La Parade des Chefs, where two teams compete to produce a three course meal for up to 100 covers.

With such an intense schedule, organisers have to be sure that their equipment choices are up to the task.

Barry Hill, marketing manager at Falcon Foodservice explains, “The G3101 is one of the most versatile and reliable pieces of equipment available, which has earned it a place in professional kitchens large and small around the world, it’s equally at home back of house or on show in theatre kitchens.”

“We are very pleased to have been selected for Salon Culinaire again,” says Martin Laws, marketing manager at Williams Refrigeration. “The organisers have a tough responsibility to provide the most reliable equipment for competitors, so to be given this seal of approval again is a vindication.”