Classeq’s Alto 170 makes short work of dirty dishes
Weston General Hospital, Weston Super Mare, Somerset is a 320 bed hospital with 1,700 staff serving the local population as both in-patients and out patients. Its busy Rafters Restaurant is open daily from 8.30am to 7.30pm for a range of hot and cold meals, sandwiches, snacks and beverages. Used by visitors, patients and staff, Rafters has a high and continuous demand for spotlessly clean crockery and cutlery throughout the day.

Recently the restaurant had to replace its old dishwasher that was becoming unreliable. Trevor Chacksfield, Facilities Manager, decided to look around at different manufacturers for a machine that wasn’t going to cost the earth but was going to give reliable operation with consistent results and also be economical in operation.

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Any cooking operation - whether manufacturing, foodservice or retail - generates a large amount of dirty cooking utensils, and most of them are too big for conventional dishwashers. But why do so many operators still insist on handwashing their kitchen implements? Either the utensil washers they’ve seen are too large or too expensive for their kitchens, or too costly to run. Or they are simply seen as an extravagance.

That’s no longer the case. British warewashing specialist Classeq, which specialises in complete and affordable warewashers with everything included (except the kitchen sink), has introduced the Viso range of utensil washers. These are suitable for a wide variety of operations, from butchers, bakers and delis to restaurants, hotels, clubs and healthcare facilities.

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Stand N2361, HOTELYMPIA 2008, ExCeL London, 17 - 21 Feb

Classeq will launch a new range of cleaning chemicals at Hotelympia 2008. Designed specifically to work with Classeq machines, the chemicals not only guarantee superb cleaning results, they are also priced very competitively.
Alongside standard chemicals, such as dishwasher detergents and rinse aids, are specialist products like Glass Rejuvenator, which can bring the sparkle back to heavily stained glassware.

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SPICK & SPAN: BRITISH-BUILT HYDRO SHOWS CLEAN AND GREEN CREDENTIALS

Classeq Dish & Glasswashers, Stand N2361, HOTELYMPIA 2008, ExCeL London, 17 - 21 Feb

Classeq aims to demonstrate the very best in British-manufactured, value for money dish and glasswashers at Hotelympia 2008. Making its debut at the Show is the new Hydro dishwasher , a totally re-engineered pass-through machine that’s fast, flexible and more energy efficient.
The company will also highlight the breadth of its current range, from its popular Eco and Duo undercounter compacts , the latest versions of which will also be on show, to the big Alto rack conveyor models , capable of washing up to 5,000 plates an hour.

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Classeq’s All-New, Mid-Priced, Pass Through Dishwasher - engineered to deliver better results and lower running costs

Classeq’s Hydro range of pass through dishwashers has always been popular with caterers wanting reliable performance from a mid-priced machine.  Now they have been totally redeveloped: the Hydro pass through is an entirely new range of machines, engineered to deliver even better cleaning results whilst reducing bills by being more energy efficient and using less detergents. Plus, they’re easier to operate and look after.

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Classic Pub Goes For Classeq Dishwasher/Glasswasher Duo

Imagine the perfect English pub in the perfect English village. Now go to Gosberton Risegate, Lincolnshire and stand outside The Black Horse. Uncanny, isn’t it?

The fact that it’s so close to perfection is what drew Simon and Helen Easter to it. Simon and Helen have been in the trade for over 10 years but this is their first freehold, and as well as investing in the property the couple are spending an additional £50,000 on refurbishing the pub. The money is going on decoration, furniture, and a significant spend in the half-acre garden, including a smoking shelter. The Easters have also ripped out the old kitchen (only the extraction system was kept) and installed new equipment.

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Classeq has introduced a range of competitively priced ice makers covering small under-counter models and larger high volume models. The Classeq Ice machines are designed to look equally good under the bar or behind it and they produce extremely long-lasting, octagonal or square (depending on the size of the machine) crystal-clear cubes of ice - perfect for drinks and ice buckets.

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The venue:
Sans Oriental Restaurant is a brand new and upscale Chinese restaurant in Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire.   Located in the town’s leafy high street, it was founded by restaurateur Tom Li – with nearly 35 years experience in catering - and head chef/business partner Paul Lung.

The menu is modern Cantonese / Schezuan ‘fusion’ cuisine, a world away from the traditional ‘phone-directory look’ of traditional Chinese restaurants.  Sans is modern and distinctively different.

The problem:
Space in the restaurant’s kitchens is limited.  But just as importantly, rice-based cuisines can make heavy demands on dishwashing, with the rice grains and heavy sauces combining to stick on plates and being difficult to remove.  So when choosing a warewasher Tom asked friends running other Chinese restaurants what they’d recommend.   Prices and gross profits in the oriental restaurant business are low, and warewashing answers had to be economical as well as effective.  And they needed a reliable and economical ice machine in the package too.

The recommendation:
Friends in the Asian restaurant business told him to see Bournville Catering Equipment, a long-standing equipment provider to Chinese Midlands caterers.   And many of them were already using Classeq.

“We have a good relationship with Chinese restaurants in the Midlands”, says John McEvoy of Bournville. “We understand their specialist needs and they trust us to supply and service the right equipment.  And we definitely recommend Classeq.  It’s the right design, the right build and the right price.”

The solution:
Bournville Catering equipment recommended Classeq all the way.  For the kitchen they specified a Hydro the latest in heavy duty pass-through dishwashers.  Featuring multiple filters to trap food particles such as rice grains, and give perfect wash results with 22 large plates in a single fast cycle, the Hydro was the perfect choice for Sans.  The installation included the latest in electronic detergent feed and control systems from Winterhalter, the parent company of Classeq.

For the glasswashing Tom Li naturally wanted perfect wash results.  But he also needed very quiet operation and a compact unit, since it had to fit under-counter in the small bar in front of house. The Classeq Eco 2 was the perfect choice – automatic with simple, clear controls and a fast wash.  And because of its double skinned door, it is quiet and unobtrusive.  Low water and energy consumption meant low running costs – all with minimum staff intervention.

For the ice machine Bournville specified a Classeq Ice 25 – a straightforward, reliable unit producing up to 1200 ice cubes per day.  It’s economical to run, easy to clean, looks elegant and is quiet.

“In my previous restaurants we had to wash the rice off by hand before putting plates in the washer”, says Tom.  “Not any more.   The new dishwasher is excellent – plates are clean first time.”

The Classeq combination – pass-thru dishwasher, undercounter glasswasher and compact ice machine – is ideal for a typical small but discerning restaurant such as Sans, says John McEvoy of Bournville Catering Equipment.  “It offers maximum quality and reliability at a price that is affordable to the independent restaurateur, and is easy for us to support.”

Classeq is part of the Winterhalter UK group, providing a total solution for warewashing though their nationwide network of distributors. Everything from pre-sales advice to after-sales service.  For information on the Classeq range of glass and dishwashers, including details of your nearest stockist, call 0870 224 7280.

THE PLACE
Saint Ronan’s School is a co-educational day and boarding school for children from two and a half to thirteen plus years. Set in 247 acres of Wealden Countryside near Hawkhurst, Kent, the school has a strong family ethos, staff and children eat together in the School’s dining room.

Chartwell’s is in charge of the catering at St Ronan’s. Fresh food is prepared on site each day. There is organic meat, from the School’s own pasture, always a vegetarian option and produce is sourced locally whenever possible.

THE PROBLEM
Due to the increasing popularity of the School the numbers have doubled over the past three years. This is good news for everyone except the kitchen staff who initially had to cope with the increased workload using the old equipment.

The School has boarders as well as day pupils, so there are lots of meals to be served and cleared up throughout the day. Starting with breakfast at 8.00am for about 70 pupils, break at 10.05am where everyone gets a drink and snack, two lunch sittings from12 noon to 1pm for about 370 pupils and staff, then in the evening there’s dinner for the boarders and night staff. All in all plenty of work for the dishwasher!

 “The old machine just couldn’t keep up with these numbers,” says Laura Boynton of Chartwell’s. “Staff were working flat out to get everything turned around ready for the next meal, so I went to the Burser to see if we could get a new dishwasher.”

THE SOLUTION
It wasn’t surprising that the Bursar, John Buckles, put cost as the decisive factor when choosing a replacement.  “We looked at Classeq’s Alto 100 and the performance stats were impressive. There was a huge difference in capital cost – it was roughly half the cost of comparable machines from other manufacturers,” he says.

The Alto 100 is a rack conveyor dishwasher with a throughput of 100 racks per hour. Each 500mm rack can hold up to 18 plates – that’s plenty of capacity for Saint Ronan’s. Other features that swung the choice in favour of the Alto were its low running costs and its double skinned construction which creates a quieter working environment while saving energy.

Energy and water consumption is kept to a minimum - an auto timer makes sure that the machine only operates when there is a rack of dirty dishes inside. A full coverage filter system keeps the water cleaner for longer and the option of a hot air drying zone, either straight out or at right angles to the machine, makes the best use out of the kitchen area.

“The Alto 100 is ten times easier to use than our old machine,” says Laura. “It’s much quicker as well and keeps the dish-wash area clear. Before, the kitchen really clogged up, but now we simply rack up the dirty dishes, spray them and through they go. There’s even room at the other side for three to four trays. ”

All this has improved life in the kitchen tremendously. And what’s more the Alto 100 still has spare capacity so if the numbers increase at Saint Ronan’s again there won’t be any need to upgrade.

Classeq is part of the Winterhalter UK group, providing a total solution for warewashing though their nationwide network of distributors. Everything from pre-sales advice to after-sales service.  For information on the Classeq range of glass and dishwashers, including details of your nearest stockist, call 0870 224 7280.
Note for editors:  British manufacturer Classeq is part of the Winterhalter group and is BS EN ISO 9001-2000 accredited.  All Classeq machines are WRAS-approved (formerly WRC), CE marked and supplied with a comprehensive one year warranty, backed by Winterhalter’s nationwide service network.   Classeq is the UK’s leading and most popular warewasher brand for independent and smaller-scale caterers.

Stand 1118, Publican Live, 2-4 April 2007, Olympia, London. Classeq shows latest compact dish and glasswashers for pubs and bars at Publican Live