E & R Moffat – one of the UK’s specialists in custom-built counters and serveries – recently created a brand new servery that has helped to reinvent the school cafeteria at Neilston Primary School, in East Renfrewshire, near Glasgow.
The new counter features a four-gastronorm drop-in bain marie with bright overhead gantry, and both heated and ambient cupboards underneath. In catering terms it’s tough, practical, spacious, eminently sensible and very good value.
But what particularly marks it out – especially to the children, and the staff who work behind it – is its almost ‘spaceship-like’ elegance. The dark and shiny surface of South African granite counterpoints the contemporary beech-coloured front. Meanwhile the ‘concave’ sweep of the counter, unusual in a school catering environment, helps to draw children up to it.
Neilston Primary, praised by the school inspectors for excellent education results, had long been keen to refresh its catering facilities to match, and in 2009 got the go-ahead for a full scale refurbishment.
"We wanted a new look, something refreshed and classy, that felt more modern and friendly to the children," said Loraine Lawrie, Quality Manager in Catering Education Services at East Renfrewshire Council. "Young children see bright restaurants in the high street, with attractive counters. They come to associate that with an enjoyable experience.
"I wanted to move on from the usual ‘stainless steel with plastic colour front’ school cafeteria. It also had to highlight that there’s a bright and hygienic new kitchen behind it. Children are influenced by the visual effects."
The project was led by Stephens Catering Equipment, based near Edinburgh, whose Area Sales Manager Martin Douglas oversaw the design and specification of the counter. He selected Moffat to create and build the unit, and he’s over the moon with the results. "I was expecting something remarkable, the new counter looks and performs wonderfully, even beyond my expectations! In comparison, most modern school serveries – usually steel with a laminate front – look dull."
It’s a gorgeous visual treat that really lightens the room, adds Loraine: "The children feel the new counter is really fabulous. It’s helped to make the room airier and more spacious. It makes the experience feel more like eating in a restaurant, not just like an old-fashioned dinner hall. And the numbers of children taking up meals at Neilston Primary has gone up significantly."
Neilston’s new counter and servery are a lesson in design for school catering, and Loraine hopes eventually to see more of the council’s 32 schools benefit from such serveries.
E & R Moffat is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of quality foodservice equipment, designing and manufacturing in-house. Based in Bonnybridge, Scotland, the company manufactures standard and bespoke servery, regeneration and storage equipment with a full nationwide after-sales engineering team. E & R Moffat is accredited to ISO 9001:2000 and many of the products have gas approvals and are EMC tested. For more information on E & R Moffat visit the website on www.ermoffat.co.uk