Installing a restaurant kitchen in Heathrow is a complex business – especially if it’s ‘airside’. The Commission by Drake & Morgan is a new, 175-seater restaurant and cocktail bar operated by hospitality and food service company Delaware North and sited in Terminal 4. For the Airedale Group, who managed the project, the complexity was somewhat aggravated by the fact that the install period was cut from ten days to three, due to building delays. The situation got even worse when, on day three, at the 11th hour, suddenly a new dishwasher had to be sourced and installed.
“We contacted Winterhalter and they pulled out the stops to help us get a passthrough hood machine to site in time,” says Jason Wade, key account manager at Airedale.
“It was delivered at 3am and up and running at 7am, in time for us to open,” says Nils Braude, operational director for Delaware North’s travel sector. “In the original build we’d planned to keep our old dishwasher. But with the building constraints and space requirements, we couldn’t use it. It was a last minute adjustment and I must say we challenged Airedale.”
The restrictions of an airport environment made it even more of a test. “We had to liaise with Winterhalter, then organise all the security checks, install and commission it in under 24 hours,” says Jason.
Nils appreciates the efforts of all concerned. “The guys pulled together and obviously Airedale has strong relationships with their equipment partners. It was a good turn around and was really appreciated by the operational team, who didn’t have to delay anything because they didn’t have a dishwasher. Which is fairly key to the operation!”
Reliability and consistency
Alongside the passthrough hood dishwasher, The Commission also has two Winterhalter glasswashers. “We want all our equipment to be clean – especially the equipment that our customers use for drinking and eating!” says Nils. “So with our warewashers, cleanliness is the key, along with reliability and consistency, over a long period of time: we’re a very busy operation, open from 6am to 11pm. Plus, there’s the need for speed and labour-saving. We don’t want to have to double-wash anything.
“Winterhalter equipment delivers all of that. It’s reliable, works every time, it’s easy to use and look after. It very seldom goes wrong and, if it does, it can normally be fixed within a few hours.”
Another reason for choosing Winterhalter is that energy saving and sustainability are key drivers for Delaware North. “We looked at having sustainability built-in, in terms of power usage. However, we also looked at performance – we didn’t want to slow things down,” says Nils.
Winterhalter’s PT is the market’s first passthrough warewasher with energy-saving heat exchange technology fitted as standard. The system extracts energy from the waste water, using it to heat up the incoming cold water supply, reducing energy costs by up to 10%. The PT Series also features an energy control system that speeds up the washing process, increasing rack capacity per hour by 28% and reducing heat-up time by 50%. The speed of the system means the PT is ready for action faster than conventional passthroughs, allowing back-to-back rack washing, which can be a huge bonus for busy kitchens like The Commission.
The glasswashers at The Commission are Winterhalter’s UC undercounter models, fitted with integral softeners. “They are used all day,” says Nils. “We’re quite cocktail-led in our bar and we use a variety of different glasses. The Winterhalters cope with everything and deliver superior cleaning.” The UC’s VarioPower allows the user to adjust the power and water pressure to take account of how delicate or dirty the glasses are. On short programmes (for lightly soiled items) the glasswasher can handle up to 77 racks per hour. “The bar team have had a very reliable service from them,” says Nils.
“All our warewashers are performing really well. There’s a reason everyone wants Winterhalter – it does what it says on the tin.”
Further details:
For information on Delaware North visit www.delawarenorth.com
For information on the Airedale Group visit www.airedale-group.co.uk
Winterhalter provides a total solution for warewashing, from pre-sales advice to after-sales service, training and maintenance. Alongside its market-leading dish and glasswashers, the company’s range includes utensil washers, advanced water treatment machines, cleaning chemicals and detergents. For further details, call Winterhalter on 01908 359000, see www.winterhalter.co.uk, or www.winterhalter-scout.biz or email info@winterhalter.co.uk.
