Off to Italy with Zanussi

Next week; Chris Green and Katrina Robinson of www.FoodStrategy.com.au will be joining Curtis Eastwell of www.JLLennard.com.au on the ultimate training and business development trip to Zanussi Professional's massive headquarters in Vallenoncello - Pordenone Italy. For those less travelled, Pordenone is situated a short drive from Venice.
For our clients; we will be researching European food service and catering equipment solutions to bring you the latest wold leading ideas and sustainable practices to incorporate into our commercial kitchen designs.
We invite you to follow our journey via this blog (sign up below) or subscribe to our newsletter (send email to news@foodstrategy.com.au), Facebook or Twitter.

About Zanussi
Zanussi Professional aims to give a better and more creative working environment to millions of chefs worldwide. The brand offers a range of over 3000 dedicated products for food preparation, cooking, ventilation refrigeration and dishwashing. The complete Zanussi Professional range is designed to make life easier, food tastier and cleaning up quicker, whilst also helping to protect the environment. Zanussi Professional is a unique reference point to help the customer create his/her perfect kitchen, enabling Italian gastronomic culture to be interpreted at its best around the world.

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Pop Up Restaurants | Part 4 - Catering Equipment & Fitout

Pop Up Restaurants | Part 5 - Catering Equipment & Fitout

www.FoodStrategy.com.au continues our discussion with invited industry professionals on the topic of Pop Up restaurants.

Catering Equipment & Fitting out the Kitchen with Curtis Eastwell (Chef & Representative at JL Lennard Food Equipment)

Curtis Eastwell loves the concept of a pop up restaurant, but has concerns about logistics and business profitability. While it’s a great way for chefs to showcase it may be difficult to be financially viable says Eastwell, chef at JL Lennard Food Equipment.

Dining tables, chairs and a bar could be set up relatively easily, just about anywhere. But the biggest challenge in setting up a pop-up restaurant would definitely have to be the kitchen. The Zanussi accessory of an integrated exhaust canopy which sits directly on top of the 6 and 10 tray combi ovens by JL Lennard is a good consideration. This hood collects the fumes from the exhaust valve on the top of the oven as well as heat and steam which escapes when the front door is opened. The hood is equipped with a fan which can expel the exhaust through ducting to the outside.

A temporary grease trap can be set up through a cleverly designed fat separator stand for a combi oven. The liquid waste from the combi drops into a collection pan full of water, which is integrated into the combi stand. The fat and grease rises to the top of the water, which then gets trapped in a separate chamber allowing clean water to run out the back into a drain or bucket. All grease is then emptied out of the fat separator at the end of the day and thrown in the bin (not down the sink).


Controlling the heat in a pop-up restaurant is a major factor to consider. Zanussi induction cook tops are a very efficient cooking method which do not expel much heat into the cooking environment, unlike gas cooking appliances. The heat is generated only on contact with the base of the pan or pot. The 2-plate induction top with a total 7kW power which should be acceptable without an exhaust canopy.

Another great cooking option, which is most underutilized in kitchens, is XLT conveyer ovens. While traditionally used in the pizza industry, conveyor cooking can be utilised for so much more, as it is just a fan forced convection oven with a conveyer running through it. Steaks, seafood, breads, grilled oysters, desserts etc. Due to the way in which these ovens heat and re -circulate the hot air they do not expel excessive heat from the chamber. These are generally run on gas, so could happily be hooked up to a nearby LPG bottle

The Henny Penny humidified holding cabinets are a very efficient method of holding hot food while maintaining optimal food quality. In a scenario where chefs have limited cooking equipment and have to juggle many items through minimal cooking appliances, a heated holding cabinet would be a necessity.

For the prepping side of this style of restaurant, a HFE vacuum packing machine would give significantly longer shelf life, cut down on prep time and provide a hygienic sealed method of storing foods either fresh, cooked or frozen.

After desserts are eaten - it’s time for an espresso. Consider a coffee cart which has a built in water pump and drain collection integrated below. The Brasilia espresso machine from JL Lennard requires power supply to extract a perfect espresso every time. It would also run quite happily on a generator to become a self contained, lean, mean , bean machine!

Our conclusion to the Pop Up Restaurant series on this blog:

It’s all very do-able, and there is only ONE rule – it must comply with the health codes. Everything else comes second. Now what’s your purpose? Where’s your venue? Let’s talk popping-up.

Article by www.foodstrategy.com.au. Extract published in Eat Drink magazine

Pop Up Restaurants | Part 3 - Catering Equipment & Safety

Pop Up Restaurants | Part 3 - Catering Equipment & Safety.
www.FoodStrategy.com.au continues our discussion with invited industry professionals on the topic of Pop Up restaurants.

Catering Equipment & Safety with Doug Scully (CFSP & Chef & National Accounts Sales Manager www.moffat.com.au) 

As an experienced chef, Doug agrees with Food Strategy, equipment choice and power demands are a big factor. Gas is preferred due to its portability, consideration to hiring equipment, the durability of heavy duty gear that can be moved around and flexibility of multiple uses.
With the selection of fryers you should consider Stainless Steel pans rather than mild steel. Stainless fryers are better suited as they are less prone to expansion and contraction of the pan and will last longer and hold up better to being moved around.
Electrical equipment can be considered but look for pieces that can be moved easily and do not require large generators to run. There are even mini combi ovens available these days that have their own water draw and waste draw built in so they do not need to be hard plumbed and can run on single phase power. Small electric convection ovens are also a good option.
Don't forget your dishwasher either. This is an essential part of the kitchen, Look for units that are electro mechanical rather than digital and have low water consumption advises Scully.

Article by www.FoodStrategy.com.au.  Extract published in Eat Drink magazine.

Pop Up Restaurants | Part 2 - Food Safety

FOOD SAFETY IN A POP UP RESTAURANT

Temporary restaurants are all the rage these days. But what (and how much money) does it take to operate one?  Contributor Robert Green, MD of Australia’s leading food design company, Food Strategy, continues his exploration of pop-up restaurants by discussing the aspects of food safety and equipment with invited industry professionals.

The first step in planning a pop-up is the location. 75% of restaurant decisions are made based upon location, and for pop-ups, the location is everything. The right spot can bring you customers and eliminate thousands of dollars in costs. Get it wrong, it could cost you a lot more than just money. Internationally, it seems that pop-up restaurants are also turning indoors temporarily. By taking advantage of under-used kitchens, pop-ups allow young chefs, to experiment without fear of financial loss.

Food Handling - Brian Anderson http://www.hospitalityconsult.com.au

Brian is a food safety and compliance professional – it’s all about food safety.

All food businesses are required to ensure that the premises, fixtures, fittings and equipment are designed and constructed to be easily cleaned and sanitised, and that all personnel undertaking food handling activities within the facility, have demonstrated knowledge and skills in food safety and food hygiene. This may be achieved by having an active and accredited Food Safety Program in place, which sets out and identifies potential food safety hazards, presents recognised monitoring practices and controls to minimise any such identified potential risk, and offers corrective actions to prevent similar risks in the future. It is recommended that for all food businesses, food preparation and production be overseen by a qualified Food Safety Supervisor. A food business must also be able to demonstrate that it takes all practicable measures to ensure that the products being produced are protected from all potential contamination through the complete food production process, from receival of ingredients to sale or service of finished product. This includes the storage, preparation, cooking, processing, packaging, display and service of meals and all refrigerated foodstuffs.

Article written by www.FoodStrategy.com.au .  Extract published in Eat Drink magazine.
to be continued.

Pop Up Restaurants | Part 1 - What Are They

Image source: BBC

POP UP RESTAURANTS | WHAT ARE THEY?

Pop up restaurants are big in Europe. They pop up for one week to many months using anything from shipping containers to recyclable materials.

Europeans usually eat indoors but they do love to enjoy the alfresco dining experience when the sun eventually shines. 

But this is Australia.

We have different climatic conditions and compliance standards.
Can the concept work in Australia?
To design any restaurant the purpose must be defined. Why is it there? Is it to showcase the talents and skills of chefs, a marketing exercise for a key sponsor or restaurant in a separate fixed location, to fundraise for a charity or supply the community with an appreciation of food and hospitality. And then there’s the money; is it expected to be a viable return on investment, loss or break even. Who will be paying the bill? These are all factors that will influence the design, materials and catering equipment used.

Our friends at Electrolux Professional have been enjoying the promotion of the pop up “Electrolux Cube Pavilion” around Europe as a marketing exercise to high acclaim. The concept is not new, however the regulations are always evolving.

Australian regulations are stringent however they vary from city to city. Any pop up restaurant concept must still comply with the basics. That’s the law.

Among others, external (environmental) conditions have to be considered. A pop us restaurant may be ok in winter in Melbourne but not in the summer of Queensland. We grow our critters big in Australia (think vermin and flies) and must give thought to how we control them and keep food temperatures controlled in a foodservice environment. Compliance with health codes and occupational safety is at the fore of any foodservice set up.

Does size really matter
The pop up process draws similarities to satellite kitchens which operate from a main establishment.

Torbay Retirement Village main kitchen serves satellites

Torbay Retirement Village is serviced by The Village Caterer which uses their 700sqm foodservice kitchen in Hervey Bay . This central food production kitchen prepares thousands of meals per day using HACCP compliant cook – chill processes. It then transports the food cold (to maintain the safety and food integrity) to the satellite pop up facilities for regeneration and service.

Mobile Cafe

At the small end of the scale; there’s the portable restaurant called ‘Double Deckerdence’ which has converted a London double decker bus to a fun day out with food and drink. Council allows food hygiene standards to be relaxed but they apply additional standards for food transportation businesses.

It’s a case of designing portable systems to work within the confines of the local council code. To comply, the bus required potable water and a means of disposing of waste water. Like any foodservice it needed hot water, hand washing, refrigeration, food preparation space and dishwashing to suit the particular application. It’s a case of designing portable systems that work within the confines of the local council code.

For the bus; gas hot water and an on board generator were integral along with the ability to remotely plug into a mains power supply when available. Portable water storage tanks were installed onboard with pumps powered by the onboard generator. To comply, the waste-water tanks must exceed the capacity of the water tanks. Space is at a premium so creativity is key.
Everything is customised to suit the footprint; from the water tanks stored in refrigeration cavities to stainless steel benches to suit the footprint.
Equipment technology choices are aimed at minimising power consumption, eg, portable induction cooktops and keeping power supply and usage to a minimum. Water and energy efficient catering equipment is the only option. The whole process requires sustainable thinking from consumption to waste. The only rule – it must comply with the health codes. Everything else comes second.

Everyone knows the Saturday sausage sizzle – is that a pop up restaurant? How does it rate?

You decide.

This article written by www.FoodStrategy.com.au and also published in Eat Drink magazine