Peachman overcomes kitchen space issues with mix of True cabinets at Little Plumstead Primary School, Norfolk
When Little Plumstead School in Norfolk was selecting the refrigeration for its new kitchen two key buying criteria were critical: capacity and longevity. “That’s why we went for True,” says Daniel Ridd, project manager with Peachman, the company that installed the kitchen. “Their wide range of model sizes gave us maximum flexibility in terms of capacity. At the same time, they are known for reliability – for us, True’s five year warranty on compressors was the decision clincher.”
The Church of England Primary School has 180 children and the new kitchen combines modern and traditional cooking technologies – alongside the True cabinets are a combi steamer and turbofan convection oven, as well as a conventional range. The catering is run by contract caterers Edwards & Blake. Paul Williams, chef manager at the School, says: “We start at 7.30am but we don’t get the school dinner numbers in until 9.30 – which makes it a bit full on, as we have to up or downscale plans, depending on how accurate we’ve been with our prediction.”
As well as cooking for pupils and staff at Little Plumstead, the kitchen prepares dinners for another local primary school, just down the road. “On a typical day, taking into account those who bring their own lunches, we’ll do 170 meals,” says Paul Williams. “We cook hot meals fresh every day, plus we do jacket potatoes, a salad bar and baguettes.”
It’s relatively unusual for a Primary School kitchen to have under counter refrigeration cabinets. Daniel Ridd explains: “A key feature of this project was the limited space – it meant we had to go with cabinets rather than include a cold room. There are six True units: two upright fridges, two upright freezers and two three-door TGU counters.
“The uprights gave us a huge capacity for a relatively small footprint, while the counters enabled us to combine prep surfaces with a large refrigerated capacity, helping create extra storage.”
True systems are heavy duty compared to standard catering refrigeration – so even in kitchens where space is limited and ambient temperatures can be high, they pull down to temperature quickly. “The faster pull down time also enhances food safety, which is another bonus,” says Daniel Ridd.
Paul Williams hadn’t worked with True fridges before and he is impressed. “They hold temperature very well,” he says. “We use an infra red probe to check the calibration on our refrigeration. There are no ‘hot spots’ in the True cabinets, as you get with some fridges. They are top standard.”
The True Cabinets at Little Plumstead School are:
- Two x T-19E upright fridge cabinets, each measuring 686 (w) x 623 (d) x 1995mm (h) and offering a capacity of 538 litres. They are supplied with four shelves
- Two x T-19FZ upright freezer cabinets, specifications as with the T-19E
- Two x TGU 3-Door fridge counters, each measuring 1880 (w) x 712 (d) x 864mm (h) and offering a capacity of 456 litres. They are supplied with nine shelves
The complete True Refrigeration range is available through dealers across the UK and Ireland. For more information visit www.truemfg.com/uk or call True UK on +44 (0) 1709 888888.