Feng Sushi uses Winterhalter to look after its handmade crockery and enhance green credentials
Feng Sushi, a chain of eight sushi restaurants across London with sustainability at the heart of its operation, won the 2013 Sustainable Restaurant Association 2013 Innovation Award. Silla Bjerrum, Feng Sushi’s founder, is passionate about the seasonality and sustainability of all the food they produce. And this commitment to sustainability encompasses the whole of Feng Sushi’s modus operandi, including the warewashing, where the preferred supplier is Winterhalter.
Danish by birth, Silla Bjerrum gained her love of good locally sourced food, and seafood in particular, during childhood holidays spent by the sea. The menu at Feng Sushi features light and healthy items as well as the seasonal choices. Feng Sushi is primarily a take-away establishment whose delivery area spans London, but there are also delightful restaurant facilities at its venues across the capital.
Feng Sushi is trying to ensure that every aspect of the operation has minimum environmental impact, from the way the fish are caught to the chemicals used in its dishwashers – which are Winterhalter UC machines.
“The reason we chose Winterhalter is because they have the greenest credentials of any warewasher manufacturer on the market,” says Silla Bjerrum. “Their 98% recyclability and range of biodegradable chemicals goes hand in hand with what we’re trying to do here at Feng Sushi.”
Since it began operating 13 years ago, Feng Sushi has had Winterhalter machines in its bigger outlets. The delicate, handmade Danish crockery Feng Sushi uses needs extra care when washing. The dishes are designed to show off the food, since quality and presentation are key to the way Feng Sushi is viewed by its customers
“In the smaller branches we used to wash the crockery by hand,” says Silla Bjerrum. “But it tended to get chipped when it was piled up in the sink. We’ve now rolled out Winterhalter warewashers across our group and find that the crockery lasts longer, looks better and is cleaner.”
Because of the nature of the menu Feng Sushi doesn’t have a lot of large equipment in the kitchens – mainly a dishwasher, rice cooker and fryer.
“The Winterhalter machines are very reliable,” says Silla Bjerrum. “They don’t give us any problems. Our crockery does not conform to standard sizes but the Winterhalter warewashers accommodate it easily.”
Feng Sushi’s matching of the traditional with the modern marries well with the Winterhalter’s drive to develop warewashers that are more efficient, more environment-friendly, more compact and easier to operate while at the same time getting everything sparkling clean.