Historic Yorke Arms in Nidderdale gets latest Winterhalter technology
The Yorke Arms is an historic 18th century coaching house and shooting lodge sited in Yorkshire’s beautiful Nidderdale near Harrogate. With stylish accommodation and a Michelin-starred restaurant led by top female chef Frances Atkins, the Yorke Arms is a popular destination with locals and tourists alike.
Presentation is paramount in the top class restaurant at The Yorke Arms. The glasses need to be sparkling and the cutlery and tableware looking fresh and new at all times. The Yorke Arms is renowned for its timeless, classical cooking from locally sourced ingredients. Its seasonal tasting menu, which offers the opportunity to sample the best seasonal flavours, is especially popular.
To keep up these standards, The Yorke Arms recently installed two Winterhalter machines in the kitchen – the new Winterhalter PT EnergyPlus passthrough dishwasher and a UC Series, undercounter glasswasher. These two take care of all the warewashing needs at The Yorke Arms and have actually improved kitchen practice at the same time.
“We are absolutely thrilled to get these new machines,” says Frances Atkins. “Especially the PT as it is so new. They’ve both really speeded up our operation and the cleanliness of the glassware and plates is second to none.”
The Yorke Arms sources its water from a borehole drilled deep into the bedrock, so is anxious to use as little water as possible for warewashing. The PT machine has been designed to be extremely miserly when it comes to water consumption.
It features a patented ‘full jet’ filtration system which, in conjunction with Winterhalter’s established Mediamat filter, constantly cleans the washwater to ensure it is clear of impurities. Meanwhile a clouding sensor in the wash chamber monitors the washwater, taking only as much replenishment water as is required. These sophisticated filtration and monitoring systems enhance the efficient discharge of food residues by up to 35%, compared to previous models, further minimising water consumption and delivering the best possible wash results.
Winterhalter recognises that water quality varies considerable from location to location. The PT is the first passthrough that can be truly customised to each site’s requirements and local conditions. The installation engineer can adjust the machine to take account of everything from the type of food on the menu to the hardness of the water and calibrate the machine accordingly.
“For us this means we can be sure of getting a top quality wash with no smeary plates,” says Frances Atkins. “It is one less thing to worry about. Staff can concentrate on producing our delicious cuisine and the outstanding customer service that keeps guests returning again and again.”
The energy saving technology is important to The Yorke Arms in light of ever-escalating energy prices. The PT is the market’s first passthrough with energy-saving heat exchange technology fitted as standard. The system at the Yorke Arms is the EnergyPlus, it extracts energy from the waste water and the exhaust air for two-step heating of the incoming cold water supply, reducing the operating costs by up to 20% per wash cycle.
It 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 will be a huge bonus for The Yorke Arms’ kitchen at peak times.
Frances Atkins is a Winterhalter fan: “One of the reasons I choose Winterhalter for the Yorke Arms is that I had a Winterhalter machine in my very first restaurant and it never let me down. So when it came to reliability I knew who to go to. The new machines have already proved their worth for us, the staff are happy with the speed of turnaround and the customers appreciate the spotless glasses and tableware.”