Well impressed by British manufacturing excellence: Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort introduces European-made catering equipment for the first time
The Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort, St Croix, in the US Virgin Islands (USVI), is a luxury resort in a paradise setting. Guests expect the best and to make sure they get it the hotel recently refurbished the kitchen of its Saman restaurant, which offers a hybrid Italian/Indian à la carte menu. Serving up to 120 covers, it has an open air dining terrace, featuring ocean views, as well as indoor seating.
This being the USVI, European catering equipment is virtually unheard of, yet the hotel chose Falcon and Williams for its new kitchen. Carlos Philip is director of Innovation St Lucia, the company responsible for the design, supply and installation of the project. “The head chef at the Saman had worked in Europe, so he was familiar with this type of equipment,” he says. “When I showed him the Falcon F900 range and the Williams refrigeration products he was very keen – and trusted my recommendation as I was a former executive chef!”
Since the hotel had no other European catering equipment, the management were initially reluctant to make the change, “But now they’ve seen it in operation they’re very happy with everything,” says Carlos.
The Falcon F900 cookline includes boiling tops, a pasta cooker, griddle, fryers, a rise and fall grill and two chargrills. “The kitchen staff especially like the chargrills, as they are very efficient and so easy to strip down and clean,” says Carlos. “We have the F900 four burner range with 15″ cooking area per burner, which is an added advantage and a major selling point compared to US models. I also like the pilot light protection fitting, which keeps the pilot from any damage.”
F900 appliances are all 900mm deep and have a patent-pending linking system, the DLS, which joins separate units together almost seamlessly. This gives the looks and hygiene benefits of a single top, with the flexibility and lower cost of a modular cookline.
The Williams equipment at the Resort includes a wide variety of counter fridges and freezers, from both the Jade and Aztra lines, as well as speciality food prep equipment such as an Onyx food prep station. Several of the counters are fitted with drawers rather than doors, giving more convenient access to ingredients while saving energy. There are also several of Williams’ Thermowell models, which are countertop self-contained refrigerated well units for storing fresh, chilled ingredients, keeping them safe while giving easy access to chefs preparing dishes such as salads and pizzas.
The Resort also installed two Williams under broiler counters (UBC). These feature four drawers each and are designed to allow cooking appliances to be sited on top of them. They accommodate the Falcon chargrill and griddle respectively. “The UBCs and F900 appliances look great and the setup works really well,” says Carlos.
“The management and staff are using European products for the first time, and are loving this kitchen, especially the quality of Falcon and Williams units.”
Falcon F900 equipment at the Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort
2 x G9490 Countertop Chargrill
1 x G9781 100l Boiling Pan
1 x E9241 Pasta Cooker
1 x G9081 Single Bullseye Boiling Top
1 x G9581 Countertop Smooth Griddle
2 x G3865 Twin Pan, Twin Basket Fryer
1 x E600 Rise & Fall Grill
1 x G9042 Two-Burner Top (on mobile stand)
Williams refrigeration equipment at the Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort
1 x H10CT(J) Aztra two-door gastronorm refrigerated counter
2 x UBC4(J) Four-drawer Under Broiler Counter
3 x HO2U(J)XDD Opal two-door gastronorm refrigerated counter:
1 x TW9 Thermowell self-contained refrigerated well, 3 x 1/3GN pans
2 x TW15 Thermowell self-contained refrigerated well, 7 x 1/3 GN pans
3 x L5UC(J) Aztra single-door undercounter freezer
1 x HO3U(J)XDDD Opal three-door gastronorm refrigerated counter
1 x CPC3(J) Onyx three-door cold food preparation counter
For more information on the Renaissance Carambola Beach Resort visit www.marriott.com
For more information on Innovation St Lucia visit www.innovationstlucia.net
For more information on Falcon visit www.falconfoodservice.com
For more information on Williams visit www.williams-refrigeration.co.uk