Two companies making an impact with fast growing restaurant chain
Since opening its first restaurant in the Norfolk village of Middleton back in 2011, Middleton’s Steakhouse has opened a further five across the country. One of the latest is in Leicester and is based in a stunning Grade 2 listed building, a former bank built in the Baroque style. With an open plan theatre style kitchen, executive chef Adam Mott knew they had to have equipment that was both extremely reliable and good looking.
Adam Mott was heavily involved with designing the kitchen and choosing the equipment. “Firstly, I wanted to make sure everything was tough enough to last in a really busy kitchen,” he says. “And being busy, we need the equipment to work well together, creating a seamless system that lets our chefs focus on cooking.”
Working closely with Nisbets, he chose products from Williams to handle the refrigeration and Falcon Foodservice Equipment for cooking in the new restaurant. The equipment from Williams includes Jade fridge and freezer cabinets, a selection of Aztra undercounter refrigerated cabinets, TW9 and TW15 Thermowell prep stations and a UBC20 Under Broiler counter. The Falcon equipment is from the Dominator Plus range and includes three twin-basket gas fryers, a G3101 six burner range and, cooking the steaks themselves, two G3625 Radiant Chargrills. Completing the cookline is a seven-shelf Falcon combination oven.
“We use the undercounter refrigerators to keep different meats and seafood seperately,” explains Adam. “We need them to be reliable, as they’re in use all the time.” Despite the impressive size of the new restaurant, space is at a premium in the kitchen, which made Williams’ comprehensive range of slimline products ideal.
The products chosen from the range include Aztra undercounter cabinets and Jade Slimline counters. The Aztra cabinets are conveniently fitted with a bank of drawers. This enables easy access to ingredients, without having to open the door fully and thereby blocking movement in the working area. Constructed with a stainless steel exterior and insulated with high density polyurethane insulation, they are more than capable of life in the toughest kitchen environments while keeping food in peak condition. Finally, Middleton’s also has two Thermowell units, stand-alone prep wells which can hold a selection of 1/3 GN pans, keeping ingredients hygienic, refrigerated and readily accessible.
“I’ve been very impressed with the build quality of the Williams products we’ve got,” says Adam. “You can tell straight away that it’s going to last a long time.”
One of the key considerations for a restaurant based around steak is the quality of the grill. “Choosing the right chargrill was a long process,” says Adam. “I was lucky enough to be able to visit Falcon’s factory. It was very impressive seeing the care that went into their construction, and seeing them in use in the development kitchen.”
The G3625 chargrill uses two burners to heat double-sided brander bars, giving a constant heat over the cooking area and with variable burner control to reduce energy consumption. Once food has been cooked it can be kept warm in the resting area, without becoming overcooked.
“The steaks come out beautifully,” says Adam. “The chargrills create very sharp lines on the meat, it looks visually appealing. They also cook quickly. In fact, we’re able to let the steaks continue to cook with the residual heat once they’re taken off the chargrill, without compromising taste or appearance.
“And this is all done on the lowest temperature setting, which just shows you how powerful they are!”
The equipment from Williams and Falcon was carefully chosen to work together, allowing chefs to prepare meals quickly and to a high standard in a small area. For example the two chargrills sit perfectly on top of the Under Broiler counter, creating a self-contained cooking station for steaks and keeping everything within easy reach of the chef.
Adam is definitely impressed. “Having experienced the build quality and the power of this equipment, we’ve decided to fit all future Middleton’s with them. It pays to invest in quality, not only do you get immediate results but it pays back in the long term!”
Falcon is the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of high-quality, commercial prime cooking equipment. Its extensive product portfolio includes gas and electric ranges, grills, fryers, chargrills, steamers, convection and combination ovens.
Williams Refrigeration supplies a wide selection of gastronorm cabinets and counters, prep stations, blast chillers/freezers, bottle coolers, bakery and modular coldrooms.
Together Williams and Falcon are both members of the ALI Group and design, manufacture and install a highly diverse product range, supplying hotels, hospitals, schools, restaurants, bars and kitchens around the world. Visit www.falconfoodservice.com and www.williams-refrigeration.co.uk for more information.