Top Marks For V-Gen For Small Schools: Moffat’s Mobile Oven Answers Needs Of Proposed School Premises Regulations
British catering equipment manufacturer E & R Moffat says its V-Gen trolley is the answer to the problem of smaller schools with limited or no kitchen facilities who need to cook on site. The V-Gen is a mobile oven and a food servery unit in one. But what makes it especially useful for schools is that it can be used to both regen chilled meals, brought in from central production kitchens (in a ‘hub and spoke’ system), and to cook food from fresh. This means it can adapt to the changing needs of the school.
The proposed amendments to the school premises regulations on kitchen and dining facilities calls for all schools, wherever possible, to have their own kitchen where food can be cooked ‘from scratch’. However, they recognise that for some schools this simply isn’t possible – but it is still essential that pupils are provided with good quality, tasty school meals.
Cardiff-based foodservice specialist CKM has been working with schools in South Wales to tackle this problem. "The Moffat V-Gen ovens allow schools where space is limited to have their own cooking facilities, to move away from satellite dining," says managing director Mike Fay. "The ovens are perfect for both fresh cooking and for regen. The fact that they can run off a 13 amp supply is a very significant benefit to these schools.
"The V-Gen oven and serving top are also key components in a static compact cook and serve counter we have designed, which is proving very popular with the schools."
With a hub and spoke meals system it is generally agreed that chilling and then regenerating the food is the best option to preserve nutrition and quality, as opposed to transporting meals in hot boxes. The V-Gen is designed to regenerate food perfectly, using Moffat’s multi-fan technology, which is accurate, thorough, energy-efficient and up to 55% faster than standard elements.
If a school then decides to cook on site, the V-Gen can be used as a commercial oven, big enough to use fresh ingredients to cook a full school menu, from casseroles to baked potatoes. But it doesn’t need extra space, expensive connections or extraction units. It doesn’t even need a kitchen!
The V-Gen system comes in a choice of single- or twin-compartment models, and can be supplied with an ambient or refrigerated compartment alongside the oven. Each standard compartment is capable of holding up to eight gastronorm containers or a 40-plate warming rack.
As a food servery unit, the V-Gen is very versatile. A front trayslide, with space for cutlery/condiment container, conveniently folds away for compact storage during transport, and a stainless steel gantry features integral sneeze-guard and quartz heating lights. The top hot plates are inset with Thermo-Panels and fitted with push-pull handles.
The trolleys themselves are extremely tough, with stainless steel reinforced chassis, safety rounded corners, rubber bumpers and large-diameter braked castors. All compartments are finished inside with easy-clean mirrored stainless steel and fitted with stainless steel roll-in/out cassettes with slides to take grid shelves. Compartment doors open a full 270 degrees for easy loading, and are fitted with slam-lock handles.
The V-Gen can be supplied with a variety of optional extras to suit the school’s foodservice operation including HACCP-compliant 3D data loggers.
CKM delivers solutions for the commercial catering market, including restaurants, healthcare, schools, cafes and hotels. For more information visit www.ckmltd.co.uk or call 02920 492884.
E & R Moffat is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of quality foodservice equipment, designing and manufacturing in-house. Based in Bonnybridge, Scotland, the company manufactures standard and bespoke servery, regeneration and storage equipment with a full nationwide after-sales engineering team. E & R Moffat is accredited to ISO 9001:2000 and many of the products have gas approvals and are EMC tested. For more information on E & R Moffat visit the website on www.ermoffat.co.uk
Editors’ notes
For information on the Proposed Amendments to the School Premises Regulations on School Kitchen and Dining Facilities see: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/consultations/index.cfm?action=consultationDetails&consultationId=1626&external=no&menu=1