• Pasteurizer-Freezer - A Hot Kitchen Item?

A widely misunderstood and underutilized piece of equipment is the pasteurizer/freezer which is manufactured by leading manufacturers such as Carpigiani, Cattabriga, Autofrigor etc. Since the equipment has been predominantly used by pastry chefs to make fresh homemade ice creams and for cream cooking, it’s always thought of as a pastry equipment and shunned by hot kitchen chefs. The machine is equally excellent for pasteurizing and cooking jams, made in-house. Because it has a cook and quick chill facility, it can be used to cook and chill sauces and bases as well. It is therefore an excellent multi-purpose equipment which can go into the hot kitchens of not only hotels, but schools and institutions.

• What’s New on F&B

THE Kebab factory at the newly opened Radisson New Delhi is definitely pulling the crowds in. Specializing in all kinds of specialty kebabs, tandoor and Indian roti items, it has a 120 seat capacity and opens only for dinner. Waiters are dressed in factory outfits and are trained to be extremely hospitable. The menu is limited, either a meat or vegetarian option, in which a repertoire of dishes are consecutively prepared and served piping hot to diners from an elaborate show kitchen. There is a lot of action as waiters painstakingly carry their serving platters around the dining room meeting the palate of the customer. Food is excellent in terms of presentation, flavour and texture. The average spend is Rp600/- and the restaurant is only open for dinner, doing 220 - 250 covers at night.

• The Future Outlook On Hotel F&B

Today’s kitchens are moving away from the practices of yesterday. Gone are the days of 8 - 12 F&B outlets within a hotel setup. The quality and skill level of labour is just not there. Again the keen competition levels in the F&B market makes it difficult for an F&B outlet in a hotel to be successful unless the concept is timeless and the F&B management efforts are intensely focused in ensuring success. This is why hotels are moving towards lesser but better quality F&B outlets. 5 star hotels are even renting out excess spaces to reknown international restaurant chains because these chains bring in a concept that has been tested through and through, with greater consistency and success potential, propping up potential room sales (good F&B is known to increase room sales) within the hotel and at the same indirectly bringing in rental revenue to the hotel.

• New Product Preview - Monolithic Flooring

Kitchens and laundry operators have had nightmares in the past due to poor flooring. Frequent problems are chipped and cracked floors that become bacteria traps; as well as water finding its way to the base of coldrooms and seeping through the slab because of lack of water tightness in the flooring. A revolutionary solution for today’s kitchen floors is monolithic floor treatment. ARC Composites, manufactured in Malaysia by AW Chesterton , a US based company, has come up with an excellent solution via a complete concept in floor treatment, right through into coldrooms and with coved turn-ups against the walls. Installed cost is about RM20/- p.s.f. which is reasonable considering the future advantages of a completely maintenance free scenario.

• Clarification on Mezza-9

We had incorrectly reported in volume 001 of Creative Viewpoint that the newly opened Mezza-9 at the Grand Hyatt Singapore is an upmarket foodcourt. On the contrary, Mezza-9 provides an innovative and timeless concept offering nine ethnic cuisines at one unique location. Each cuisine is completely authentic rather than a modern fusion of different entities, utilizing only the freshest hand picked ingredients. The atmosphere is chic, contemporary yet warm. The show kitchens and elaborate counter displays of food have been excellently designed and created to provide the diner an overall ‘total sensory experience’. A unique feature of Mezza-9 is that diners can choose to sit in any one area e.g. Chinese kitchen and still order items from other stations. Each show kitchen/counter is an interest point in itself with elaborate food displays and chef activity. In addition to the 9 show kitchen elements, the mezza-9 also features a Martini bar, private dining rooms, walk-in wine cellars and a cigar room. ………… sincerest apologies to Hyatt

• Current Projects

Creative Kitchen Planners International (CKP) has been engaged to work on the kitchen designs for the following hotel projects;

• Hyatt Regency Calcutta (Foodservice & Laundry Design)
• Hyatt Regency Bombay (Foodservice & Laundry Design)
• Western Digital Industrial Kitchen - 5000 meals/day (Operations and Development Planning)