Equipment brands I specify
Worth saying up front: I spent ten years with Rational as a regional sales manager and development chef. Rational is on this page, and so are three manufacturers who have nothing to do with them, because no single maker covers every job or every budget.
So this is not a list of partners. It is a list of the equipment I keep specifying, and the reasoning behind it. Where a cheaper machine does the job, I will say so, and sometimes that cheaper machine is on this page too.
Rational
Combi ovens and multifunctional cooking.
The iCombi Pro is the machine I specify most often, and in most kitchens it is the single biggest equipment decision you will make. It roasts, steams, bakes, holds and regenerates on one footprint, which is what earns it the money in a kitchen that is short of space and short of hands.
The iVario Pro does the work of a bratt pan, a boiling pan and a run of burners. It comes into its own in production kitchens, and anywhere you are batch cooking sauces, braises and stock.
I will also tell you when a Rational is the wrong answer. If you are plating a fixed menu at forty covers and you have the section space, a convection oven and a decent stove will cost a fraction of it and do the job.
Foster Refrigeration
Commercial refrigeration and blast chilling.
Refrigeration is the kit that fails at the worst possible moment, usually on the hottest weekend of the year. Foster is what I specify where a cabinet has to hold temperature right through service with the door opening every couple of minutes.
Blast chilling is the other reason. If you are cooking ahead, and most kitchens should be cooking further ahead than they do, getting food down through the danger zone quickly is not optional. It is what makes batch production safe, and it is the first thing your environmental health officer will ask to see records of.
Winterhalter
Warewashing, and the water that goes into it.
Most glassware problems in a bar are water problems, not machine problems. In a hard water area, cloudy glasses are not fixed with more rinse aid, and they are certainly not fixed with a member of staff and a polishing cloth. The water treatment is the reason I specify Winterhalter, more than the machine on its own.
Work out what you pay someone to polish glass every night for a year, then put it next to the cost of treating the water once.
Atosa
Value refrigeration and cooking equipment.
This is what I specify when the budget is real and the specification does not need to be heroic. A prep fridge sitting in a cool back corner, opened a handful of times a service, does not need to cost what a Foster costs.
Knowing which jobs need the premium cabinet and which genuinely do not is where most of the money gets saved. That judgement is what you are paying me for, not the badge on the door.
Get in touch
If you are about to spend serious money on kitchen equipment and you want a second opinion that is not attached to a sales target, get in touch for a free initial consultation.