Athanor at The Park – Jeremy King restaurants
Having recently supplied new MARENO cooking equipment for two kitchens at Arlington, Grande Cuisine was invited to advise on the provision of a new cook suite at another Jeremy King Restaurants project at The Park.
“The goal was to design and install a high-performance cook suite that would support the ambitious menu aspirations of the kitchen, maximise the number of cooking zones within a limited space, and meet our stringent requirements for aesthetics, functionality, and sustainability,” says the project’s consultant Alex Pitchford who, along with Operational Chef Consultant, Marc Benzimra, worked with Grande Cuisine on the design of the new suite. “The collaboration between the kitchen team and Grande Cuisine has resulted in an ergonomic, energy-efficient, and future-proof Athanor cook suite that delivers with regards to both our operational needs and our design expectations.”
The brief for the cook suite contained several key requirements. Firstly, it needed to align with the culinary ambitions of the restaurant by offering both direct and indirect cooking. Secondly, with limited space available, the design needed to optimise the number of cooking zones whilst still allowing for efficient storage and prep areas. Lastly, the suite needed to be robust, easy to clean, low maintenance, and have a long lifespan. And all of this needed to be achieved within the constraints of the existing mechanical and electrical services.
“Despite the inevitable constraints of a basement kitchen we have managed to pack an awful lot into the 3m long wall suite, including two plaque Athanors for both direct and indirect cooking, a GN1/1 pasta cooker, an electric oven, and two twin induction hobs.,” says Pitchford. “Above the suite is a wall shelf which as well as being used for storage, also features a tap for cleaning down after service. Underneath, there is an open cupboard and a technical door for servicing and maintenance. And the whole suite is mounted on a stainless steel plinth to ensure that it is not only easy to clean around, but also sits at the perfect height for the chefs working on it.
“The decision to select Athanor for the cook suite was based upon our wholly positive experiences with the brand over a number of years in relation to build quality, reliability, and ease of cleaning. And, although we were less familiar with the MARENO brand, the decision to choose one of their bratt pans was based on its size, ease of use and, most importantly, the recommendation of Grande Cuisine. We trust them implicitly not only when it comes to selecting the right equipment in the first place but also when it comes to after sales service and support.”
The Athanor cook suite is in keeping with the sustainability goals of the kitchen which, barring one solid fuel unit, contains only electrically powered equipment, and also features a thermostatically controlled environment, auto-controlled lighting, and waste recycling systems for food, oil, glass, and cardboard. The new kitchen can comfortably support additional components for sous vide cooking, hot holding, as well as increased capacity for events and private dining.
The overall kitchen layout was designed to optimise kitchen operations with the cold larder, hot kitchen, and front pass strategically placed to co-ordinate food orders efficiently, whilst a dedicated space for pastry ensures efficient production whilst avoiding cross-over with other kitchen functions. Floor, wall, ceiling, and lighting finishes were selected to create a safe, cool, and hygienic work environment.
