Cail Bruich – ‘To Eat Well’
Glasgow-based commercial kitchen house, RH Morton, has an association with Michelin starred restaurant Cail Bruich that goes back nearly 20 years, so when co-founders and owners Chris and Paul Charalambous and head chef Lorna McNee were looking to refurbish the main kitchen, they naturally turned to a team that they knew could be trusted.
RH Morton’s Sales Director, Mark Rodden, picks up the story. “Although the food is obviously exceptional, we all know that in the current marketplace eating out has become all about the total experience, not just the food, and Lorna and her team felt that this was being compromised slightly by the fact that the existing layout, with the main cook suite up against the back wall, meant that customers were not able to enjoy the theatre of seeing their food being prepared and cooked. So, when the need to replace the existing suite arose, the main objective was to go for an island cook suite that would make for a much more immersive customer experience, whilst also making it easier for the chefs to communicate with each other over the stove – Athanor was chosen.’
Lorna, who had worked on an Athanor suite in her previous position at the two starred Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles, was adamant that she wanted one at Cail Bruich. ‘I loved cooking on the one at Gleneagles for so many reasons – powerful radiants that heat up quickly, the fact that it made working with multiple pans a cinch because you knew exactly where your hotspots were on the plaque Athanor. Having the opportunity to design my own suite, with everything just where I wanted it, down to the smallest detail, was a bit of a dream. With loads of advice and inspiration from Michael and Steve at Grande Cuisine (Athanor’s exclusive UK partner) along the way, it’s been an awesome experience and I now have a suite that enhances the customer experience AND enables the brigade to communicate more effectively. Being able to get rid of the inefficient, hard to clean gas suite, and replace it with an (electric) induction suite that looks just like new after you clean it is another big plus, as is the cooler kitchen environment. I have also seen at first hand the care that goes into making each suite and so I know I have spent my money wisely.’
The Athanor suite – which features a single zone radiant hob, double plaque Athanor, a la carte plaque Athanor, an oven, and two pan storage cupboards under – is the centrepiece of the kitchen with other equipment such as a salamander grill, combi ovens and garnish fryer on the periphery. All of the equipment sits under a purpose built ventilated ceiling so the end result is aesthetically stunning.
As well as designing the layout, in consultation with Lorna and Grande Cuisine, RH Morton also designed the bar, in conjunction with Surface ID, manufactured the perimeter kitchen tabling, and created the “Vibro” finish to match the Athanor suite.