Phoenix from the flames – Athanor at The Olive Branch, Clipsham

It doesn’t always work this way, but sometimes when you do a really good job it gets spotted by a potential customer and it leads to more work. And so it was for multi-award winning kitchen house CNG Foodservice in the case of The Olive Branch at Clipsham.

‘In July 2021, between Covid lockdowns, Ben Jones, the owner of The Olive Branch, stayed at The Pipe and Glass, an establishment with which CNG has a longstanding working relationship, and got chatting with its chef/patron, James Mackenzie,’ says CNG managing director, Clive Groom. ‘The conversation inevitably moved onto the food, and from there to the kitchen that CNG had installed. Impressed with what he saw, Ben contacted us about his own project.’

‘After a meeting to discuss the brief, and view the current facilities, Ben shared the architect’s drawings for the existing area and a proposed kitchen extension, along with the kitchen design that another company had offered up back in 2017. We quickly observed that apart from that design not being ideal it would require a total closure of the kitchen for a protracted period. Furthermore, the proposed cook suite was neither chef friendly nor efficient and took up a great deal more space than was actually necessary in our opinion. In the end, a fire at the site changed the dynamic of the space available and meant that the extension didn’t happen, so at this point we came up with up a new design.’

Ben’s brief was to create a new kitchen powered by electricity, rather than gas, that was both ergonomically and operationally efficient and would meet the needs of the current menu as well as any future requirements. At an early stage he also made it clear that part of his requirement for the new kitchen was to improve the working environment for the team so as to both retain and attract talented chefs and front of house staff. With all of this in mind CNG recommended a bespoke Athanor cook suite designed around the space and the menu, with all the integral cooking surfaces positioned exactly where required. It would also provide a much cooler working environment, as well as being durable, robust, and very simple to clean at the end of service.

CNG created a design that opened up the existing space, removed the wall behind where the old cook suite had been and located a bespoke, peninsular Athanor cook suite there. At the heart of the design is optimisation of the available space, ensuring maximum workspace and storage, with clear lines of sight for the entire brigade and the front of house team.

‘Although modest in size the design of the Athanor suite means that it is perfect for both the space and the menu,’ says Clive. ‘At the heart of it are three Plaque Athanor planchas, one on either side of the suite, and one across the end, that allow the chefs to cook either directly, or indirectly (with pans). These are complemented by a radiant hob, spoon dipper well with tap, and a stainless steel shelf to support the salamander grill. Underneath, but integral to the suite is a three drawer, hot holding section.

‘We put Athanor forward for this project because it was entirely in keeping with both the brief and the need to uphold the reputation of The Olive Branch which has been built up over many years. It lies at the very heart of the local community and in order to ensure that its reputation is maintained you need to have equipment that reflects the quality of the menu in terms of its construction, efficiency, performance and, above all, reliability.’