First MARENO M series suite in the UK lands at The Mount Somerset

Olly Jackson is the executive head chef of The Mount Somerset, a 17 bedroom hotel that is currently undergoing a major refurbishment focussed on sustainability and the environment. He is also the proud owner of the first MARENO M Series suite to be installed in the UK.

‘One of the things that attracted us to The Mount Somerset was the owner’s vision of the future,’ says Olly. ‘They have created an ambitious eco-project that includes running the entire hotel “off the grid”, using discrete solar panels, rather than the inefficient and environmentally unfriendly LPG system that was in place at the time that they bought the property. Their principles of sustainability are applied across all aspects of the hotel, including the kitchen, which will need to cater for up to 100 covers once the refurbishment is complete.

With this in mind, and when it came to redesigning the kitchen, we knew the cook suite was always going to be the piece of equipment that used the most power, so naturally it was the main focus of our attention with regards to keeping energy consumption to a minimum. At the same time, my experience of more than 25 years working in kitchens told me that even though we didn’t have a huge budget, we couldn’t afford to compromise on performance or reliability. And, given that we would be working with a smallish team, who would all need to be able to work around the stove at the same time, it had to be functional too. It was a tricky balancing act!

I’d worked with Steve at Grande Cuisine previously – and always found him both helpful and knowledgeable – so when I looked at the opportunity here, he was one of the first people I contacted. The timing turned out to be perfect because it coincided with the introduction of the brand new MARENO M Series. Once he showed me what it was capable of in terms of energy efficiency, the range of different options available, and the fact that all the appliances could be set under a one-piece top that was super easy to clean, it was obvious that the M Series was exactly what we needed.

I wanted all my chefs to be able to work around the stove at the same time, without getting in each other’s way, so it has four distinct sections. We’ve got separate areas for the starter and pastry chefs, so they are not bumping into each other, and each section has their own space, and their own tools, but I have designed the suite so that these areas are next to each other. This means that when the starter orders come through the two sections can work together, but once the starters are finished whoever is working there can help on another section, and vice versa. On the other side of the stove, we’ve got the sauce and the garnish section working together as well – they’ve also got their own space to work around the stove.

I’ve obviously brought some of my own experience to the design of the suite. In my opinion you don’t need a full on stove for the pastry section, but they have got their own fryer because I have worked in small kitchens where they only have one fryer, and nobody wants to be cooking doughnuts in a fryer that’s just been used by somebody else to fry fish! The pastry section also has its own radiant hobs because I felt that that this would be better for them than induction because they can control the heat more easily when working with caramel and ingredients like that – sometimes they need to bring the heat up slowly, and at other times more quickly.

The starter section also has its own fryer because, again, you don’t want to be frying a whole load of different things in the same fryer. It has its own planchas too because when I look at menus I have created in the past, and the dishes I have cooked, I might want to cook scallops, or I might want to do some pigeon, and with the four separate areas of the plancha, each of which can be set to a different temperature, I have maximum control of temperature whilst simultaneously cooking a number of different items. The starter section also has two induction hobs for boiling pots because I’m looking at multi use here. I want to change the menu pretty regularly so one day I might be cooking pasta on the induction units, and the next day scallops, for which you need the plancha. It’s about having the right equipment for whatever we happen to be cooking that day.

The sauce section mirrors the starter section. It has a plancha for when they need to seal meat, and an induction hob if they want to use a boiling pot. But also, if they’re prepping, they’ve got equipment that is quick and fast – if they’re reducing sauces for example, they need that speed. As well as being energy efficient the induction hobs allow us to boil down stocks, and reduce sauces, really quickly, so we’re not waiting around like you would with a normal gas hob.

Finally, there is a small garnish section which mirrors the pastry section. It has a small fryer and a couple of radiant units that they can use for boiling pots if they need to, but again, it’s about being multi use.

The suite does everything that I want it to, and more, from a cooking perspective, but there are other benefits too. The switch to electric from gas, and in particular induction, will undoubtedly save us money when it comes to day-to-day running costs, but it also means that we have a much cooler working environment than we would have with gas. This is really important because giving chefs the optimum environment in which to work can play a significant role when it comes to staff retention. The fact that it’s the first M Series suite to be installed in the UK, and looks amazing, is an added bonus!

Working with Steve, Grande Cuisine, and MARENO, has been a brilliant experience. Steve has a wealth of knowledge and is always on the end of the phone to help – even if I have a problem with equipment supplied by someone else, he will do his utmost to help. Grande Cuisine has played a massive part in getting us off to a great start in the quest to achieve our sustainability goals.