The eagerly awaited opening of the five-star St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London in 2011, hit the headlines for all the right reasons.
Costing around £200m to develop, the property was re-launched 138 years to the day it originally opened as the Midland Grand Hotel.
Restaurant facilities include the Gilbert Scott Bar and Restaurant, operated by celebrity chef Marcus Wareing.
Hotel facilities offer the Booking Office Bar & Restaurant, with an all-day menu and open for breakfast, lunch and dinner; the Booking Office – Platform offers al fresco dining overlooking the Eurostar platforms and the fine statues created for the re-opening of King’s Cross station.
In charge of catering at the hotel is Raj Chakraborty – Executive Chef. He called in Meiko prior to carrying out an upgrade to one of the hotel’s kitchens; the problem was the kitchen had very limited ventilation.
“We wanted to increase the capacity of the dishwash area,” explains Chakraborty. “What we had then was a hood type machine, but there was no way that could cope with the increasing covers; we needed something that could do 100 racks in say 20 minutes.
“The Marriott group worldwide also has a thermo-label testing requirement, designed to ensure that washed ware is properly sanitised. To achieve this standard contact surface temperature on the ware being washed to reach at least 71°C, so we needed a machine that would retain the heat and, more importantly, not produce excess heat within the wash-up area
“When the kitchen was first installed, it was provided only with light duty kit and the hood machine. But the hotel is increasingly busy, serving up to 2,500 covers per day including the restaurants, banqueting and conferencing. We have some 74 staff including chefs, porters and KPs.
“I had heard about Meiko when I visited the Food & Drink Expo exhibition, saw their machine and was convinced.”
Installed was a new generation Meiko M-iQ rack transport dishwasher
M-iQ features an advanced, fully integrated airflow system that dramatically reduces the amount of air exhausted by the machine. Depending on the configuration and site conditions, exhaust air volume reduction can be as high as 90%!
M-iQ also features the next generation of Meiko’s award winning Waste Air Heat Recovery System, utilising the machine’s exhaust heat as a source of free energy to preheat the incoming final rinse water. This also permits high temperature sanitization using a cold water supply.
“Since it has been installed, there has been one problem but that was fixed the next morning,” says Chakraborty. “The reverse osmosis system installed also helps to cut energy; this is a really amazing bit of kit. If someone needs a volume dishwasher then this machine is the one to go for.”
Meiko UK Limited, 393 Edinburgh Avenue, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4UF
Email: MeikoUK@meiko-uk.co.uk
Tel. +44 1753 215120
Website: www.meiko-uk.co.uk
H&C News recently met with Meiko’s Nick Falco to get a better understanding of the business and the full interview can be seen here