Michelin starred rural dining destination opts for Athanor

The Nut Tree Inn, a destination dining venue masquerading as a rural village pub, has been awarded a Michelin star for 7 straight years. Situated between the River Ray and Otmoor, in Oxfordshire, The Nut Tree is the public house for the village of Murcott.

Chef and owner, Mike North, grew up in the area and had long dreamed of owning the Nut Tree Inn, finally making it reality when he and his fiancée Imogen bought the venuein November 2006. Since purchasing, they’ve undertaken several major improvements to its front of house and bar area, while keeping its rural pub nature intact, with regulars and fine diners alike enjoying its hospitality.

Motivation for investment:

The original building, dates from the 16th century, and the idea of a kitchen refurbishment had been considered for several years prior by its new owners; the existing kitchen was small and cramped, with a low ceiling. This lack of space compounded with its dated gas equipment created a very uncomfortable cooking environment - and its energy usage proved very inefficient.

Challenges identified:

The increasing service costs and energy use, coupled with the uncomfortable work environment and lack of space, meant that a complete kitchen redesign was called for. The Nut Tree Inn elected to construct new kitchen walls around the old, before closing for 5 weeks to facilitate a smooth transition to their new, modern and much more spacious kitchen.

Grande Cuisine was approached by SALIX Stainless Steel to design and supply an island cook suite that would provide a hub to this vibrant and exciting kitchen.

Solutions:

Grande Cuisine recommended a bespoke Athanor cook suite that would be durable, efficient and versatile. It was, outfitted with electric components, to serve as the expanded kitchen’s powerhouse andfeatured a radiant single induction hob, 3 double plaque Athanor planchas and a single well, twin basket fryer.

The planchas can be used as direct cooking surfaces, or as holding/counter space during off-peak hours, while the radiant hob offers high performance heat without energy waste, offering controlled cooking temperatures through powerful induction technology.

The central island suite also includes a traditional cast iron roasting oven, a set of hot holding drawers and plenty of open ambient storage, to make the best use of the newly expanded space.

The oven’s extraction vent supports an over shelf, which features a salamander grill.

Benefits for the customer:

The supplied Athanor suite offers massive savings in energy costs and maintenance hours, while also boasting increased storage, power and improved bandwidth for kitchen staff at this acclaimed venue.

The workflow of the kitchen and the build design of the new island suite mean that the excess heat is guided away from the pantry division of the new kitchen, allowing for it to work at cooler temperatures.

Owner Mike North was very positive about the newly installed Athanor suite from day 1, praising both its use of space and capabilities, and being able to accommodate up to 6 chefs at once in high demand periods.

“The kitchen is far beyond what I expected. I had an idea of how it would look and work but it has surpassed my expectations... The kitchen looks amazing and the flexibility of the product and its components is beyond my expectations,” said North.

Steve Hobbs, Managing Director
E-mail: steve@grandecuisine.co.uk
Tel: 01908 745540
www.grandecuisine.co.uk
@Grande_Cuisine

About Grande Cuisine

Formed in 2013, Grand Cuisine builds upon director Steve Hobbs’ 20 years in the commercial catering industry. Steve previously built Signature FSE Ltd into one of the leading influencers in the marketplace.

Grande Cuisine is the exclusive UK distributors for specialist manufacturers

 - Adventys - Every day – plug and play, table-top induction hobs range;
- Athanor - High end – bespoke cooking suites for master and aspirational chefs, high end domestic customers;
- CAPIC – leading manufacturers of Heavy duty modular prime cooking equipment.

All supported by a national network of service engineers.

With over 50 years of combined experience the team behind Grande Cuisine can assist you with design and specification whilst harnessing the quality and environmental credentials of their products.

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