Queen Victoria's childhood home now a hotel - equipped with bespoke Athanor kitchen

Previously a favoured childhood home of Queen Victoria, Ynyshir’s chequered past began in the 15th century, which the oldest parts of the building can be dated from.

Now a five-star luxury hotel and award winning restaurant, Ynyshir Hall is the AA Hotel of the Year in Wales for the last two years running, and its restaurant holds a Michelin Star.

With a cornucopia of high quality local ingredients, Ynyshir Hall’s menu showcases Welsh lamb, Welsh Wagyu beef and organic pork, with the kitchen gardens producing fruit, vegetables, herbs and salads for the restaurant, and with the foraging of wild foods providing an extra touch of something special.

Ynyshir Hall’s restaurant serves innovative and award winning dishes under the experienced eyes of Head chef, Gareth Ward, who was Sous Chef at the two Michelin Star, Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham, for three years prior to arriving at Ynyshir. Previously, Ward also worked at the one star Hambleton Hall Rutland and Seaham Hall, Durham.

Motivation for investment:

Ynyshir’s existing kitchen was approaching the end of its lifetime, with increasing inefficiencies and energy consumption.

Along with this, as it neared the end of its maintenance cycle and became increasingly cost prohibitive to repair and run, Ynyshir elected to invest in a new specially designed kitchen and suite tailored to the needs of the facility and its staff. The solution would be specified and provided by Grande Cuisine in conjunction with kitchen fit our specialists C&C Catering Equipment of Chester.

Challenges identified:

Ynyshir Hall is mainly a Victorian property and carries several idiosyncrasies and unique features that where challenging from a planning and design perspective. Varying floor heights, room shapes and using only the footprint of the previous kitchen meant that space considerations needed to be specially considered to maximise the efficiency and workflow of the new kitchen.

Solutions:

Grande Cuisine’s supplied solution was a unique hybrid of its three core brands, including components and equipment from its bespoke Athanor cook suites, modular CAPIC equipment and Adventys induction technology products. In addition, following guidance from C&C Catering Equipment the client accepted the proposal to extended the kitchen area, as well as the addition of a chef’s dining area, which was subsequently undertaken as part of the overall refurbishment.    

The primary suite was supplied with a one-piece top crafted from 3mm stainless steel chrome titanium alloy, which was guaranteed to last the lifetime of the product. Set within this one-piece top are two multi-zoned multi-point induction hobs with variable power controls. Each ranging from 50W to a maximum of 5000W (5kW).

A double Plaque Athanor provides the centrepiece, with two separate 4kW heating zones. The Plaque Athanor can be used both as a conventional heating surface - for pots and pans at preparation and mise-en-place or as a direct cooking surface during main service period.

Able to reach temperatures of 450 degrees Celsius, the Plaque Athanor is ideal for use with large pans for stock and preparation work, with the added benefit that the cooking plate radiates far less heat than a conventional style gas solid tops.

During service, when used as a direct cooking surface, the non-microporous solid steel cooking plate does not absorb oils, butters or flavours, meaning it is ideal for cooking meat, fish and vegetables without cross-contamination of flavours.

The Athanor equipment’s reliability and consistent heat management means it provides a quality solution, while also significantly reducing pan traffic, as there is less time and labour being spent on cleaning pans and returning them to the suite during service.

Supplied with a set of two removable cast iron searing plates, the Plaque Athanor cook plates can also be used to mark and char-grill produce, when required.

A wall mounted CAPIC quick therm hi-light salamander grill was also supplied, and is powered by three ceran radiant heating elements for rapid heating. Reaching 200 degrees Celsius in 20 seconds once activated, this rapid heating means the unit can be switched on as needed, as opposed to being left on constantly radiating heat into the kitchen environment. The salamander can also able to be used at lower settings as a holding or resting surface, or at full power for browning.

A final feature of the supplied solution is the three inset twin zone induction hobs manufactured by Adventys. With one located within the kitchen’s specialist pastry section, and the other two in the cold preparation and main service areas. The twin zone 6.4kW induction hobs are flush mounted with the surrounding with granite work tops, and are controlled by a remote touch control panel situated on the front fascia of the stainless steel fabrication within which they sit.

Benefits for the customer:

Grande Cuisine’s solution to Ynyshir Hall has more than enhanced its capabilities while also reducing its energy consumption and costs, along with reducing its long-term maintenance needs. The kitchen was overdue an upgrade, with the previous kitchen equipment increasingly proving costly and complicated to maintain and keep operating at full capability.

The new layout of the kitchen is a huge success and ensures better workflows in the busy areas of the kitchen The supplied units from Grande Cuisine have enabled the kitchen an unprecedented degree of flexibility, with the different components each offering quality, high performance cooking and versatility. Each unit is easy to clean, and therefore, easy to maintain.

For more information about Grande Cuisine’s range of products and services, please contact Grande Cuisine directly on 01908 745540, email info@grandecuisine.co.uk or visit the website www.grandecuisine.co.uk

Steve Hobbs, Managing Director
E-mail: steve@grandecuisine.co.uk
Tel: 01908 745540
www.grandecuisine.co.uk
@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 distributor for the following 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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