RACS Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, Catering Services Ltd, Case Study 20

20. COLLEGE BAKING TAKES THE BISCUIT SEASON'S RESTAURANT - BRIDGEND COLLEGE
Bridgend College provides an extensive range of education and training programmes. It is particularly active in designing and promoting new courses to meet the changing needs of industry, the community and individuals. Courses range from Basic Skills through to Degree and Higher Degree level. Total College enrolments exceed 13,000 of which over 600 are Higher Education students. The Catering School has an annual intake in excess of 200 students, ranging from school leavers through to adult returners. Offering courses in BTEC, NVQ and City & Guilds, the School has a wide-ranging portfolio of education covering all aspects of the Hospitality and Catering Industry. Seasons Restaurant, in a prime location on the main road into Bridgend, provides the external face of the Catering School. A venue for students and the public to eat and relax, but also a training facility to provide students with experience of catering to the wide world. Behind the restaurant, the kitchens allow service to the restaurant as well as providing facilities for training the students.				In providing a 'value for money' design and installation schedule, RACS were able to specify quality equipment together with a design that would accommodate both activities. The layout of the kitchen is such that the students’ benches face the lecturers’ demonstration bench and the bakery production equipment, thus allowing the lecturer full vision and control over the complete kitchen. As well as installing 4 electric hobs, one gas hob, mixers, grill and bakery oven, RACS custom built all of the stainless steel benches, together with a forced air ventilation system. The walls, ceiling and floor are all continuously sealed surfaces, making cleaning a simple operation.

The bakery kitchen was in need of upgrading, replacing elderly equipment and ensuring that preparation standards were in advance of modern Health & Safety requirements. With it's dual purpose of being a production bakery for Seasons as well as a training bakery for the students, considerable thought had to be devoted to the layout and the equipment requirements.				To overcome a lack of drainage in one area of the kitchen, RACS installed an electric waste water pump to enable waste water to be pumped to a suitable drain outside of the kitchen. An existing combi oven was resited, and the kitchen was completed with refrigerator, freezer and a range of preparation equipment and storage. To keep within the confines of a pre-determined budget, the College used it's own employees to install the electrics and carry out necessary building works. While being cost effective, this provided problems in the co-ordination of tasks to ensure that the tight timescales were realised. Although revisions had to be made to the designs, RACS completed the installation to time and budget, providing a quality, value for money, bakery kitchen for the College. Our bakery badly needed updating as some of the equipment had passed its useful life. RACS CAD facility impressed me, as the ability to change layouts helped immensely in the honing of the final design. Their installation and after sales service has allowed this bakery kitchen to be brought up to 21st Century standards. Doug Windsor Principal Bakery Lecturer

[ Home \| Refrigeration \| Air Conditioning \| Catering Equipment \| Services \| Case Studies \| Contact Us ] RACS LIMITED, UNIT 1, BENSON WAY, VALLEY WAY, SWANSEA ENTERPRISE ZONE, SWANSEA, SA6 8QP TEL 01792 795222 FAX 01792 775782