New Pub Kitchen Seminar Exposes the Need to Harness New Technology

The Chefs’ Forum is proud to present a seminar for all pub kitchens on Monday 20th September in partnership with RATIONAL.

The two-hour event, from 9:00am to 11:00am will focus on how new technology is enabling pubs to do more with less and at the same time having a close look at topics such as Natasha’s Law, healthier menus, waste reduction and future staffing issues.

This is the fourth in a series of sector specific seminars in association with The Chefs’ Forum to gain valuable market insight to fine-tune RATIONAL’s approach to servicing stakeholders, tailor-made to their individual requirements.

During the seminar we will be screening a number of specialised films with leading pub groups and individuals who explain how harnessing new technology has improved efficiency and workflow in their kitchens through the use of ConnectedCooking and iKitchens.

Tim Foster, co-founder of the Yummy Pub Co is looking forward to discussing what he calls “…the polar extremes” of the pub trade.

He said:

“I’m really looking forward to bringing my industry peers together to discuss the polar extremes of the pub trade. It will be fantastic to share the positive changes we have made in terms of staff welfare, reduced hours and rotational training and development throughout all our sites.

It is crucial that we look after the chefs we have, investing in them to ensure they are happy and want to stay, as well as ensuring they learn every aspect of running a pub kitchen.  We have invested in the best equipment money can buy and our RATIONAL cooking system was our first major purchase on launching our first site.  Now we have RATIONAL in all four sites and would never have anything else.”

ConnectedCooking is set to become an integral part of how pub groups can exploit technology and Ross Pike, Chef Director of Oakman Inns explained why he is keen to share his knowledge on the seminar:

“With the recent acquisition of the Seafood Pub Company we are well on track to reach our target of forty sites by the end of 2021,” he said. “We have now connected all our RATIONAL cooking systems throughout all sites, so our recipes can be created by any of our chefs in any of our kitchens at the touch of a button.

I was well-aware of RATIONAL before joining Oakman, but since I’ve been here, I’ve really discovered what the company’s cooking appliances are capable of in terms of market-leading technology and ConnectedCooking.”

Mike Down, owner of The Volunteer Inn in Devon, will be talking about how his new Rational system has revolutionised his kitchen in a completely new way:

“The cooking is shared between my wife Jacquie and Head Chef Gemma here at The Volunteer Inn.  We have a full iKitchen installed here and although a significant investment, it was one that we couldn’t have afforded not to make.  Our food trade has doubled, our staffing costs massively reduced as we can create our menu with only one chef in the kitchen at any one time.  We needed to put as much equipment as possible into a very small space and were able to improve every aspect of what we do here with RATIONAL iKitchen technology.”

The free-to-attend seminar is open to all pub chefs, owner operators, managers, kitchen planners and designers and will be particularly useful for future planning and for addressing the challenges and opportunities currently facing the sector as it recovers from being shut-down during the pandemic.

Hosted by The Chefs’ Forum’s Founder, Catherine Farinha and Director of Education, Neil Rippington the seminar will explore current topics affecting all elements of the pubs sector.

In particular the following topics will be discussed:

Catherine and Neil will be joined by a stellar panel made up of the following experts:

Delegates can register for FREE to attend the event.

Catherine Farinha said:

“We’re really excited for this seminar. We have been touring the country to see the new RATIONAL cooking system in action and hear what users are saying. It’s clear that technology can play a huge part in dealing with the current staffing crisis and enable chefs to be far more efficient.”

Any chefs wishing to register to attend the seminar should contact alexandra@redcherry.uk.com