Scrapping BSF schemes places many schools in quandary

The news that 719 planned Building Schools for the Future (BSF) schemes are to be scrapped puts many schools in something of a quandary when it comes to maintaining catering standards, says PKL, the UK’s leading supplier of temporary kitchens and catering equipment for hire.

“Many of these projects would have included essential upgrades to kitchens, so schools will now have to look for alternatives,” notes PKL’s Lee Vines. “And with other capital budgets also being squeezed there is a very strong case for considering capital-free alternatives such as long-term hire of equipment or entire kitchens. Using the contract hire option to procure new kitchen buildings or to replace or upgrade a current kitchen estate provides a viable alternative to capital purchase,” he adds.

PKL offers a wide choice of hire options, ranging from the ability to specify a complete kitchen equipment estate with inclusive service and maintenance, to permanent modular kitchen buildings that can be designed and configured to end user choice. The company will also work with schools to evaluate their needs, identify the best solution and explore the options that are open to them.

More information regarding the contract hire of catering equipment or permanent modular buildings can be found by clicking on the links below:

Contract hire
www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/kitchenfm.asp

Permanent modular kitchen hire
www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/kitchen-pods.asp

If you would like to discuss any hire or rental options with PKL, you can do so by either by phoning 0845 840 42 42 or emailing postbox@pkl.co.uk

Breaking through the budgetary restrictions

As capital budgets are squeezed ever harder there are strong signs that many organisations are turning to outsourced and contract hire solutions that can be met from revenue budgets. So says PKL, the UK’s leading supplier of temporary kitchens and catering equipment for hire.

“There are many organisations, particularly in the public sector, where there is a desperate need to upgrade catering equipment or kitchen buildings but capital funds simply aren’t available,” notes PKL’s Lee Vines. “The long term hire of catering equipment, or even an entire new kitchen building, is a real capital-free alternative because the cost is met through a monthly fee. And the service provider assumes the financial risk relating to the equipment,” he adds.

PKL offers a wide choice of hire options, ranging from the ability to specify a complete kitchen equipment estate with inclusive service and maintenance, to permanent modular kitchen buildings that can be designed and configured to end user choice.

Using the contract hire option to procure new kitchen buildings or to replace or upgrade a current kitchen estate provides a viable alternative to capital purchase and is particularly relevant during the current squeeze on funding. In addition, outsourcing all service and maintenance means that there will be no additional costs once a kitchen is in place.

“It seems clear that we will see even tighter restrictions placed on capital budgets over the next few years but many organisations can’t wait that long to upgrade their kitchens,” Lee Vines adds. “We are happy to work with any of these bodies to evaluate their needs, identify the best solution and explore the options that are open to them,” he concludes.

More information regarding the contract hire of catering equipment or permanent modular buildings can be found by clicking on the links below:

Contract hire

www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/kitchenfm.asp

Permanent modular kitchen hire

www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/kitchen-pods.asp

If you would like to discuss any hire or rental options with PKL, you can do so by either by phoning 0845 840 42 42 or emailing postbox@pkl.co.uk

PKL ensures continuity of food supply for Bedford nursing home

When the Airedale Nursing Home in Bedford embarked on a major refurbishment and extension project it was keen to minimise the disruption and inconvenience to its residents.

It was therefore decided to hire a portable, temporary kitchen from PKL to ensure that catering standards could be maintained throughout the duration of the construction work.

"I don’t know how we would have managed without the temporary kitchen and the service from PKL was excellent," commented the Home’s Dr Kamyar. "They understood our priorities and responded immediately whenever we required anything," he added.

The kitchen, a 30 foot PKL Mixed Double, was located in the car park and linked to the building by the PKL installation team to provide direct access to the main building.

For more information, please visit the link below:

http://www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/care-home-kitchen-refurbishment.asp

Kitchens and Catering Equipment for Marquees

PKL provide a wide range of temporary kitchens and catering equipment for use in marquee kitchens. Our range of catering equipment for hire can be used to create preparation, production and regeneration facilities, while we also supply a wide range of serving equipment.

Catering Equipment for Marquees

Our vast range of catering equipment for hire is well suited for use within a marquee and we can provide anything from preparation and regeneration kitchens to full scale production facilities.

Temporary Kitchens for Marquees

An alternative to housing catering equipment inside a marquee is to hire one of our temporary kitchens, which are available in a number of different sizes.

For more information regarding our kitchens and catering equipment for marquees please visit the link below:

www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/marquee-kitchens.asp

Kitchen contingency plans are a must

PKL’s free Contingency Planning Guide provides an overview of the importance of kitchen contingency planning and helps users to produce their own personalised plan.

Contingency planning is vital for any catering operation. A contingency plan helps to minimise the adverse effects of sudden closure or disruption, so that in the event of an emergency, appropriate plans can be implemented quickly and efficiently to restore service as soon as possible. In some sectors, a kitchen contingency plan is a requirement, to ensure that foodservice operation is not interrupted, while a contingency plan may also be put in place to help manage seasonal peaks in food production with maximum efficiency.

PKL’s Contingency Planning Guide builds on the company’s 20+ years experience of delivering emergency kitchens and catering equipment at short notice. It provides a contingency planning checklist, outlining key considerations and highlights factors that are often unanticipated. For example, if you need an emergency kitchen, will it be necessary to close roads or lift it over other buildings? Or do you know what items of equipment you would need to maintain service to customers?

PKL’s emergency response service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to supply temporary catering facilities to clients that have suffered unforeseen emergencies such as fire, floods or equipment breakdown. Solutions range from single items of catering equipment to complete kitchens and restaurant facilities, which are usually up and running within a few hours of receiving the first emergency call (depending on the size of facility required).

In addition to the free Contingency Planning Guide, PKL can also provide bespoke contingency plans, tailored to each client’s exact requirements and business priorities.

To order a free copy of the Contingency Planning Guide, click here

For more information regarding PKL's contingency planning services, click below.

www.pkl.co.uk/foodservices/contingencyplan.asp

LACA / PKL School Kitchens Design Forum – London South Bank Centre

The latest LACA/PKL School Kitchen Design forum, held in London in February, addressed key issues relating to provision of school meals and associated facilities. Sponsored by PKL and the Local Authority Caterers Association, the event was attended by around 50 delegates representing local authorities, consultants and other stakeholders.

LACA Chair Beverly Baker opened the proceedings with a focus on the importance of school meals and associated facilities – in the context of the changing educational environment and the higher profile of nutrition amongst young people.

Continuing this theme, Liz Randall from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) explored the proposed amendments to regulations governing dining space and nutritional standards in school premises. It was clear from this presentation that improved facilities for both the preparation and consumption of food will play an even more important role in the future.

Factors influencing the take-up of school meals was the theme of a presentation by Linda Smith of the School Food Trust, who presented the findings of the School Lunch & Learning Behaviour Study. This study showed quite clearly that improving the dining room environment could play a pivotal role in increasing the acceptability of school meals to pupils.

The focus of the day then switched to the design and delivery of school kitchens. Robert Danks of Food Chain Solutions outlined a recent case study with Northamptonshire County Council, rolling out their “Hot Meal” plan in schools. Paul Saer of Buying Solutions followed, providing an overview of the Buying Solutions agency and John Robinson from PKL finished the first session with a presentation on PKL Group’s school kitchen solutions, including a number of case study examples.

After a lively question and answer session, delegates were then asked to work in groups to produce brief presentations for fellow delegates, covering their own successes and difficult situations in relation to planning kitchens and learning from operational use

Successes included training, marketing school meals and the use of regeneration kitchens. Areas of difficulty included the BB99 regulations, failure of architects, planners and contractors to listen to the people who will be running the facilities and a lack of understanding by head teachers. Funding for improving facilities was also perceived as a barrier to taking plans forward.

Following this interactive session the forum concluded with a presentation from Vic Laws of AVL Consulting, presenting the findings of a recent study into energy efficiency in school kitchens.

More information:

www.pkl.co.uk
www.schoolkitchens.com

PKL launches new website

The new PKL Group website (http://www.pkl.co.uk/), launched on 26th April 2010, provides visitors with fast access to information on the company’s key areas of expertise – including portable kitchens, long or short term equipment hire, system kitchens, event catering equipment, and rapid response kitchens.

For enhanced ease of use, each of these areas is also further sub-divided to enable visitors to quickly drill down to the specific information they require. By making use of the extensive cross-referencing users can also jump to related services such as site surveys, kitchen design, project management, delivery and installation.

Additional features on the site include notifications of special offers, useful tips for contingency planning and access to service and operating manuals for a wide range of catering equipment.

PKL also operates a ‘micro website’ dedicated to school kitchen and catering solutions at http://www.schoolkitchens.com/

Event Catering Equipment at London Fashion Week

Event catering allows no second chances. Our experience in event catering has allowed us to develop innovations targeted to this market such as mobile canopies, which were used to create the kitchen at London Fashion week.

A marquee structure was erected to form the dining and kitchen areas. Within 1 day PKL installed mobile extraction canopies and catering equipment into the space creating a commercial kitchen facility.

The mobile canopies have all the health and safety features of fitted extraction and arrive pre-fitted with equipment for immediate use. Our experience providing facilities for event catering has allowed us to adapt our service by offering event babysitting services by a specialist PKL event catering engineer.

Contract Catering Equipment Hire at Westonbirt Arboretum

Westonbirt Arboretum chose contract catering equipment hire from PKL in order to reduce their capital costs after refurbishing their visitor centre and building a new restaurant.

PKL planned, designed and installed all the catering equipment hired by Westonbirt after working closely with their catering team to understand their exact requirements.

Commercial Catering equipment hire allows the client to exchange or upgrade their equipment at any point throughout their contract, allowing them to keep up to date with trends and health and safety requirements.

PKL provide full technical support on all catering equipment hires giving Westonbirt complete peace of mind.

"We received top quality branded equipment on a small budget from an experienced company." Craig Doyle Head Chef, Westonbirt Arboretum.