Temporary Kitchens for Food Manufacturers

We have loads of experience of supplying food manufacturers with temporary kitchen space, so here’s a quick overview of how we can help the food manufacturing sector!

Top 5 reasons food manufacturers might need temporary kitchens

There are lots of different reasons why a food manufacturer might need to hire a temporary kitchen – here are the top five reasons I’ve come across from clients:

1.    Food manufacturers take on a new contract and need to increase their production facilities for a set amount of time.

2.    Additional facilities are required in order to undertake the production of a trial product.

3.    Temporary facilities are needed in order for production to continue during kitchen refurbishment works.

4.    The food manufacturer is operating at full capacity but requires more production space.

5.    An emergency has resulted in all or part of the kitchen being closed at short notice, so temporary facilities are required to continue production.

We offer a whole range of solutions to help food manufacturers in these situations. These include the provision of modular kitchen facilities to enable increased production capacity, additional cold and dry storage space, emergency temporary kitchens or catering equipment if main production facilities have been taken out of action, and product testing and development kitchens.

Key considerations for food manufacturers when considering temporary kitchens

Our temporary kitchens are an ideal solution as they’re so flexible. There are several factors that food manufacturers need to consider when thinking about hiring temporary facilities:

Size and Timescale
Depending on requirements, the size of kitchen needed can vary hugely. We can supply facilities of all sizes, from 15 sqm up to 1,500+ sqm. Different requirements also have different timescales. For example, a major refurbishment or new contract may require a long term solution, whereas increased capacity might just be required for a busy period or while a new product is being developed. We can offer short, medium and long term solutions tailored to each client’s individual needs.

Catering Equipment
Depending on the product being produced, specific items of catering equipment are likely to be needed. Utilising products from our range of over 9,000 items of catering equipment, we work with our clients to supply a temporary kitchen facility which is matched with the production requirements. Our commercial catering equipment is well-maintained and consists of trusted, professional brands which are suitable for heavy usage.

Compliance and the Kitchen Environment
It’s very important that any kitchen facilities used for food manufacturing comply fully with all relevant food hygiene and health and safety legislation. All our units and items of catering equipment undergo thorough, regular maintenance to ensure that they reach you in good working order, and are tested and certificated before every hire.

Our kitchen units are purpose-built and designed specifically for catering use, so they offer a high quality catering environment with all the latest health and safety features. Our kitchen features include extraction canopies with fully interlocked gas valves, emergency cut off points, automatic fire suppression, easy clean extraction systems, infestation proof construction, high lux lighting housed in steam proof fittings and automatic emergency lighting. In addition, the walls and ceilings are all wipe clean plastisteel, and our kitchens feature sealed non-slip vinyl flooring, to facilitate cleaning. We also offer environmental control with options for tempered air in areas of high air movement, and chilled environments where there are areas of high risk food assembly.

More Info?

For more information on our catering infrastructure solutions for food manufacturers, give me a call or visit the PKL website.

Dance of the Catering Equipment

We love National Poetry Day, but it always causes us quite some stress as nothing rhymes particularly well with “kitchens” or “catering equipment”. Undeterred, we have launched ourselves into this year’s poem with all the grace and finesse of a ballet-dancing bratt pan. Enjoy!

Dance of the Catering Equipment

The fridges are gliding on castors of grey,
Inspired by National Poetry Day.
They charmingly twirl into position,
A delightful addition to any chef’s kitchen.

Then enter the combis, all shiny and gleaming
Preparing for baking and blanching and steaming.
Gently they bow and point to Stage Right;
In shimmies a mixer – a glorious sight!

A griddle prances in, its castors a-spinning
But with a bold pirouette, the mixer is winning!
Just when we think the dance couldn’t get nicer,
Putting on its best moves, in dances a slicer!

Keen to join in, an emboldened boiling pan
Launches onto the stage with some kind of can-can.
It doesn’t go well – it’s not much of a looker
But its bacon is saved by a jiving pasta cooker.

On waltzes a dishwasher, its crockery smashing,
A servery too, with gastronorms crashing.
Somewhat more graceful, in slides a freezer,
Soon joined in a rumba with a potato peeler.

Then enters the star, sweet Bain Marie
And her partner Jack Stack, who soon takes the lead!
With a final foxtrot upon pointed toes,
They bring the performance to a triumphant close.

And so ends the dance, to rapturous applause,
The kitchen calms down and closes its doors.
What’s just taken place is somewhat unclear,
But this poem is done, and that’s it for this year.

If this poem has inspired you to hire any of our fabulous catering equipment, visit the catering equipment section of our website for more details of all of our items!

PKL Sponsor Trident Football Club

This season, PKL are proud sponsors of local football team AFC Trident. The team has been very successful over the past few seasons, winning back-to-back titles and the charity cup. The shiny new PKL-sponsored home kit was warmly welcomed by the team and has clearly worked its magic as they have won every game so far this season!

The new kit made its debut in the team's last pre-season friendly against Alkerton Rangers Reverves. Trident claimed a 4-2 victory, but the excitement over the new kit apparently eclipsed the excitement of the win!

AFC Trident at a glance...
Established: 1976
Home ground: Plock Court, Gloucester
Kit Colour: Purple, white and black
Nickname: Purple Army
League: Stroud District Football League Division 5


August/September Results

When the fixtures were announced, the opening three league games were against tough opponents who Trident had struggled against in the past, so it was important for the team to get off to a strong start.

First up, Trident took on Quedgeley Wanderers 3rds, where after a close first half the Purple Army went on to win 7-1 thanks to a hat trick from Chris Morris and further goals from new signings Liam Poole and Karl Robertson.

Next up, Trident made light work of Cashes Green Res, winning 11-0, including another great performance from Liam Poole who scored a hat trick.

Trident's next challenge came in the form of Rodborough Old Boys, who put up a tough fight, making it a close game. With five minutes left to play, Trident were awarded a penalty which was converted by Matt Hindley, with the game ending 3-1 to Trident.

This month's final league game was against Coaley Rovers Res. The magic PKL shirts continued to work a treat, and Trident won 9-0.

After a much-deserved week off, Trident's next opponents were Lechlade 87 in the first round of the Gloucestershire County Cup. Following a shaky start and an early goal from Lechlade 87, Trident fought back with goals from Daniel Whisby and top goal scorer Chris Morris. The second half saw a second goal for Chris Morris, as well as goals for Liam Poole and Karl Robertson securing a 5-2 win. This saw Trident safely into the second round of the cup, for only the second time in four seasons.

Season Summary

23.8.14 Stroud District Football League Division 5
Trident 7 vs 1 Quedgeley Wanderers 3rds

30.8.14 Stroud District Football League Division 5
Trident 11 vs 0 Cashes Green Res

6.9.14 Stroud District Football League Division 5
Trident 3 vs 1 Rodborough Old Boys

13.9.14 Stroud District Football League Division 5
Coaley Rovers Res 0 vs 9 Trident

27.9.14 Gloucestershire County Cup Round 1
Lechlade 87 2 vs 5 Trident

MPBA Membership

I'm delighted to announce that PKL is now a member of the Modular & Portable Building Association.

In its own words:

"For more than 75 years, the Modular & Portable Building Association has been the voice and leading authority on the manufacture and application of both temporary and permanent factory based construction technologies in the UK.

The heart of modular construction technology in the UK, the MPBA works closely with Government and other regulatory bodies to ensure that the interests of the Modular or Offsite Industry are the focus of its activities.

In addition to the main Council, the Technical, Health & Safety and Marketing committees are constantly working hard to promote all the benefits that the industry is capable of providing."

All members are thoroughly assessed before joining, and the MPBA has developed an enforceable code of ethics and practices.

As well as PKL being a member, I now also sit on the committee as a member of the main MPBA Council. I'm looking forward to attending the next committee meeting in November and working with the MPBA in the future.

PKL's Macmillan Coffee Morning 2014

Today we joined thousands of people across the country to take part in the World's Biggest Coffee Morning to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The PKL canteen was decked out with yards of bunting, and the tables were positively groaning under the weight of all the cake ready to sell.

Following last year's success, the standard of baked goods was particularly high as the more competitive members of staff battled to out-bake each other.

Top picks this year included some fabulous lemon drizzle cake, the most delicious sausage rolls we've ever eaten, posh cake pops, a magnificant array of chocolate brownies, and some rather fancy honey glazed flapjacks.

The feast has been available all day, so for some of our more hungry members of staff, it has constituted breakfast, elevenses, lunch and afternoon tea! We suspect our next fundraising event will need to be a charity slimathon...

We're really pleased that we've managed to beat last year's total, and have successfully raised £175 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

It's not too late to donate to this worthy cause, so donate online here.

Temporary Kitchens for Hotels

It’s been a busy time for hotel hires recently, so I thought it would be useful to write a blog post with some info about our temporary kitchen hire for hotels.

What and Why?
We hire out temporary kitchen facilities and commercial catering equipment for use during hotel kitchen refurbishments, kitchen emergencies, events and busy periods. Our units are available in a range of sizes and include production and preparation kitchens, walk-in coldrooms, dishwashing units, dry storage units, and dining facilities. You can select the exact items of catering equipment you need from our fleet of 9,000 items, and they come ready-installed in the kitchen units. Alternatively, we can hire individual items of catering equipment for use in your hotel’s own kitchen or in marquees during events.

Quality
Our kitchen units are purpose-built high quality commercial facilities, able to cope with heavy use at hotels. They fully comply with all current health and safety regulations and offer a number of features including a ventilation canopy, auto gas shut off, automatic fire suppression system, easy clean extraction system, infestation-proof construction, 500 lux lighting level, food-safe wipe-clean walls and plastisol steel wall lining, non-slip safety flooring, and insulated fire regulated wall panels, ceilings and floors. We supply top brand commercial catering equipment which is thoroughly cleaned and tested before going out on hire.



Delivery
Our kitchens arrive on the back of a lorry and are craned into position on your site. We’ve fitted our kitchens into all sorts of tricky locations at different hotels – our delivery team are experts! Delivery can be at any time to suit you, so we can work to avoid any particularly busy times or days of the week. Our installation team are quick and professional, so disruption on site is kept to a minimum while we’re linking units together and connecting them up to services.

Disruption to Guests
As well as delivering at a time to ensure minimum disruption to your hotel guests, we can also provide additional sound insulation and odour control units on any of our kitchens that will be located close to guest accommodation. This will minimise any kitchen noise or cooking smells released from the extraction systems.



Support
We know that hotel kitchens are often used all day every day. While on hire, all our kitchens and catering equipment are covered by our 24-hour technical support service. If you have any problems such as equipment breakdowns, at any time or on any day, all you need to do is call our technical support number and we’ll arrange for an engineer to come and help you asap. In emergencies, the engineer will be dispatched immediately, otherwise our standard response is within 24 hours (usually on the same day).

More Information
If you’d like more information or a quote for hiring temporary kitchen facilities for your hotel, please get in touch with myself or one of my colleagues and we’ll be happy to help.

Introducing the PKL Halfway House for Golf Clubs

Calling all golf clubs! Here’s an exclusive first look at our newest modular solution!

What is the Halfway House?
Our new Halfway House product is a modular servery facility designed for golf clubs. The latest addition to our popular Food Cubes range, it can be used to generate extra revenue from food sales and additional golf equipment, as well as providing toilet facilities for players.

The modular unit is constructed offsite, is delivered complete with catering equipment and arrives ready to use. It is designed to be located on the golf course to provide a range of hot and cold drinks and snacks to players during their round. The facility can also be used to sell lighter items of golf equipment such as balls, tees, waterproofs, umbrellas and gloves.

Customised Design
We custom design each facility, including catering equipment of your club’s choice. This means it can be designed to meet your exact requirements in terms of look, size, layout and use. The Halfway House is available in a number of sizes and a wide range of colours and finishes, including wood cladding, brick slip, vinyl wrap and a painted exterior. By choosing from this wide variety of options, the Halfway House can be designed to include your own branding, or finished to blend in with existing surroundings.



Flexible Procurement Options
The Halfway House is available to hire or buy. This means that you do not need a large amount of up-front capital to procure a unit. For the hire option, all service and maintenance of the building and the equipment inside is included within the monthly fee, providing a fixed monthly cost.

Key Benefits

• Generate additional profit for your golf club
• Maximise potential to sell refreshments and equipment
• Additional facilities make your course more attractive to golfers

Clubhouse Refurbishment?
We also supply temporary kitchens and dining facilities. If you’re planning to refurbish your clubhouse, we can supply temporary clubhouse facilities to ensure you remain fully operational throughout any planned works – just contact our hire team for a quote.