Tuesday 25 September 2007

Container Kitchen Systems at Middle Temple

PKL's experience of using container kitchen systems allowed Middle Temple to continue catering during a refurbishment. The location of Middle Temple Great Hall, the age of the building and surrounding buildings meant PKL had to overcome a number of site restrictions including weight sensitive lanes and restricted space.

The complexity of the project meant months of site assessments and design drafts to allow for a workable facility in this location. The only way to construct a facility using mobile kitchens to meet all the catering needs and site requirements was to build upwards.

It was the first project of this type for PKL and the final design comprised a 4-level, 8 unit stacked system using ISO container kitchen systems.

A link into the service areas of the Great Hall was incorporated and deliveries to each level of the facility were achieved by means of a hoist on one side of the gantry. A staircase was also built alongside the units to provide access to other levels.

The Great Hall stands amongst many other buildings in a small lane, PKL devised a carbon filtration extraction system that ensured any escaping grease or fumes would be caught preserving the buildings and immediate environment.

"No other company could have designed and installed this facility and maintained such professionalism throughout every stage of a project like this. PKL are a pleasure to work with."

Catering Manager, Middle Temple

Tuesday 18 September 2007

Event Catering at London Fashion Week.

Event catering allows no second chances. PKL’s experience in event catering has allowed them to develop innovations targeted to this market such as mobile canopies, which were used to create the 220m² 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.

PKL’s experience providing facilities for event catering has allowed them to adapt the service by offering event babysitting services by a specialist PKL event catering engineer.

"What you get is an easy to clean, modern kitchen that meets the demands of any EHO or fire authority inspection, whilst being a pleasant environment to work in. The technical support they provide whilst you are 'in the field' means you are never on your own - if something should go wrong help is just a phone call away."

Andy Kress Operations Manager, Caprice Events

Wednesday 12 September 2007

World Class Catering

The 15th Asian Games were held in Doha, Qatar from 1st -15th December 2006 and was classed as the world's second largest sporting event. PKL Group had a contract from the early stages to supply, install and maintain the catering equipment at two key sites at the games. These were the Athletes Village Dining Facility and The Main Press Centre.

The start of the design phase began in November 2005 with the design for the Athletes Village being accepted by mid January 2006. PKL sent a team of Engineers and Project Managers to Doha and the first works were undertaken on the 3rd April 2006, when the first water pipes were laid under the Athletes Village Dining and Kitchen areas.

The Athletes Dining Facility fed 10,000 athletes and officials, plus 6,000 staff 24 hours a day and produced up to 60,000 meals per day. Seating was provided for 4,800 diners along with 300 linear metres of servery counters. Overall, the facility housed 800sqm of refrigeration (the size of a large two storey terraced house). This was all housed in two connected tented structures and measured a massive 11,000sqm. The centrepiece was a magnificent dome known as the Doha Dome and was externally branded with specially selected Arabian calligraphy. The structures housed various types of cuisine including Asian, Sub Continental and Continental. At the heart of each regional area was a themed food market, a vibrant, colourful place to collect the food and drinks.

The Main Press Centre was to provide catering 24 hours a day and feed over 5,000 media personnel per day. The dining hall and kitchen area measured 6,500sqm and it housed bespoke servery equipment specially commissioned for the Media Centre.

Between the two main sites, PKL supplied over 1,400 items of kitchen equipment, ranging from 24 rack combination ovens, bratt pans, chargrills and wok burners to smaller items such as rice washers, preparation tables and storage racking. The kitchens were designed on an open plan basis, making them large enough to accommodate the 80 chefs that were working in the kitchens at any one time. The Central Island Canopies were integral in providing extraction and promoting the open plan kitchen environment.

PKL were responsible for all on site catering maintenance, which involved a near zero tolerance policy to downtime of equipment from the caterers, something that PKLs engineering and technical support team coped with brilliantly throughout the Games.

Tuesday 11 September 2007

Event catering solutions from PKL Group

PKL Group has provided temporary catering facilities for use at events throughout the UK and internationally for many years. There is no event too big or small that cannot be accommodated including music concerts, outdoor festivals, sporting events, county shows, award ceremonies, exhibitions, functions and parties.

The range of event catering facilities includes preparation kitchens, production kitchens, dishwashing units, restaurant units and coldrooms.

PKL are no strangers to providing large-scale kitchens. In the past, kitchens have been provided for major international events such as the Olympics, Commonwealth and Asian Games. The Major Events team is highly skilled in the planning and delivery of these critical projects and project manage the entire delivery and installation procedure for major sporting events.

PKL are normally responsible for design, project management and logistics as well as maintenance during the period of use. Controlled from the Operations Centre in the UK with a site team on location - the team has unequalled experience in delivery of these projects and is currently working hard to provide similar facilities at the Beijing Olympics.

Portable Kitchens from PKL Group

PKL Group is a leading hire company with over 20 years experience of providing temporary catering facilities for use during refurbishments, rebuilds, events and expansion projects. The extensive range of Portable Kitchens and heavy-duty commercial catering equipment are available for immediate hire from several days to a decade.

PKL Portable Kitchens are the ideal solution to a variety of catering problems. They are available for hire from several days to a decade and provide a safe, hygienic and pleasant working environment.

The extensive fleet of Portable Kitchens includes the Magnum Production Kitchen, Mini Kitchen, Triton Kitchen and the Field Kitchen, each catering for a variety of capacities and menus. Also available are Preparation Kitchens, Dry Store Units, Coldrooms, Warewashing Units and Support Facilities.

Included in the range of catering equipment are essential items such as combination ovens, grills, bratt pans, hot cupboards, fridges and freezers. All equipment is fully cleaned and rigorously tested prior to hire and planned preventative maintenance and 24-hour technical support are included in the contract.