COOL ROOMS/ FREEZER ROOMS:

Most commercial kitchens in today's environment choose to have a cool room and/or freezer room. There are many advantages to this if space is available and the capacity of your restaurant or commercial kitchen allows it. The idea to have raw food ingredients delivered and being able to cold store it immediately, adds longevity to the product and improves the way food is prepared beforehand and is then ready for the chefs at service time.

The chefs that we know who work in restaurants/ commercial kitchens prefer to take delivery of wholesale product i.e. fish, seafood, meats, vegetables and start peeling, scaling, washing and cutting the produce as soon as it gets delivered. The chef then portion controls everything, prepares ‘mise en place’ for the days’ service and stores away the ready-made product in containers which are clearly marked and ready for the next preparation step.

Large-scale operations in commercial environments even use trolleys to store the ready-made product and mostly use a cook and chill process which allows for even greater ease of handling and longevity.

Most cool rooms have an insulated floor with a checker plate cover although it can be built right on top of the existing floor without the insulation ( in that case the kitchen floor is usually tiled or epoxied). This ensures a safe and slip-resistant surface as there is always some form of condensation going on.
When using the cook and chill method, cool rooms are generally designed with a ramp or the surface of the kitchen floor is continued right into the cool room so when using trolleys, there is no step hazard and it makes working with large numbers of products, easy and efficient.

Freezer rooms are built for much lower temperatures and the insulation requirements are much higher. We always allow for a 150 mm sandwich panel and insulated flooring.

Cool room inserts are used when the cool room is used as a display facility. In this case there are many options available. Especially in bottle shops, super markets, butcheries, service stations and fresh seafood shops, inserts are there to display foods for selling so the outer surface of the cool room is very important. Inserts can be predesigned into a cool room or added into existing setups. Inserts can be made for any size wall thickness or with doors depending on the application.

Safety in cool rooms is important so all cool rooms have to be supplied with a light, a bell and a door which can also be opened from the inside. Doors can be sliding on in or outside and also be swing doors.

At PCK we custom design cool rooms/ freezer rooms to the size required by the customer. Our owner at PCK, who is also a chef says: I like ample space for a cool room and I will always go for bigger if the area is big enough to hold it!

Ultimately it’s an investment to have a cool room and yes, there are other options out there which will do in many cases but in todays work environment, if you can afford it and have a cool room, then spend the money and you will see that the kitchen will produce great food, over and over again!

CUSTOM MADE REFRIGERATION:

We work with specialist stainless steel suppliers who can customise any refrigeration requirement that you might have. Most clients that we work with, would buy refrigeration off the shelf since the prices are so much more cost effective. However, some applications require customised solutions and we design these for the space available and with the exact functionality required.

Upright and under bench fridges and freezers are used in many restaurants, cafes, delis, butcheries, also bottle shops and service stations.
The higher end market seeks out the most attractive displays so customers have more to choose from and make more informant buying decisions this way.
With custom-made fridges, the shapes and models can be designed almost without restrictions although there is a minimum size for such an item and also cost can be quite prohibitive but there are really no limits to your imagination!

Cold plates and cross fin units are still used often in delis and cafes although most customers now opt for a fan forced design as it has more exposure options for the produce and allows for more attractive display ideas.

Cake displays have become very cost effective these days when buying off the shelf but some specialised businesses still want a custom designed display.

Here are some helpful ideas for choosing the right refrigeration:

• operating conditions: do you have air condition or is your shop on the outside or inside a mall
• what is the main purpose of the unit, do you require a certain amount of shelving?
• What temperature range do you require?
• What sizes and colours and texture do you require?
• What about glass size and display profiles? Double glazing? Frame less? Curved glass?
• Do you want sliding or swing doors?
• Do you need a night curtain?


At PCK Protech Commercial Kitchens, we design and manufacture refrigeration to your specific needs and we make sure that all your product are stored properly and displayed at the optimum product requirement.

Ring us now for a free site consultation on 1300 368 911