Hutton Grammar School, which accommodates almost 850 students aged from11-18, will in September open its modern practical food technology space, aimed at enabling pupils to learn basic cookery skills.
The kitchen, financed under the Government’s tranche of funding for such facilities, forms an integral part of the school’s redevelopment programme, and re-uses space formerly occupied by the sixth form, which has moved into a new, purpose-built centre.
Designed and installed by CHR Equipment, the £20,000 kitchen aims to equip students with both domestic and commercial catering skills. Paul Neville, CHR sales director, comments, “Hutton Grammar School’s new cooking space exemplifies a sustainable approach! We have used, as far as possible, very energy-efficient equipment, such as induction hobs, but beyond that, we are a local company, which in turn uses regional subcontractors.”
Adds Hutton Grammar bursar Jane Abra, “Whilst food technology is not a compulsory part of the curriculum any longer, it is our aim to give our children as rounded an education as possible. The new food technology facilities not only give them a basic training so they have the knowledge to create a healthy menu when at university or beyond, but to practically apply principles of chemistry and physics- how ingredients react with each other, and to temperature, for example.”
The Hutton Grammar School kitchen opens weeks after CHR began work on a major refurbishment of the café/ atrium at Dudley College, and won contracts to design, supply and install kitchens for three new schools in Lincolnshire.
Founded 20 years ago, CHR Equipment (www.chrequipment.co.uk) has built a reputation for consistently delivering practical solutions, applying innovative thinking and utilizing developments in technology to create commercial catering solutions on time and to budget whether new build or refurbishment of a hotel or college through to the upper echelons of Michelin-starred establishments and stadia. It has, for three years in succession, won national CEDA (Catering Equipment Distributors Association) Awards, each in a different category.