SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency® is perfect for small coffee shops looking to expand business.
Coffee & Bites in Gomersal, West Yorkshire is a new bespoke sandwich and coffee shop. Opened by Barry Evans and his business partner Ray Donavan in May 2013, it is rapidly gaining popularity among the mums on their way back from the school run as well as with tourists, shoppers and office workers.
Open from 7am till 3pm, Barry puts his growing success down to the quality of sandwiches and cakes he has on offer – everything is freshly baked in a Rational SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency.
“I’ve worked with Rational combi-steamers for years,” says Barry. “So when I decided to set up on my own it made sense to invest in one. I knew just what it could do and how reliable it is.”
Space is limited at Coffee & Bites, there is seating for 16 and the kitchen area is tiny, so the Rational is sited front of house. Barry has an UltraVent fitted above the unit to absorb and dissipate the steam, to keep the cafe area comfortable for customers. There is no need for a connection from the UltraVent to the outside.
“The Rational creates a real wow factor,” says Barry. “Customers can smell and see the cooking when they come in, which helps with the cosy atmosphere of the place. It also means I can cook as well as serve and chat to my customers. Sometimes I’m working alone so it’s essential that I spend most of my time out front.
“The Rational is excellent for baking cakes. Its SelfCookingControl monitors the cooking process for each product, choosing the best way to achieve what I want.” Barry also uses Rational accessories such as the muffin mould and grill and pizza tray to get the best out of his cooking.
Barry’s selection of cakes and cookies includes carrot cakes, Victoria sponges, lemon squares, shortbreads, flapjacks and brownies. He even bakes his own bread for the sandwiches and on Thursdays and Fridays offers a ‘specials board’ with roast beef or pork produced using the overnight roasting facility in the Rational.
“It’s brilliant,” says Barry. “All I have to do is select what I am cooking, how I want it cooked and the Rational does the rest. You can even load different sized products at the same time. The SelfCookingCenter tells me when the smallest is ready, and continues cooking the next largest and so on, so that there is consistency every time. It all looks great and cakes and bread rise perfectly.”
Business is going so well that Barry is trying a new venture of opening some evenings, with customers ordering from a set menu. He plans to prepare the food in advance and use the Finishing setting on the Rational to regen the food so it’s piping hot and tasting as though it’s just been cooked.
“I couldn’t do all this without the Rational,” says Barry. “It’s the best investment I’ve made for the business. It’s made things so much easier. It’s absolutely essential. I used to burn the bread in my old oven as I was so busy, but with the Rational that’s impossible. It does all the thinking for me. It’s like having an extra person behind the counter.”
For information and brochures, or to arrange to come to a free SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency® ‘Rational CookingLive’ seminar, contact your dealer. Visit the iPhone app store for the Rational SCC Expert App.
Rational UK
Tel: 0800 389 2944
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