Chef
Roberta Hall-McCarron’s favourite kitchen kit
“We have Konro grills built into the wall with custom-made shelving above that allows us to cook different things at a different temperature at the same time. We can rest or temper things up higher, get things smoky in between or cook directly on top of the barbecue. The shelves are there permanently and the barbecue just slots underneath.”
The kitchen at Eleanor. Right: Roberta Hall-McCarron
a set menu now. It allows us to control the ordering. We have less waste and I think the food is better because there’s so much more structure to the menu.” While physically there may be limitations –
for instance, the kitchen can’t process whole beasts – Hall-McCarron thinks the positives outweigh the negatives: “There are so many plus points to a tiny kitchen. Everything is within reach, and if you can’t spread yourself out you can’t do thousands of jobs at one time. You do need to learn how to work really neatly. Sometimes I miss this small kitchen. “I think in many ways, maybe I didn’t push
myself enough when the kitchen was the Lit- tle Chartroom, because I used to think we couldn’t do things because we didn’t have the space. It’s been really interesting watching what the guys there have managed to achieve now it’s Eleanore.”
Tommy Banks at the Black Swan at Oldstead Tommy Banks owns the Michelin-starred Black Swan at Oldstead in York with his family. The kitchen is a 1970s annex to the original pub
At first glance Tommy Banks’ Michelin-starred kitchen might not seem miniscule, but when you factor in a team of 10 producing up to 540 precise plates in any one night, things start to feel a little cramped. Banks estimates that his pub is around
430 years old, meaning there are few altera- tions he could make to the building. With a 1970s purpose-built kitchen annex in situ, he was left to work with what he had. “It was built for making chicken in a bas- ket,” he quips, “not a 14-course tasting menu”.
36 | The Caterer | 22 March 2024
Instead of structural work, he mapped out the kitchen with one large central commu- nal bench and a rotational workflow. All cook- ing is done around the edges, with the middle reserved for prep and plating. “It means lots of people can dress food on the central bench which effectively becomes a pass,” he says. One of Banks’ favourite pieces of kit is his
Adande fridge drawers, which he uses as both fridges and freezers. They create definable sections – like pastry or larder areas – and when pulled out can also be used as prep sur- faces that are accessible from both sides, intro- ducing more workable counters. His tip for chefs working in small spaces
is to focus on your strengths. “Don’t try to be somebody else or something that you
“You don’t know what you need until you’ve worked in the space” Roberta Hall-McCarron
can’t achieve in your small kitchen. If you’re good at making a specific thing, just make that. At the end of the day the guest doesn’t care how big your kitchen is, but they do care about the offering and how long they’re waiting for their food.”
“The guest doesn’t care how big your kitchen is, but they do care about the offering” Tommy Banks
The Black Swan at Oldstead
www.thecaterer.com
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