Legendary Waterside Inn takes Rational approach in new kitchen
11 September 2009
The Waterside Inn at Bray near Windsor has just spent £1.5 million on its kitchen refurbishment which kept the 3 Michelin Star Inn closed for almost 4 months.
The Waterside Inn Chef Patron, Alain Roux said; "This was an exciting opportunity for us to put in the very latest technology. We are a family business, so investing in the kitchen is like investing in our home. Each piece of equipment is important to us, it's an extension of the chefs' personality and the way he expresses himself. The new kitchen is a dream come true. It gleams with stainless steel and has put a smile on the faces of everyone who works here."One kind of new equipment in particular has especially impressed Alain - the Rational SelfCooking Center. In fact the kitchen has no fewer than three of the latest model of SelfCooking Center - two small six-grid models being used for general cooking and a bigger ten-grid model exclusively for bread and patisserie.
"I really wanted to get Rational SelfCooking Centers in our kitchen. They are so highly praised by chefs and by all the best catering schools in the UK. I've seen them in use and tried them out before but it's great now to have them up and running in my own kitchen. Rationals' whole approach is unique. The humidity and temperature control is so precise. It allows us to be more confident with timing and everything cooks right through, even with larger quantities," Alain added.
The precision is what has really impressed Alain. With the Roux style of classical French cooking they have relied on the chefs' experience to judge how long dishes will take and when they will be ready. Now, using the SelfCooking Centers' intelligent cooking modes, they find that the unit cooks on its own, fully automatically.
Alain continued; "It's much better this way. You can't fault it. If something goes wrong with the dish, it's not the oven it's the chef."
The Rationals are proving particularly useful for vacuum steaming in braised dishes and confit of lamb, duck and beef. Previously they used a bains marie for this type of cooking and had to constantly monitor what was going on.
"There are many more advantages to cooking with the SelfCooking Center," says Alain. "It's so versatile. It can operate with both dry and moist heat, or a combination of both, and the temperature control is fantastic. But we're still experimenting and finding out exactly what we can do. It's great for developing new recipes."
Another aspect that has impressed everyone in the kitchens at The Waterside Inn is the CareControl cycle in the latest SelfCooking Center. CareControl means that the combis never need descaling, don't need water filters and clean themselves automatically - but only when necessary.
Alain concluded; "Cleaning is not my favourite activity. When you've been cooking all day the last thing you want to do is clean the oven. But with the SelfCooking Center it does it all itself. All we have to do is pop in a couple of tablets and press a button. The CareControl cycle keeps the SelfCooking Center so clean that visitors to the kitchen often think we haven’t used it yet."
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- 19/08/2014 - Rational releases Energy Star figures for the SelfCookingCenter
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- 09/09/2010 - Cooking has never been simpler - See the Rational SelfCooking Center at The Restaurant Show
- 06/07/2010 - Marcus Wareing used Rational SelfCooking Centers to cook for Royalty at the Audi Polo Challenge
- 09/06/2010 - Felixstowe Care Home Wins £9,000 Rational SelfCooking Center
- 25/05/2010 - The Better Way To Cook Fried Foods In Schools
- 05/05/2010 - Got a combi steamer question? Ask Rational
- 11/01/2010 - Long live the Combi Steamer
- 05/11/2009 - The birth of the Limescale-Free Combi
- 12/10/2009 - Chipping away at energy use
- 24/08/2009 - Rational environmental combi - a truly green machine
- 15/06/2009 - Rational SelfCooking Centre gives Care Home catering better control
- 08/06/2009 - And the winner of the "Heavy Equipment Supplier of the Year" award for 2009 goes to, Rational
- 27/05/2009 - High-tech Catering Ovens provide Rational answer to recession
- 07/04/2009 - Barbequed food without the hassle
- 04/03/2009 - The Ivy saves big with Rational CareControl technology
- 19/02/2009 - Rational awarded Ultimate Equipment prize at CATEX Ireland
