As the saying goes, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Not that simple, though, if you're a chef. And at the Lanesborough, executive chef Paul Gayler found himself and his 37-strong brigade working in a very hot kitchen indeed. "We had major heat problems and it was really getting too much," he says. "And besides the environmental issue, the heat was causing problems with the fridges."

Since the hotel opened in 1991, the brigade had been cooking on traditional solid-top ranges and these were nearing time for replacement. In the main kitchen on the lower ground floor - which serves banqueting, private function rooms, rooms service and the staff canteen and does prep for the upstairs Conservatory restaurant kitchen - the heat generated by the mainly gas-powered equipment, combined with a relatively low ceiling and no external windows, meant the temperature was unbearable during peak service periods, especially during the summer months.

There were several different ways to meet the objectives. One was to reduce the output of the ambient heat-producing equipment, but this would mean a lowering of power output and therefore the volume of meals that could be served would be affected. Another was to increase the air-conditioning and extraction output, but this would only disguise the ambient heat level in the kitchen and would increase power consumption and so not be environmentally friendly. Also this would mean the chefs being subjected to very high temperatures while working at the stove, then subjected to blasts of freezing cold air from the air-conditioning units the moment they stepped away from the stoves - which would be likely to result in them all getting colds and having to take time off work.

Nigel Rothery, national account manager for design and installation company Catering Connections soon came up with a way to achieve and even surpass the requirements set. He recommended installing induction equipment, which would mean almost no ambient heat being generated and, in turn, meant a reduction in the air-conditioning requirements. And there would be another advantage in huge energy and cost savings - plus savings on maintenance costs as refrigeration equipment would find it easier to maintain its required temperature.

Gayler took a bit of persuading but was encouraged to hear of positive experiences with induction equipment. "I spoke to other chefs who were using induction," he says. "It has really starting to take off now and induction stoves are quite commonplace in Switzerland and Germany."

But there was an obstacle to overcome. Most manufacturers would not be able to provide an induction stove with ovens underneath. "I need the ovens for service and if I couldn't have them on an induction stove, then I wouldn't even consider it," Gayler says. Enter Menu Systems of Switzerland, the only manufacturer of induction cooking suites they could find that could incorporate ovens directly beneath induction hobs because their suites are powered by remote control boxes which can be placed away from heat sources.

The suite in the main kitchen has 15 induction hobs and one for a wok, two twin-basket fryers, two rise-and-fall salamanders, a griddle, a tilting bratt pan and a stockpot stove. There is no gantry in the middle as on the previous range, so Gayler's view of the kitchen is unobscured. A second, smaller suite upstairs in the Conservatory kitchen has nine hobs and a wok cooker, a twin-basket fryer and a salamander, plus three ovens and a griddle with draw underneath to collect debris. The combined cost was £280,000.

Gayler has calculated the switch to induction will result in energy savings of about £60,000 over five years. "Induction is slow to catch on in the UK because chefs here like to stick with what they know," he says. "But I think it's the thing of the future."


The brief
It might not be a complete refurbishment, but Paul Gayler's new ranges have made such a difference to the Lanesborough kitchen that it feels like a new place. And it's provided him and his brigade with much more pleasant working conditions. The biggest issue that needed addressing was the excessive heat in the main kitchen and the solution lay in finding a way to reduce the heat being generated without loosing any cooking power.

Traditional ovens
There are two ovens on one side of the suite and one on the other side. Being able to have traditional ovens underneath the induction hobs was of prime concern to Gayler for convenience during service, so that meat could be finished off without having to run round to an oven sited elsewhere in the kitchen.

There's an electric griddle for cooking fish and meat for room service although the absence of charcoal does affect the flavour. However, a chargrill with bars impregnated with charcoal is currently being developed and will be slotted in at a later date.

New pans for induction
Each hob provides 9kW of power and is divided into four so will take four small pans or one large one and has given the brigade a much larger working area. Gayler spent about £8,000 on new pans as most of the existing pans were unsuitable for use on the induction hobs. It took a couple of days for the brigade to get used to not putting a pan on to heat up without anything in it. "If there's nothing in the pan, the bottom will burn off," Gayler says.

The hobs are easy to keep clean with a special stainless steel wool pad, which means less time cleaning down at the end of service. A brush-up with stainless steel polish twice a week keeps the suite in tip-top condition.

Favourite feature
One of Gayler's favourite features is the fact that the control knobs are indented so they can't get damaged. He also loves the absolute control they give him over the heat output.

"It's instant heat and you have oil in a pan smoking in 30 seconds," he says. Whereas with the previous gas ranges the normal practice was to put them on full to heat up, with the induction suite chefs switch them on relatively low and work up - and they are switched on only when they are actually being used for cooking, rather than being left on throughout service.

Stockpot
One feature of the kitchen Gayler didn't want to change was having a huge stockpot in the kitchen for making fresh stocks. So he asked for a lower-level induction stove to be built on to one end of the suite specifically for the stockpot.

Wok hob
A wok hob has proved useful for cooking pasta as well as for stir-fries since it takes only 60 seconds for water to boil from cold.

Contacts
Catering Connections 01773 836300
Menu System 00 41 71 272 5100