CESA, the Catering Equipment Suppliers' Association, answers your kitchen equipment queries

We're switching our hotel to breakfast buffet service rather than table service, and we've been advised to go for a conveyor toaster rather than a slotted toaster as conveyors toast faster.

Whichever type of toaster is used, the time it takes to toast standard sliced bread is the same. Increasing heat just burns the toast, and speeding up a conveyor toaster results in pale toast which the customer either discards or puts through the machine again.

Conveyor toasters have a big output of toast per hour as they're usually two slices wide and bread can be loaded head to tail in a continuous flow. That's why busy operations such as motorway service areas use them.

However, in a hotel buffet system where guests make their own toast there will be pauses in demand and slotted toasters may be adequate. A conveyor toaster is also on from the start to the finish of breakfast service, while a slotted toaster uses energy only when needed.

With slotted toasters, always buy commercial machines as they're built to withstand heavy use, and on some machines it's possible to get replacement heating elements if they eventually burn out.

We're in the process of buying a combi-oven, and the showroom is trying to persuade us to buy a water softener when we're in a part of Britain that has naturally soft water.

While the region might have soft water - that is water with a lower-than-average density of dissolved salts in it - there's no guarantee that the water that comes into the kitchen is local water. Supply companies often move water around through a network of pipes or within the region draw water from a different source, such as deep boreholes rather than a reservoir.

Any kitchen equipment which draws water from the mains for cooking or washing should have a water treatment system fitted to prevent furring-up of the internal water pipes. If dissolved salts start to stick to the inside of the pipework it can lead to very costly damage and is likely to invalidate the equipment manufacturer's warranty.

Do I have to use coloured plastic chopping boards in the kitchen? I have always preferred white because they're easier to keep clean.

There's no legal obligation to use coloured boards rather than all white, but the reason they're popular is that it helps prevent accidental cross-contamination from raw foods to cooked. The commonly used colour coding system is yellow for cooked meats, red for uncooked meats, white for bread and dairy, blue for fish, green for salad and brown for raw vegetables before cooking.

It's also possible to buy corresponding colour-coded kitchen knives for added cross-contamination security.

If you don't want a board for every type of food, then at least keep separate those used for uncooked food and those used for preparing food requiring no further cooking. Using a dishwasher is a very good way of cleaning plastic chopping boards.

For more advice

Visit www.cesa.org.uk and click on the link "CESA Buying Guides". If you have a question on equipment you would like an answer to, send an e-mail to enquiries@cesa.org.uk