Landau College
Dated: 24/06/2010
VICTOR COUNTERS ENHANCE LANDAU FORTE COLLEGE
Victor Manufacturing’s popular serveries and counters, fitted with the company’s energy saving Synergy bains marie, heated ceramic tops and drop-in salad wells, have been specified for a major restaurant refurbishment at Landau Forte College. The College, which is close to Derby City Centre, opened in 1992 as the 14th City Technology College in England. It is a different type of educational establishment bringing together the worlds of industry and education in a uniquely productive partnership. Landau Forte College became an Academy in 2006, offering dual specialties in Technology and Business Enterprise.
While the College is part of the national network of schools and colleges, it is owned and operated as an independent educational organisation, providing free full time education for children from 11 to 19 years old. There are more than 1000 students with almost a quarter of them over 16 years of age.
With such a large number of students on site it became obvious that the main dining area, after 19 years of hard service, had outgrown its usefulness and there were major problems with queues that needed resolving. With approximately 700 students every lunch time, wanting food in around an hour, and allowing enough time to get back to classes, the queues were becoming a big issue.
Bunzl Lockhart Catering Design Services (BLCDS) was called on to undertake the refurbishment, the largest part of which had to be new countering. The design of that countering was very much the result of a meeting of minds with input from Victor, BLCDS and the College. A decision was reached for Victor to construct a new servery featuring two ‘mirrored’ counters and a specially designed fixed central drinks unit.
According to Robin Winstanley, Design Sales Consultant at BLCDS: ”We chose Victor as the manufacturer because they are very experienced in making counters and serveries for the education sector and also because of the excellent support and back-up they provide. Victor arranged for the client to visit their Bradford showroom which proved to be a great selling point as the client could see the how the countering would be made and got to inspect a newly built one just about to go out. Victor’s countering has exceeded expectations and the client is more than happy with it.”
Sue Morgan, catering manager at Landau Forte College says: “I visited Victor’s premises to look at their counters set up there and also helped to choose the colour of the units.” Students were also involved in the colour choice for the serveries as well as the wall and floor colouring too. Morgan, who has been on site since day one of the College’s existence, says: “Our service starts with breakfast from 9.30 until 10.45am then lunch from 12am until 1.45pm. We serve between 600-700 breakfasts and lunches in our 180-seat restaurant. Students and staff can choose a cooked breakfast or cereal and bagels, whilst at lunch we go all out, with a choice of salad bar, sandwiches, hot Paninis or roast dinners.
“The mirrored counters work really well and have helped to speed up the service; before we had the new counters the queues were a big problem even with the cashless payment system,” says Morgan.
The counters have 20mm thick Nero Absolute granite tops, complete with inset stainless steel tray runners and stainless steel lighting pelmet with white LED lighting under. Frontage and all exposed end panels are finished in walnut real wood veneer panelling and rebated satin stainless steel shadow with satin stainless steel kick plinths. The main hot counter boasts twin stack heated plate lowerators, Synergy wet well bains maries with natural convection hot cupboards under. The ambient section, with a 300mm high etched glass screen mounted on stainless steel round tube supports, accommodates a Panini machine, and next to that is a Synergy heated ceramic top with quartz gantry mounted over a natural convection hot cupboard. The next section is ambient, again with a 300mm high etched glass screen mounted on two stainless steel round tube supports to accommodate another Panini machine and a Synergy wet well bains marie with a natural convection hot cupboard under. At the end of the run there is a twin stack heated plate lowerator. The mirrored refrigerated counters, one either side of the room, are each supplied with two Synergy wall style refrigerated multi-tiers and a refrigerated counter including a low level tray trolley.
The island counter in the centre of the servery area houses drinks machines, cup dispensers and the till sections, and there is also a fully enclosed cutlery unit. Last, but by no means least, is a specially designed mobile cake display finished externally and internally in Walnut real wood veneer with a two-tier display to accept four GN1/1 Gastronorm containers to each side of the unit.
“It took a little time for the staff to get used to the new system but we all feel it is a much better way to work. As for the people who made and installed the new counters they did a great job,” says Morgan.
Landau Forte College Principal Liz Coffey concludes: “We are all really pleased with our new look restaurant which combines functionality with a contemporary look. The students have renamed the restaurant Food For Thought ; staff and students alike enjoy using the space every day. Thanks to the staff at Victor and Bunzl Lockhart who were supportive of our students and their involvement in the design process.”