Efficiency and labour
One of the primary focus areas for him
at the moment is energy efficiency.
“What’s crucial is that our licensees
pay the ongoing energy costs so if we
can make their business more cost-
effective and sustainable that is great.
It is a challenge getting the same speed
and quality while reducing energy
consumption, but there are clearly
manufacturers that are leading the
way on this. It is definitely something
we want to incorporate in our kitchen
equipment spec going forward.”
Teed thinks induction could begin
to play a part in the business going
forward. It doesn’t have any induction
specified in the estate at present but
he remains open to the idea. “If I look
at my priorities over the last year,
bringing induction into the estate
wasn’t high on my agenda but now we
can start to grow and build.”
Cost inflation around labour and
energy are influencing his thoughts
FORMER JAMIE OLIVER RESTAURANTS OPERATIONS CHEF TAKES ON FIRST PUB
Kanwar Gurmohan, Jamie Oliver
Restaurants’ former operations chef,
has taken on the lease of a Surrey
pub and plans to make it the first
of several that he establishes in the
Home Counties.
Gurmohan is undertaking a joint
£272,000 refurbishment of the
Surrey Cricketers in Windlesham
alongside Star Pubs & Bars. A
woodfired pizza oven providingauthentic stone-baked sourdough
pizzas and slow cooked woodchip
smoked meats will take centre
stage at the pub. His plans include
an exciting menu of traditional pub
dishes using fresh, locally sourced
ingredients and high-quality British
produce as well as many vegan and
vegetarian options.
Kanwar oversaw the culinary offer
of the £25m turnover Jamie Oliver
Restaurants for six years, overseeing
its cafe, bar, restaurant and casual
dining ventures.
Prior to that he was executive chef
for the Lord Mayor of London where
he was responsible for major events
ranging from the Queen’s Diamond
Jubilee to presidential dinners.
The refurbishment and upgrade
of the 19th century pub will see the
interior reconfigured to create a
120-seater restaurant with a bar for
more casual drinking and dining,
increasing seating capacity in the
pub by more than 50%.
Gurmohan wants the pub to play
a role at the heart of the community.
In addition to showing live sports,he plans to hold wine and cask ale
tasting sessions, cookery classes
with butchers and fishmongers, and
pizza dough stretch classes.
He says: “I’ve got a great team
lined up for The Surrey Cricketers
who are looking forward to opening
the doors and meeting the local
community to hear first-hand what
they’d like from their pub. I want to
offer the sort of independently run,
unique friendly pub with great food
and drink that the area deserves, to
support local suppliers and to help
create local jobs.
“Longer term, I’m focused on
developing a pub estate with the
right offer for the locality. I am
interested in pubs rather than casual
dining as I believe this is where
future growth lies, and they provide
more income streams.
“Pubs are more relaxing
environments for families and there
is more space. On the high street, on
the other hand, competition is fierce
with lots of discounting that
ultimately impacts the final
product sold to diners.”on equipment specification right now,
and he foresees Star trialling more kit
in future for benchmarking purposes.
“Those two things [labour and energy]
are massive costs for us and when we
look at new pieces of equipment it is
trying to negate those two costs.”
For all the turmoil associated with
the pub sector, it sounds like it’s anexciting time to be involved with Star
right now? “We are not spending
money carelessly, there is is a robust
process in place to make sure that
we have the right people, the right
business, the right scheme and the
right offer,” he says. “We have seen
some really exciting projects and we
have lots more planned.”Sales data is shared with
licensees to give them insight
on which menu items sell best.18 | Foodservice Equipment Journal | August 2019 http://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com
COVER STORY