Alongside a new Kiremko frying range, Coastline Fish & Chips in Blyth, Northumberland, has upgraded its back kitchen to improve workflow, increase preparation capacity and make busy shifts easier to manage
With a takeaway, a 200-seater restaurant and outdoor seating for at least another 150 customers, Coastline Fish & Chips is a substantial operation. Owned by Domenico Gregorio, the business employs over 80 staff and prepares much of its menu in-house, including several varieties of fishcakes, cheese and corned beef patties, breaded chicken and mushy peas.
When the time came to replace the main frying range earlier this year, Domenico also took the opportunity to upgrade the back kitchen. Working with KFE, the business installed an Allegro back unit incorporating a one-metre Adieu grill, an Alto-Shaam heated holding cabinet and four induction hobs.
Previously, preparing food such as toasties, bacon, sausages and burgers meant working between separate areas of the kitchen. The new layout brings the equipment closer to the frying range, reducing unnecessary steps and making it easier for staff to coordinate orders.
“With this setup, the guys who are frying can just turn round and everything’s there,” says Domenico. “It’s really about kitchen ergonomics. Everything’s close by.”
The equipment itself has also changed how the team works. The previous gas grill has been replaced by a larger electric Adieu model, which Domenico says offers greater temperature control and capacity. Its size allows the kitchen to handle larger orders, while the ability to adjust individual sections means it can also be used for smaller orders without running the entire grill.
“I took KFE’s advice to get a bigger grill, and honestly, it’s really good. The temperature control is much better,” he says. “I didn’t realise electric could be so much more controlled than gas.”
The heated holding cabinet has made a real difference during busy periods, allowing staff to prepare food in advance without compromising its quality. Burgers and chicken, for example, can be cooked ahead and held ready for service. “We can get ahead a little bit on the busy days,” says Domenico. “If I pre-cook 50 burgers, when an order comes in, you grill the burger, toast the buns and put everything together. It can be done in about three minutes.”
The benefits extend to large catering orders, with Domenico recently preparing 500 bacon sandwiches for a classic car club, involving around 1,500 rashers of bacon. “I’ve done it for years, but this year, having a larger grill and hot-holding cabinet made it so much easier.”
Four induction hobs complete the installation, providing a solution for heating mushy peas and sauces. “Because they are flush with the counter, they are so easy to wipe clean compared with the previous gas ones, where spills could collect around the burners,” explains Domenico.
For Domenico, the improvements have justified the investment, adding: “KFE were fantastic. They did all the planning to make the kitchen really work for us. We’d got used to the way we worked before, but this has changed the business for the better.”