Farm Ed - Evenlode Valley, Oxfordshire
Farm Ed, an amazing philanthropic project with a mission to accelerate the transition towards regenerative farming and sustainable food systems by providing space and opportunity for inspirational education, innovative research, practitioner led knowledge exchange events and personal development.
Based on a working farm in the rolling Oxfordshire Cotswold area, a stone’s throw away from a GWR main line railway station at Shipton under Wychwood and Matthews Cotswold flour mill, Farm Ed is home to two brand new impressive eco-buildings - one built to provide a space for conferences, lectures, workshops and special events; and the other a farm to fork kitchen and food space, and a regenerative business incubator.
In 2019, with the structural build under way, Owner Ian Wilkinson approached local catering equipment firm Target Catering Equipment to assist with the design, supply and install of a suitable commercial kitchen facility that would meet the needs and beliefs required for this project.
PROJECT BRIEF
Ian tasked Target to design a modern kitchen facility on a budget, to be used for Farm Ed’s aptly named Farm Eat facility. The very compact back of house kitchen space was to be multi-functional so that it could be a space for start-up businesses to test out their concepts, whilst also operating as a kitchen to service the function rooms as well as the food hall that was soon to be home to a traditional Italian wood fired oven, the main focal piece installed specifically for the use of cooking fresh produce and keeping the facility warm.
THE PROCESS
Target’s design team set to work designing a commercial kitchen concept that would incorporate a combination of new and used catering equipment. A sustainable option for the start-up concept that was also fitting of the project’s ethos, giving pre-owned products a second life. As the structural build neared completion, the small kitchen design evolved, it was decided that for the cookline there was a preference for a gas open burner oven range that was simple to use and common to most chefs, particularly those new to the industry just starting out that would be transferring from a domestic style kitchen to a commercial operation. This was to be complimented by the UK’s very first “ventless” Hoodini CombiSlim combination oven, complete with its android based operating system that could be used for so many different styles of cooking including roasting, baking, steaming, and grilling etc.
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The choice of a ventless combination oven meant ventilation costs could be kept down as it allowed for a standard Lincat SmartVent canopy that would be gas safe interlocked with air quality monitoring built-in to safeguard staff from potential harmful by-products of combustion from the gas fired equipment in the kitchen and solid fuel wood fired oven used in the food hall.
The small basic cookline with a larger than expected potential capacity would be serviced by the flexible prep area consisting of bespoke manufactured prep sink that easily transformed into a work bench through the use of sustainable bamboo chopping boards. Gram refrigeration prep counters and upright fridge and freezer with touchless foot operated opening doors, designed and specified to reduce touch points in the kitchen, along with Lincat hot cupboard to hold food warm for service with heated gantry over to maintain piping hot food.
And finally, the dishwashing system made up of bespoke dishwash tabling and Meiko Upster passthrough dishwasher with Mechline GreasePak and BioCeptor drain maintenance system to address FOGs produced within the kitchen. This was also complimented by Mechline Basix hands-free hand wash station featuring knee operated taps, so once again reducing touch points for infection control within the kitchen facility.
THE END RESULT
Following a quick and easy installation with Farm Ed’s local contractors providing all plumbing, mechanical and electrical services for Target’s installers to connect to, the kitchen was complete and ready to use. Farm Ed received on-site training of the new equipment and are now up and running with a catering facility dedicated to the production of quality sustainable food.
Farm Ed and Farm Eat offer wonderful facilities with an environmentally sustainable ethos that is unique and will promote all that is good in agro-ecology - what better legacy for the future could one provide. Hats off to all the team at Farm Ed and Farm Eat for what they are doing and achieving to make a real difference.