Loft 56, the vibrant bistro above Milestone Rathfriland’s award winning Food Hall, in Newry operates from nine in the morning until nine at night, seven days a week. With such long hours and high turnover, Head Chef Rick Orr faced a constant challenge in their compact kitchen. As he puts it, “The biggest challenges up here is the kitchen’s quite small… the volume of people coming through was too much, for the size of the kitchen.”
The arrival of the Rational iHexagon transformed everything. Their previous combi oven had served them well, but Rick says, “It’s just like day and night now with the iHexagon.” The team quickly realised it wasn’t just faster, but it also reshaped how the entire kitchen operated. “The amount of stuff we do in it is phenomenal. I can do a lot more work with less chefs.”
Cooking times have been cut in half, and food waste has dropped significantly. Rick explains, “It’s cut down, unbelievable on food waste.” With pre-programed settings, the full menu now runs seamlessly through a single machine. “It just makes life so much easier. it’s just, finger, button, go.”
Energy savings have been equally dramatic. “We’ve stopped using our old oven, we don’t need it at all.” Their pizza oven, costly to run and slow to heat, is no longer required. Throughout the day, pizzas now come straight from the iHexagon.
Even initial scepticism among the team disappeared. “They realise then it’s half the size, twice the power and speed.” The results speak for themselves: calmer service, higher output and their best January in eight years.
Rick sums it up simply, “To me it’s just another chef in the kitchen.”
Operators and chef are invited to attend an iHexagon demonstration held at a location near to you, register at: www.rational-online.com/en_gb/cmp/ihexagon-interest/
