Mobile Kitchens; the Stars of the show!

Once again we are the best choice for live music shows, popular events and festival services.

Another new year, a refreshing new summer is here and the music scene is thriving with live performances. This can only mean one thing for mobile kitchens- Festival appearances! Mobile Kitchens are renowned for their frequent usage and quality of service at huge live events, providing facilities for the profit-hungry catering companies and the simply just hungry festival goers. 

With reliable expertise in efficient set-up, Mobile Kitchens exercise versatility and flexibility for any type of event. We provide all the kitchen facilities any company would possibly need for the chaotic catering required by the masses of live music fans. From spacious commercial sinks, six-burner gas oven ranges to storage space and extra catering accessories, all equipment is ergonomically fitted into a comfortable and hygienic unit. 

If that doesn’t encourage you enough, then being one of the preferred kitchen hire company for Glastonbury several years running, Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park and the 2011 Elton John tour crew catering will! Our repertoire includes providing for clients such as Lushfest, The Big Festival at Clapham Common, Wimbledon tennis stars and providing units for The Flying Aces at Farnborough Air Show in previous years.

We can even cater for your needs by installing specialized equipment if you require. Providing portable and useful kitchens is what we do, and what we do best, so don’t hesitate to enquire about any of our services. If you can put your trust in anything, it can surely be references from popular businesses. With regular feedback stating “we would be more than happy to hire them again and again” and “total satisfaction with the services,” it seems we have little competition in ensuring the best possible temporary kitchen hire. Managing Director of Mobile Kitchens, Mark Kingston ensures units can be “fully installed and operational from twenty four hours of receiving an order” so it is guaranteed you have made the right choice. An employee of MK, who knows the operation of the company inside out told us of his experiences working at a specific cultural event;

“I remember working with caterers for a Chinese New Year event in the streets of Trafalgar Square. Mobile Kitchens fitted the necessary equipment as soon as they were aware of the specific requirements. The burger grills were easily transferred to several Turbo Wok burners in preparation for the alternative style of cooking. Stuff like that is a norm here; we aim to satisfy our clients.” B.Kingston.

     
Aesthetic moderations or decorations for such events is no problem for MK either. At such an event, a module was erected with a coloured canopy at one end of the kitchen.

It certainly doesn’t end there. MK can be hired for a 50 to 50,000 person event. No matter what the scale, we can handle it. With a 6.2m long unit body and 2.85m width, there is space for two chefs to work away comfortably with the portable kitchens capable of producing up to 200 meals per session!  Mr. Kingston, MD, states that supplying to “remote locations doesn’t hinder us either. We will even provide our own power and water if necessary.”

Typical kitchen units will be supplied to anyone and everyone, complete with all your needs and what is more- every order is fitted with the very latest in kitchen technology. So even for those used to the finest cuisine and highest quality menus, I bet you wouldn’t suspect it was down to our space-efficient portable kitchen units, providing the amenities behind all the culinary mastery!

CKS FoodService! Now we're talking!

The brand new catering equipment supply company that's big on experience.

CKS Foodservice is the UK's newest catering equipment supply company. And yet it can offer customers a wealth of experience in the foodservice sector.

How so? Well, the original Container Kitchen Systems hire company has been a leader for over 20 years in complete catering equipment and facility rental. Our experience runs from ready-to-go kitchens through to item-by-item equipment rental. We know what lasts, what doesn't, how it works, how to service it, and above all, what equipment you need to do the job you ask of it.

Now you can buy the equipment, new, from CKS as well!

Our product range is huge - and expanding - but we only sell quality equipment that we know caterers want. If it's made for the catering market, we almost certainly supply it, from small accessories, through tabletop equipment to banqueting-size ovens or flight dishwashers, and with an unbeatable range from UK suppliers and UK manufacturers.

Our prices are LOW. We keep our costs down and pass on discounts to you. All charges INCLUDE free delivery to any UK mainland address - the price we list (+VAT) is the price you pay, to your front door, with express delivery.

We have invested heavily in the latest online solutions, so you can buy online immediately, or ask for free advice via online chat or by phone, from our team, who include experienced engineers and chefs.

And through our Container Kitchen Systems hire division, we also offer a selection of ex-rental equipment, all serviced and guaranteed.

If your kitchen or restaurant needs it, you'll get it from CKS Foodservice. Not only at unbeatable prices but with unbeatable experience too.

College of NW London catering courses get ingenious temporary kitchen/restaurant solution

When Crescent House, a seven-floor building belonging to the College of North West London , was closed last year, one of the best restaurant views in London was lost. The College's catering department, high up on the sixth floor, had to move out, along with its popular Tower Restaurant.

The old Crescent House, a product of the 1960s building boom, is shortly to be demolished, and replaced with a modern world-class, state of the art facility that's more in keeping with the nearby magnificent new Wembley Stadium.

The College itself is still thriving, though, and its courses are more in demand than ever. So it's lucky that the staff and students didn't have to move far. Their destination was just across the road to Arena House, opposite Wembley Park tube station, which is the College’s other building in Wembley.

The space earmarked for the catering department was the College's car park, a circumscribed but handy area nestled underneath the concrete columns of Arena House.

College management knew the catering department needed to be at Arena House for the long haul - perhaps three or four years, with the rebuilding holding all the insecurities of a public project in tough times until the resurrected Crescent House was ready to return to. With the uncertainties of the Wembley development, the College management needed a company that could be both experienced and flexible in its approach.

So they called in Container Kitchen Systems (CKS), one of the UK's most experienced providers of temporary catering facilities .

Celia Le Tall, curriculum manager for hospitality & catering at the College, explains: "Initially we thought we could perhaps use conventional cabin kitchens, possibly stacked one on top of another. A good chef can work wonders in small spaces, but we are a teaching establishment and we soon came to realise we needed a more 'open plan' environment where students can cluster round.

"We also wanted a good restaurant space alongside, together with full support suite - larder space, offices for the staff and toilet areas. Along with that, it had to link seamlessly with the college reception. It was not simply an annexe.”

At the heart of the site is a cluster of four main modules. The training kitchen - where up to ten students are taught the initial skills of professional catering - backs on to the main tube line running into Wembley Park station. "We had to ensure double glazed windows and soundproofing for these rooms, as when a train went past, it was a challenge for even a busy chef to make himself or herself heard!" said Mark Kingston, managing director of Container Kitchen Systems.

Delivery and installation required more careful planning than usual, and even from the start CKS had to call on its years of experience to get the modules into place.

A weight-limited bridge at the bottom of the delivery road meant they had to offload the cabins on one side, crane them over the bridge and reload onto another vehicle on the other side. Once finally unloaded at the site, fork lift trucks had to manoeuvre the training kitchen and storage units underneath the main Arena House building, to nestle them into place at the rear before craning the restaurant and main kitchen into place.

The open plan Tower Restaurant and its adjacent main kitchen are fitted out with standard 'foodsafe' wipe-clean walls. This is a standard for kitchens and temporary catering sites such as canteens, allowing for easy cleaning and good hygiene. However, the Tower Restaurant needed an ambience beyond a conventional 'canteen'. Since the building is expected to be in place for at least three years, CKS added separate rails to allow soft furnishings to be attached to the walls, and additional power sockets for 'mood' lighting.

Mark Kingston stresses that a long contract on older buildings and sites can raise issues beyond simple installation and access.

"For example, we needed to get new overground waste pipework installed because of the limitations of the old local sewage systems, and then the gas supply needed to be upgraded to ensure there was sufficient volume and capacity," he says.

"Next, the local mains water supply wasn't adequate, so we arranged for the extra water supply to come from tanks on the roof of the main building. But this needed additional water treatment to ensure it was suitable for food and drink preparation."

For Celia Le Tall and her colleagues, the new facilities were an eye-opener. "What we've got here is impressive - a full-featured training kitchen, open plan restaurant kitchen and 40-cover restaurant into what was originally a staff car park - and half of it under cover as well.

"Although it doesn't have the sixth-floor views of Wembley that we used to have in the old building, it's an excellent teaching facility. For the next three or four years our students will have everything they need to master the basics of catering and become as well trained as any student chef in the country.

And we think the Tower Restaurant will still be serving the public with lunches and dinners that are still the best value in the country."

CKS is one of the UK’s leading temporary kitchen specialists. The company also offers a professional kitchen installation service and operates a catering equipment maintenance division. For more information, brochures and details, contact Container Kitchen Systems direct, by phone on 0845 812 0800, email sales@cksltd.co.uk or on the web at www.cksltd.co.uk .

Big Discounts on Big Brand Catering Equipment Buyers should check out CKS online specials

CKS (Container Kitchen Systems) is expanding its online catering equipment sales, www.cksltd.co.uk, and is using a series of special offers to promote the new service. The first offers include big discounts on prime cooking equipment from leading manufacturers, some offering more than 50% off the list price.

“We’re building up the site’s portfolio all the time,” confirms Will Kingston of CKS. “We expect to have over 1000 lines very soon.” The company’s products include cooking, holding, refrigeration and prep equipment, as well as accessories.

Buyers who aren’t sure which product to select can call or email CKS for expert advice. The company also offers a full installation service and a variety of preventative maintenance schemes.

Most of the equipment on offer is brand new, though occasionally good quality second hand equipment is available, with limited warranties.

The latest special offers include the Eloma B623 Joker combi at £2,457 (RRP £4,095); the Falcon Dominator G2151OT Open Top Fusion Range at £1,428 (RRP £2,975); and the Falcon Dominator G2101 Six Burner Oven Range for only £1,050, which is well under half price compared to the RRP £2,705 – representing a massive discount of over 60%.

Can We Fit It? Yes, We Can! “We will get your temporary kitchen module in place,” says CKS

Container Kitchen Systems, the specialist in temporary catering modules, has a new live online assistance facility available on every page of its website. This makes it easy to click for instant help and open up a live chat window, wherever you are browsing without having to return to the homepage.

People need temporary kitchens for a variety of reasons such as refurbishment, emergency cover, extra facilities or for catering services on location and want advice on how to choose. Through the 'need help' button CKS has found that what worries most people when they are considering temporary facilities is whether the units will get on site, whether they will fit once there, and how they connect up to the utilities.

“Of course space and access are critical,” says William Kingston of CKS. “But there's no need to fret about apparently insurmountable walls or tight corners: as temporary kitchen specialists we are used to these problems and have a range of solutions for just about any eventuality.

“Here at CKS we have manoeuvred temporary kitchen modules into really tight and unusual places; we’ve even supplied them to the middle of the Cambodian jungle (for a film shoot)! Closer to home we can also usually get them up and running within 24 hours of ordering.”

For example for the 2008 Chinese New Year celebrations in London's Trafalgar Square, CKS delivered a street-side kitchen module at 8am on a Sunday morning, and it was ready to start cooking less than two hours later. This CKS medium kitchen measured 6.2m x 2.85m, with space for four chefs to work alongside each other. Fitted with the latest equipment including a specially requested turbo wok burner and conforming to all current hygiene and fire regulations, a decorated canopy serving area was erected at one end of the module.

Another tight installation was underneath the arches on Brighton's seafront, where a temporary kitchen was needed to cater for the VIPs at the 2007 RAC London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. The arches hadn't been designed with a temporary kitchen in mind, but after some nifty manoeuvering the kitchen was safely in situ. (The installation can be viewed on YouTube – just type Container Kitchen Systems into the search box.)

A temporary kitchen can either be connected up to the mains services - power, gas, water, waste - or it can be a stand-alone unit, with its own generators and so on. On a site visit CKS will advise on the best way to connect up to the utilities and on the day of installation their qualified engineers will undertake all the necessary work. For larger installations CKS can supply coldstores, dishwash rooms, washrooms, dining areas and prep rooms, which can be linked together to form a large complex when required.

Waiter, waiter – there's a UFO in my soup! Container Kitchen Systems offers temporary kitchens in the case of UFO strikes

Waiter, waiter – there's a UFO in my soup!
Container Kitchen Systems offers temporary kitchens in the case of UFO strikes

GUILDFORD, APRIL 1ST 2009: The recent suspected UFO strike on some wind turbines in Lincolnshire has flagged up the possiblilty of UFO damage on British properties. What would happen if a UFO wiped out the kitchen area of a busy hotel, country club, conference centre or restaurant? The clean-up operation could be immense and lengthy. Research scientists and the media would have a field day and the world would descend on the area.

Whatever the establishment, it will become an overnight sensation. It will be an ideal opportunity to promote and expand the business except for one problem – the kitchen will be out of commission. But the boffins at Container Kitchen Systems have come up with the solution – a temporary kitchen module.

CKS is a specialist in temporary kitchen modules and can have one delivered and into commission within 24 hours in cases of emergency. CKS can advise about the siting and, for UFO strikes in particular, make sure it is safely away from any exclusion zone Government Agencies impose on the area.

"We're used to people contacting us to increase kitchen capabilities for periods of intense business," says Mark Kingston of CKS. "And we're used to getting a kitchen up and running quickly, so we wouldn't anticipate any difficulties in the case of a UFO strike. We could advise the customer where best to site the kitchen modules and exactly what they will need to cope with the demand."

The CKS kitchen modules come in three basic sizes. The smallest measures 3.8 x 2.8m, has sufficient space for two chefs, providing up to 200 meals per session and is fitted with all the latest kitchen equipment including a gas six burner oven range, salamander gas grill and double-basket gas fryer.

"Also if the media interest in the UFO event outstrips expectation and the kitchen capacity is pushed, we can get another module on site and linked up straightaway. We can supply kitchens to cater for 60 to 6,000 people," says Mark.

CKS also supplies specialist units such as production kitchens, prep kitchens, warewashing units and cold storage modules which can be linked together if a larger facility is required. The cold storage module would be useful if any alien life forms need to be preserved, although the local Environmental Health Officer might expect to be informed!

Festival Magic! CKS kitchens cook for stars and crew

Summer festivals are big business. From Easter Weekend and throughout the summer months there are upwards of a hundred major festivals to choose from covering all genres and age groups. One thing all festival-goers have in common is that they need feeding.

There are plenty of mobile burger bars, hog roasts etc for the general punters but the VIPs and performers who are used to a more glitzy life-style demand a bit more in the way of nourishment – some even bring along their own chefs. However these chefs need a top-class kitchen in which to perform their culinary magic.

Container Kitchen Systems, a specialist in mobile kitchen units, has had plenty of experience in supplying high spec kitchens for festivals and sporting events and is familiar with the demands of 'on location' chefs. In previous years it has supplied temporary kitchens for rock stars at Glastonbury, tennis stars at Wimbledon and flying aces at the Farnborough Air Show.

CKS can discuss the specialist requirements of festival chefs (and their discerning employers) with event management before delivering the kitchen, so that everything arrives exactly as requested. The typical festival kitchen will be fitted out with the very latest kitchen technology - from combi steamers to high-performance air conditioning.

"We can supply a kitchen to feed anything from 30 to 3,000 or even more," says Mark Kingston. "And if necessary, for remote locations, we can bring our own power and water."

The standard small 3.8m CKS kitchen includes a serving hatch and sufficient space for two chefs to work comfortably. Capable of producing up to 200 meals per session, the kitchen includes a six-burner gas oven range, Salamander gas grill, double-basket gas fryer, extraction canopy, upright fridge, stainless steel table, hot cupboard, double bowl sink unit, fly killer and lots of other accessories.

For festival organisers who might be uncertain of what is needed, CKS has a live online assistance facility available on every page of its website (www.cksltd.co.uk). This makes it easy for visitors to click for instant help and open up a live chat window as soon as they have a query or want to place an order.

"We aim to make the whole operation easy and trouble-free," says Mark Kingston of CKS. "We'll make sure everything is working before we go off-site, and are on-call for any problems. We can also usually get the kitchen up and running within 24 hours of receiving the order.”