Upgrading to a high efficiency frying range from Martyn Edwards Frank Ford is saving Stevenson’s Fish & Chips in Sheringham, Norfolk, around 40% on gas
Rob Wicks didn’t expect to be project managing a full shop refurbishment just weeks after buying Stevenson’s Fish & Chips in the popular seaside town of Sheringham. However, this was the case after a pan fire broke out in the 20-year-old frying range, completely gutting the restaurant and takeaway.
In June this year – almost a year after the fire – the shop re-opened with a brand new three pan counter range from Martyn Edwards Frank Ford (ME-FF) – Rob’s first ever high efficiency model.
“I’ve been in the game for a long time, and I’ve used Martyn Edwards before, but this is the first high efficiency range I’ve had and it’s brilliant,” he says. “It’s early days, but it’s looking like it’s saving us about 40% on gas compared with the old range, which is incredible.
“Utilities were very high when we first opened – and are still quite high – so those savings are really helping us to offset some of those costs.”
The high efficiency pans are not only saving money but ensuring the busy takeaway and restaurant keep up with trade. “This is our peak season. We do around 65-70% of our annual trade in the three main summer months – July, August and September – and the range is coping absolutely fine,” explains Rob.
“The recovery time is so much quicker than the old range. We don’t have to wait for the pans to heat up, we can just continuously fry.”
Featuring digital controls and the ability to set timers and temperatures, Rob is finding the range easy to operate, adding: “The built-in triple-stage filtration is excellent, it’s very user-friendly. A big part of this trade is oil management so it enables us to manage the oil really easily.”
Commending the team at ME-FF, from those that carried out the site survey through to the engineers that installed his new range, Rob comments: “Martyn Edwards has been an excellent company to deal with. Stan Price, the director, came down to do the survey and some of his input was invaluable. For example, he changed the position of the extraction so that it no longer encroaches on the serving space, which gives us more room and makes everything more efficient.
“And the fitters, again, were excellent. They were very knowledgeable and installed the range in a day and a half. They had lots of little tips as well regarding the filtration system, pumping out oil to waste, changing the filter and cleaning out part of the filter system. Those instructions have been really useful and it’s actually a fairly simple range to use. We’re really pleased with it.”
ME-FF 01642 489868 www.me-ff.com
