Member Article

Leading catering firm renovates historic Hexham hotel

A North East catering company is continuing to make inroads into hospitality design after checking in with a renowned Northumberland hotel.

Crosbys Catering Equipment, based in Brough Park Way, Newcastle, was appointed by The Best Western Beaumont Hotel – a Victorian landmark in the heart of Hexham, to undertake a major £150,000 six-month open kitchen installation project.

The hotel, which is well known in the Hexham community and overlooks Hexham Abbey and Sele Park, has 32 double en-suite bedrooms and was purchased last year by owners Roger and Magda Davy. The couple live in Hexham and know the building well, as it has been one of their favourite local venues for family gatherings over the years. Prior to purchasing the Beaumont, they owned a successful Twickenham pub, which they sold last year.

Crosbys was tasked with installing a new kitchen on the ground floor, to the rear of the hotel, in what was formerly the ballroom. The kitchen was to be visible to the public from the car park at the rear and open to the restaurant at the front.

An up-to-date pastry section was also key to the kitchen design, in order to provide afternoon tea to the highest standard. The owners have plans for afternoon tea to be served on the first floor of the hotel, making the most of the views of the park and Abbey. The pastry area now boasts Adande multi temperature drawers, a Thermomix and a Pacojet 2 restaurant system, allowing the chefs to micropuree fresh ingredients into ultra-light mousses, ice creams and sorbets.

Crosbys also selected a reliable Meiko dishwash system with a reverse osmosis function in order to give quality and reliability when it came to ware washing. The extract canopy, manufactured by RS Vent, not only had to look the part and be functional, but also had to be quiet, due to the open nature of the kitchen.

John Clarke, projects design manager, said: “We were delighted to be appointed to work within the Best Western Beaumont Hotel, and it was a great experience for the team to work within such a grand, beautiful Victorian building.

“As we were installing a kitchen which was to be highly visible to the public, we needed to ensure that it was aesthetically pleasing. The range selection was therefore very important – it had to be heavy duty, but striking. We recommended Waldorf Bold by Blue Seal with a polished industrial steel and dramatic vitreous enamel black finish. It was manufactured to order for the Beaumont Hotel in New Zealand with a 14-week lead in, and is first Waldorf suite to be supplied to the North of England. Williams’s refrigerated drawers were provided either side of the range for reliability and ease of access to ingredients during service.

“Our client was keen to have all the ductwork exposed on the kitchen ceiling as part of the kitchen visual, so we paid close attention to this detail. The finished kitchen looks stunning with the exposed stainless canopy, ducts, Waldorf polished steel and black enamel panels contrasting against the grey crackle ceramic wall tiles. It makes for one of the best looking commercial kitchens around, and we are very proud of its functionality and appearance.”

Roger Davy, owner of Best Western Beaumont Hotel, said: “When we purchased the Beaumont last year, we were thrilled to become the latest custodians of such a much-loved Hexham hotel. It has a lot of sentimental value for us, as we have celebrated many family occasions there.

“We felt that the ballroom had fantastic potential to become a thriving open kitchen for a brasserie-style eatery, so it’s very satisfying to see our plans come to fruition. Crosbys brought our vision to life and the chefs are very happy with both the high quality of the equipment and the excellent look of the kitchen. We are very much looking forward to seeing what our guests think of the new developments.”

Crosbys supplies crockery, cutlery, specialist catering equipment, paper and janitorial supplies to more than 2000 customers in the North, including such long-established names as Sir John Fitzgeralds, Ladhar Group Newcastle, Apartment Group and Marriott Hotels, as well as a series of London restaurants and Michelin establishments across the UK and overseas.

Since celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2015, Crosbys has focused on growing the hospitality design arm of the business, and has worked with a number of hotels including Commissioners Quay Inn in Blyth and the Best Western Derwent Hotel in Allensford.

For further information about Crosbys, visit www.crosbys.co.uk or tel: 0191 228 4800

Like Crosbys Catering Equipment on Facebook and follow @Crosbys_BCA on Twitter.

For further information about The Best Western Beaumont Hotel, visit www.bw-beaumonthotel.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Crosbys .