Monday 23 December 2013

A Mid West Christmas Poem

As you may have just possibly noticed, we love a bit of poetry here at Mid West..! As such, we've written you a special Christmas poem - enjoy!

Merry Mid West Christmas

The Mid West office is closed,
Combi Santa has donned his fine hat,
The slicers are calm and composed,
And hoping the journey is flat!

The sleigh is ready to go
And the spectacle takes to the skies -
Anyone down below
Will never believe their eyes!

You thought that we just sold equipment,
But no, you’ve got it all wrong,
For our job is to help Santa’s shipment
Get to the chefs where it belongs!

We’ll be back open in the New Year
But remember that we will deny
Those sleigh bells you think that you hear
And the slicers you saw in the sky…


Merry Christmas from all at Mid West!

We're now closed for the hols and reopen on 2nd January 2014 - see you then!

Thursday 24 October 2013

"Chick or Treat!"

It's that time of year again! If you enjoyed last year's Halloween post, you might like to read on, as we've got another "treat" in store for you this year...

Mid West Catering Equipment - Halloween Chicken Rotisserie

If you are planning to partake in a spot of “chick or treating” this Halloween, you’ll love our chicken rotisseries. Cooking up to 60 foul fowls at a time, these will make you a real wizard in the kitchen. Each rotisserie features 15 spits, though you may want to spit on the butchered birds yourself, for added juiciness. There’s nothing like a bit of saliva to make them sizzle!

With eight high powered infrared burners, each of which can be separately adjusted for optimal zapping of the beasts, these rotisseries are very efficient at cooking the corpses (much quicker than the standard spells of ye olde days). They also feature a fitted fat tray and large fat drain outlet, ideal for collecting fatty juices to smear on the walls of your cave for a bewitching aesthetic, or to use in evil potions.

Our suggested chicken recipes include:

  • Classic chicken and tricks served on a bed of frogs’ eyes
  • Chicken wrapped in bats’ wings, topped with a sprinkling of foot cheese
  • Slug-infused chicken, covered in a delicate mould sauce
  • Chicken served with arthritic witches’ fingers and a rich mucus jus

Well suited to barbaric butchers, devilish delis, scary supermarkets or giant ghostly gatherings, these rotisseries will help turn your chick into a treat this Halloween!

To see more items of second-hand catering equipment which may desirable to the discerning wizard, visit our website or give us a call on 0845 266 8848 to arrange an appointment to view items at our cave.
 

Thursday 3 October 2013

Poetical Pizza

For National Poetry Day, we have written a variety of poems for you, inspired by our pizza ovens. As you do.

Mid West pizza ovens

Firstly, we tested the water with a simple haiku:


A pizza oven
Delicious pizza inside
Cooking is its life

Next, we had a go at rhyming couplets:

Pizza, flatbreads, very versatile,
The pizza oven is so skilled.
So delicious, gaze on them for a while,
You’ll have to be strong willed.

Spurred on by our great successes above, we then experimented with some abstract poetry:

Pizza oven, pizza oven
Limbs as noble as a tree
With your double deck conveyor soul
Pepperoni.

And finally we finished with a good old fashioned limerick:

A pizza oven once did a sneeze,
No-one noticed because of the cheese.
The pizza was served,
The oven said not a word,
The customer said “Lovely – more please!”

To view all the pizza ovens we currently have in stock, click here.

Monday 2 September 2013

Is your kitchen ready for Xmas?

OK, OK. So it’s only the start of September, but if you’re in the catering or hospitality industry, you’re probably already booking up fast for the festive period. Office parties, Christmas Day, New Year, festive weddings… Christmas is always a busy time, so as you start to prepare for the festive season, get ahead of the game and make sure your kitchen is up to the job! Once the Christmas rush starts, you won’t want to suddenly find your kitchen unable to cope with your festive menus and the increased pressure.

Here are our top tips for Christmas-proofing your kitchen…
 


First things first, take a look at your festive menu and check which items of catering equipment you’ll be using. 
 
Do you have the right catering equipment? This is a bit obvious, but it's worth checking! Your festive menu is likely to be different to your current one, so might require different catering equipment. You’ll be busy at Christmas, so you need to make sure you have the right equipment to make your kitchen as efficient as possible.

Is this equipment in good condition or is it unreliable? You don’t want a vital piece of catering equipment giving up the ghost on Christmas Day! If any of your equipment is on its last legs and needs replacing, now’s the time to do it, to avoid any extra disruption during your busiest period.

Do you have enough catering equipment to cope with the quantity of food you’ll be producing? Festive menus tend to offer limited choices to make it more manageable for the kitchen to produce. On the other side of the coin though, it means that certain items of equipment will be seeing heavier use than normal, and may not provide enough capacity. Anticipate these bottlenecks and take action now. Perhaps now’s a good time to buy that bigger freezer you’ve been thinking about!

What’s your backup plan? Make sure you know what you’d do if one of your items of catering equipment broke. If it means you’d not be able to produce one or more of your menu items, make sure you have a backup plan in place.

Buying ex-hire equipment from us is a great way to update your catering equipment without the high cost. Our equipment is sold at a fraction of the RRP, and is a low risk option. We’ve owned all our equipment from new, and it’s been regularly cleaned, serviced and maintained by our qualified catering engineers, as well as being subjected to a whopping 30-point quality checklist before every hire.

Visit our website
to see current stock, or contact Mike to book an appointment to visit our showroom.

Friday 26 July 2013

10% off all Pot Boys!

Mid West Catering Equipment: Bouncing Baby Pot Boy
You may recall we blogged about the impending birth of the Royal Mid West Baby earlier this week. Well, we now all know that the "Double Fridge of Cambridge" and "Fridge Williams" are now the proud parents of a Bouncing Baby Pot Boy! Hurrah!

To celebrate, we're offering 10% off all our pot boys until 5pm on Friday 2nd August. Just quote "GEORGE" when you place your order.

Our wall-mounted pot boys are ideal for any busy commercial kitchen. They are heavy duty, motorised units and make light work of cleaning manky pots and pans, featuring a powered nylon brush to remove stubborn residue. 

They might not look as attractive as a spangly combi oven or a gleaming griddle, but you definitely need one in your life!

If you'd like to be the proud new owner of a pot boy (and quite frankly, who wouldn't?!), pop over to our website here.

*Offer excludes VAT and delivery.

Monday 22 July 2013

A Royal Mid West Baby

As the Double Fridge of Cambridge goes into labour this morning, the question on everyone's mind here at Mid West is whether the Royal Mid West Baby will be a bouncing baby pot boy or a beautiful baby grill. The baby's father, Fridge Williams, says the couple have chosen to keep it a surprise, so we will just have to wait and see!

As we eagerly await the news, here's a bit of speculation and family background for you...


Double roll-in fridgeThe Double Fridge of Cambridge
The Double Fridge of Cambridge is a Williams. Obviously. She is used to appearances at major events, and remains cool, calm and collected at all times. She has only had one job before, but is keen to prove her worth. As you would expect, the Double Fridge of Cambridge has been well looked after and is in excellent condition.


Undercounter fridgeFridge Williams
For a soon-to-be father, Fridge Williams is surprisingly chilled out so far. He is cool and hard working, and will happily get stuck in, working in both kitchens and prep areas. Although Fridge Williams will one day be King of Showroom, he is happy to stay undercounter for now, building his high flying career in commercial catering.

A Bouncing Baby Pot Boy?Pot boy
Many people think that the Royal Mid West Baby will be a bouncing baby pot boy. If this were to be the case, we predict that the pot boy would be born with a fine head of (nylon) hair, and be a robust little chap. Like his father, the baby pot boy wouldn't be afraid of hard work and would happily come to the rescue in any commercial kitchen.

A Beautiful Baby Grill?Contact grill
We personally think that the Royal Mid West Baby will be a beautiful baby contact grill. The baby grill would be warm hearted, and grow up to be a right hottie. Petite and hard working, this future Queen of Showroom would melt the hearts of the nation, whilst also looking after her people with her understated skill and efficiency.

Friday 3 May 2013

May Day Bank Hol

Everyone deserves the day off on a bank holiday, catering equipment included, so Mid West will be closed on Monday. Many of us will be spending the long weekend relaxing, and our catering equipment is no exception...

Combination oven camping

Camping Combis
Our combi ovens are planning to go on a bank holiday camping trip. Thanks to their casters, they've been able to plan a lovely walk through the countryside to help them relax and let off steam. The weather should be baking hot, but the combis blanched at the idea of taking sun hats, so we reckon they'll be absolutely roasting. They are most looking forward to toasting marshmallows over the campfire - one of the few types of cooking they are unable to do themselves!

Griddle in a garden

Gardening Griddles
Our griddles will be spending the long weekend pottering about in the garden. Nobody seems to know exactly whose garden they'll be in, as we certainly don't have one... Anyway, they'll be out in the sunshine, happily catching the rays (and reflecting them straight into the eyes of unfortunate passers by) and tending to the plants. They considered having a BBQ but decided it might be a bit daft, considering they're capable of cooking enough burgers and sausages themselves to feed a small army!

Monday 29 April 2013

Our second donation to the Children's Food Trust!

As you may already know, we support the Children's Food Trust by giving them a donation for every item we sell. You may recall we handed over our first cheque back in January, which was for a whopping £8000. 

Well. We've done it again! Donation number two - a cheque for £6000 - was presented to Rob Rees, Chairman of the Children's Food Trust, a few days ago by our Sales and Marketing Director Lee Vines.


Lee said: “Over recent months we’ve cleared out a backlog of hire kit that has been replaced or upgraded as a result of stock bought by us to facilitate large scale events. We’ve made this surplus stock available to caterers at great prices – and made a donation for every piece of kit sold – so everyone wins.”

Rob said: “We’re delighted PKL has supported us with another donation. The Trust’s work, in encouraging more children, schools and parents around the country to have a positive experience with food is hugely important. This will help us reach more schools and more children in 2013.”

The Children's Food Trust is a national charity which aims to get children eating better, and its work includes developing healthy school menus and cooking skills with children.

A huge thank you to all our lovely customers for helping make this donation possible! We're continuing to put donations in the pot ready for the next cheque now, so keep buying your equipment from us!

Thursday 18 April 2013

Rice is Nice

Here at Mid West, we love food. A lot. So we thought we'd do a quick blog post in honour of one of our favourite types of food - Asian. From sweet and sour chicken to a good old tikka masala, we love it all. No Asian restaurant would be complete without that classic, versatile accompaniment to pretty much any dish though: rice!

If you cook lots of rice, then check out these beauties which we currently have in stock! They are in great condition and have only been used a few times too!


Rice Washer
These fab Fujimak rice washers can wash up to 100kg of rice per hour. With a compact design and hygienic stainless steel contruction, these rice washers are absolutely ideal for Asian or world cuisine restaurants and takeaways. As well as being great at washing rice, they are also an absolute bargain price! Nice.

Rice Cooker
Once your rice is nice and clean, you'll need one of these Fujimak triple deck rice cookers! Each deck comes complete with a Teflon coated rice cooking pot on a nifty slide-out mechanism for easy removal. These fancy-pantsy rice cookers automatically detect the steam temperature too, allowing the electric controller to know exactly when to time the cooking from. They will make sure your rice is cooked in a trice! Nice.

Wednesday 27 March 2013

Happy Easter from Mid West


From everyone here at Mid West, we'd like to wish you all a very happy Easter!

In true Mid West style, we'd also like to introduce you to a couple of items of catering equipment who are particularly excited about Easter. Meet two of Blast Chiller Cat's closest friends, Hoppy the Hot Cupboard and Beaky the Undercounter Dishwasher...

Hoppy the Hot Cupboard

Picture of a 1200mm commercial hot cupboard
Hoppy is a lovely 1200mm hot cupboard that just so happens to think it's a rabbit. He has two shelves inside, each capable of holding three 1/1 gastronorm containers, and would be perfect for smaller catering requirements. With a warm and fuzzy personality to match his bunny-like ways, Hoppy also provides a warm prep area on top, making him small but versatile.
 

Beaky the Undercounter Dishwasher
Picture of a commercial undercounter dishwasher
Beaky is a chirpy little dishwasher who, despite his bird-like appearance, has a nice, quiet operation. He was bought new last year and has only performed at one event. He is quick and efficient, washing up to 500 plates an hour. Beaky offers two wash cycles and would be well-suited to life in a small catering establishment such as a pub or restaurant.
 

Friday 22 March 2013

Watch out, more poetry!

Having read yesterday's epic poem in honour of World Poetry Day, Mid West sales guy Mike found himself suddenly consumed by a strong desire to communicate through the medium of rhyme. Accordingly, he sent over this marvellous creation which we feel compelled to share. So sit back, relax, and enjoy some more dodgy poetry courtesy of Mid West...

A lonely produce washer.
We think poor Mike has been
spending too much time in
the warehouse...

A lonely produce washer stood,
Amongst a set of durable goods,
All shiny clean it posed away,
To get itself sold to no affray.

Day after day it gleamed in vain,
For people seemed to abstain,
From buying the washer proud as punch,
It just needed the chance to wash some lunch.

This plucky washer stood its ground,
To its surprise it surely found,
A suitable buyer from Anglesey,
Who bought the washer and said “that’s for me”!

Thursday 21 March 2013

World Poetry Day - oh yes!

Well how's about that then? It's World Poetry Day and nobody thought to tell us! After our last attempt at poetry, perhaps it was for the best... Undeterred though, here is our latest offering. It tells the tale of some rather unfortunate catering equipment, but just as it seems all is lost, Mid West swoops in to save the day with our excellent stock of reasonably priced second-hand equipment! Naturally. Enjoy!


There was a fine stainless steel oven,
That decided to start up a coven,
It roasted and braised,
In a network of caves,
Not thinking of the repercussions.

Now all of these potions were fine,
Nothing more than a big waste of time
But the lack of extraction
Caused a reaction
With noises and smoke and some grime.

Nearby a whimsical griddle
Was learning to play on a fiddle.
It was singing a song
When the oven went wrong,
Causing the poor thing to widdle.

This startled a close by food chute
Who was happily playing the flute.
All its burgers fell out
And splatted about -
The effect was not very cute.

For a passing by janitor sink
The fright took it right to the brink,
And with a small sigh
It keeled over and died
And landed with an almighty “clink!”

Luckily in stepped Mid West
And replaced these daft items with zest.
When your equipment is dead
Don’t take to your bed!
You can buy more from us (we’re the best!).

Wednesday 20 March 2013

International Happiness Day!

Today is the first ever United Nations International Day of Happiness. We are naturally happy people here at Mid West, so we've put together a quick list of things you can be happy about too!

The happiest servery in the world
1. We have loads of nearly-new catering equipment bargains in stock! This should make you happy, as you can buy yourself a fab item of equipment for a fraction of its RRP!

2. You can be happy in the knowledge that for every item you buy from us, we will make a donation to the Children's Food Trust to support their work on a number of children's food issues. Warm fuzzy feelings all round!

3. If you are a regular reader of our blog, you will know that every item of our equipment has its own little personality, from the sweet-natured Blast Chiller Cat, to Terry the Tray Dispenser, to (the rather terrifying) Vanessa the Veg Prep. By giving one of these little fellows a home, you will have a new friend in your kitchen. It's a bit like buying a pet. And pets make people happy. Fact.
 

Friday 15 March 2013

Cheltenham Festival - Day 4

As the Cheltenham Festival draws to a close today, we are taking some time to reflect on CowCow's predictions so far. He has predicted one winner correctly, and many of his other predictions have almost finished their races - great success! But like they say, it isn't over until the fat pony wins...
 


If you need a reminder of what's going on and how CowCow generates his predictions, visit Tuesday's blog post. You can also read back over the last three days of predictions, which are all up here on the blog.

CowCow has selected a "diverse" selection of horses today, so we'll see what happens! As always, follow us on Twitter for photographic reminders of CowCow's chosen horses throughout the day.

CowCow's Cheltenham Festival Predictions - 15th March 2013

Race 1 - Gassin Golf
Race 2 - Ifandbutwhynot
Race 3 - Inish Island
Race 4 - Silviniaco Conti
Race 5 - Chapoturgeon
Race 6 - Make Your Mark
Race 7 - Oh Crick
 

Thursday 14 March 2013

Cheltenham Festival - Day 3

After a slightly better performance yesterday (he successfully picked a winner and a second place!), CowCow has thrown himself, quite literally, into choosing today's horses. He still seems a little confused by the whole thing, but we're feeling confident nonetheless...
 


If you're udderly(!) baffled about what's going on, check out Tuesday's blog post, which explains why a cuddly cow is predicting races, and how he's doing it. Keep an eye on our Twitter account throughout the day too, as we'll be tweeting photos of CowCow with his predictions, in a series of endearing poses. Naturally.
 

CowCow's Cheltenham Festival Predictions - 14th March 2013

Race 1 - Captain Conan
Race 2 - Ballybough Pat 
Race 3 - For Non Stop
Race 4 - Wonderful Charm
Race 5 - Tartak
Race 6 - Prince of Pirates
Race 7 - Freneys Well
 

Wednesday 13 March 2013

Cheltenham Festival - Day 2

After yesterday's "slightly iffy" start, CowCow is hoping to redeem himself today with some fantastic predictions for the Cheltenham races. Only time will tell whether he's destined to be a cash cow or a crash cow though. Yesterday's Cheltenham Festival predictions from our bewildered bovine included horses which fell, had false starts, and which came in last place, so surely things can only get better..?
 


Here are today's predictions. For more info on exactly how CowCow chooses the horses, see yesterday's blog post! As with yesterday, you can also follow us on Twitter to see photos of our lovely CowCow with his predictions shortly before each race.
 

CowCow's Cheltenham Festival Predictions - 13th March 2013
 
Race 1 -  Top Smart
Race 2 - Taquin Du Seuil
Race 3 - Terminal
Race 4 - Sprinter Sacre
Race 5 - Meister Eckhart
Race 6 - Another Sensation
Race 7 - Fascino Rustico
 

Tuesday 12 March 2013

Cheltenham Festival - Day 1

Although our warehouse is in Swindon, Mid West HQ is based up in Cheltenham, less than 2 miles down the road from the racecourse. As it's race week this week (aka "commuting nightmare week"), we thought we'd share our predictions!

As the now infamous Paul the Octopus demonstrated at the last World Cup, animals are great at this kind of thing. We therefore asked CowCow, HQ's resident office animal, to do the honours.
 


For each of the day's races, we printed out the names of the horses, and CowCow launched himself enthusiastically at the names. The one his moustache landed nearest to each time is listed below.

Visit the blog each day for his latest predictions. You can also follow the action over on Twitter, where CowCow will be proudly posing with the name of his chosen horse, a little while before each race.


CowCow's Cheltenham Festival Predictions - 12th March 2013

Race 1 - Pique Sous
Race 2 - Arvika Ligeonniere
Race 3 - Summery Justice
Race 4 - Grandouet
Race 5 - Stone Light
Race 6 - Fourjacks
 

Thursday 7 March 2013

International School Meals Day


As you may already know, we are huge fans of the Children's Food Trust, and give them a donation for every item we sell. We think that good nutrition for children is really important, so when the Children's Food Trust announced that they are backing International School Meals Day this Friday, we decided to help spread the word too!


One of the things that can help schools to provide fab school meals is having access to proper, good-quality catering equipment. Catering equipment can be very expensive to buy new though, and budgets are often tight, so we always offer great prices to schools on our lovely second-hand commercial equipment. We've already given a number of schools great deals on equipment, so if you know a school who is in dire need of some catering equipment, send them our way!

To read more about our link with the Children's Food Trust, and to see all the items we currently have in stock, visit our website here.
 

Monday 4 March 2013

Mmm, Mid West Pie!

Apparently it's British Pie Week this week. To celebrate this momentous and quite frankly delicious occasion, we have created our very own Mid West Pie! The oh-so-yummy Mid West Pie contains veg prep machines, bratt pans, combi ovens and fridges - all ideal pie ingredients, we're sure you'll agree. Bon appetit!

Mid West Pie
Behold the magnificent Mid West Pie!

Monday 18 February 2013

Feeling chipper?

We are v excited to have discovered that this week is National Chip Week! This has put us in a rather chipper mood (especially considering it's a Monday morning), so we've put together a list of some our top chip-loving catering equipment currently for sale.

We don't want to rub salt (or vinegar) in the wound, but if you don't serve chips, then you're missing out on all the fun! When the chips are down, it'll be places selling those delicious potato treats that do well this week. Never fear though, buy one of our chip-related items of equipment and we can get it to you in a chippy jiffy, so you won't miss out!


Chip Scuttle

This counter-top chip scuttle is less than a year old, and has only been used at one event. It's ideal for fast food and pub catering, and features an angled plate for optimal chip-scooping. With a thermostatically-controlled base and overhead heat source, your chips will be kept nice and hot, saving you from a cold chip nightmare.

Double Basket Fryer

This single tank, double basket gas fryer is perfect for frying bulk quantities of chips and other delicious fried food. With a capacity of 50kg of chips per hour, your customers won't be going hungry this National Chip Week! This impressive fryer is on casters, and is made of stainless steel for easy cleaning.

Single Fryer

This single fryer may be smaller than the big one above, but it's a chip off the old block and certainly pulls its weight in the kitchen. With an hourly chip output of approx 20kg, this compact fryer is ideal for smaller kitchens where space is an issue. This fryer is particularly popular due to the high-quality manufacture and number of features it offers.

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Mid West Lonely Hearts: The Girls

Following our lonely hearts column for the boys, here are the girls. I think we might have saved the best until last - what do you think?


Charlotte the Chilled Servery
Charlotte the Chilled Servery 
My attitude to life is pretty chilled. I just love my handbag, and like to carry so much stuff about with me that it's lucky I have an ambient cupboard for extra storage! I love chilling out at events, and can often be found hanging around the cold food, acting cool. Pick me this Valentine's Day and I guarantee I'll give you the chills.


Vanessa the Veg PrepVanessa the Veg Prep

As you can see, I am terribly sophisticated. I don't suffer fools gladly though. With my sharp tongue, I can slice through any nonsense faster than you can say "Coco Chanel". Some people find my manner rather grating, but I just like to cut to the chase. I don't want to waste my time on dates that aren't going anywhere, so don't bother contacting me if you're all about sugar and hearts. Get in touch only if you can really challenge me - I want a relationship that I can really get my teeth into.
 

Francesca the Refrigerated Display
I'm very cool and can often be found chilling out with all my goods on display. I'm actually very modest though, and feature a front shutter which can be pulled down to keep me covered up. It's very hard to be a refrigerated display when you're really the shy, retiring type, so I'm looking for someone who understands the complexities of my personality and doesn't judge me based on my job.
 

Mid West Lonely Hearts: The Boys

With Valentine's Day tomorrow, we thought we'd do a bit of a Lonely Hearts column to see if we can find the perfect kitchen for some of our equipment. Following our Lonely Hearts ad last year, Wendy the Warming Drawer found a loving new home, so we though it was worth a try again. After all, no item of catering equipment should be alone on Valentine's Day...

Percy the Produce Washer
Percy the Produce Washer
 
Look deep into my whirlpool and you'll see my swirling heart of gold. There will be no wishy-washy behaviour from me - I'm an efficient, practical machine, and although I'm fully automatic, I still enjoy making bold gestures. Perhaps I will surprise you by washing some delicious strawberries for you, or maybe even a passion fruit! Let me get you in a spin this Valentine's Day.



Terry the Tray Dispenser

Terry the Tray Dispenser 
Dining halls, serveries, dishwash areas. You name it, I've worked in them all. Although I'm quite indecisive over where I choose to work, there's one thing I'm quite certain of - my desire for romance. I can hold loads of trays, but at the end of the day I would prefer to just hold hands. If you pick me this Valentine's Day, I promise I'll show you a wheelie good time, and may even buy you my favourite kind of tray - Milk Tray...


Horace the Hot ServeryHorace the Hot Servery

I have a great capacity for love (and gastronorm containers), and would love to join you at a wonderful banquet or maybe a ball - I come with casters, so I'm pretty nimble on my feet for a large piece of kit.
I'm also an excellent tennis player, and have a real skill for serving. With my integral hot cupboard, I'm sure you'll really warm to me. Give me a chance - after all, I am totally hot.
 

Wednesday 6 February 2013

New warehouse!

We've sold so many items of equipment since last summer that we've downsized our warehouse! We completed the big move this morning, so go easy on our sales guys - they're completely exhausted, the poor chickens!

We've moved just down the road, so the new place is still in sunny Swindon. And don't worry - the new warehouse is still enormous and there's still plenty of equipment available and loads of bargains to be had.


Everyone likes piccies, so here are a few...

Our old warehouse, full of equipment back at the end of last summer

Our old warehouse this morning, after all the remaining kit had been moved


Our shiny new warehouse! It appears to be less yellow than the old one - how exciting!

Tuesday 5 February 2013

Top 5 reasons to buy second-hand catering equipment

So, why should you buy your commercial catering equipment second-hand rather than buying new? There are loads of good reasons, but here are our top 5!

1. It can save you hundreds of pounds compared to buying new. With all the money you save, you could buy something exciting like pretty shoes or power tools.

2. If you're thinking about expanding the types of food you offer, buying the required equipment second-hand reduces the financial risk and gives you the chance to try something new. Maybe experiment with something exotic! Like pizza. Or something.

3. Buying second-hand enables you to get high quality big-brand names at prices which you can afford. It can often be a false economy to buy new equipment from unknown brands, which is of a lower quality. Why buy a brand new Dacia when you could get a second-hand Ferrari for a similar price?

"Meow. I'm a blast chiller."
4. It enables you to increase your food offering without breaking the bank. Buying second-hand catering equipment enables you to increase your kitchen's output without investing heavily in expanding your kitchen estate. If your chef is demanding more griddles, get him more griddles. Never cross a man who uses sharp knives in his work.

5. By buying ex-hire equipment (which is what we stock), you know that you are buying equipment which has been regularly deep-cleaned and serviced throughout its life, and which has been maintained to a high standard. When choosing a new pet from the animal shelter, you will want one which has been well-trained and looked after by its previous owners so you know it will be cuddly and flea-free. Think of our catering equipment as a fluffy, docile kitten. Or whatever floats your boat.

Friday 18 January 2013

Snow Day

Unfortunately, due to snow-induced traffic chaos and staff members living miles away, we've had to close the Swindon warehouse and office this afternoon so that everyone can get home safely.

Our sales guy Mike will be available this afternoon on his mobile (call our normal office number and listen to the message for details), and any messages or emails sent this afternoon will be replied to on Monday.

As proof of our plight (and just in case you've never seen some snow in a car park before...), here are a couple of piccies taken outside our warehouse this morning.



Monday 7 January 2013

Our first donation to the Children's Food Trust!

As you may already know, we entered into a partnership with the Children's Food Trust last year and agreed to make a donation to them for every item we sell. Well, we've sold loads of items over the past few months, so we are very excited to announce that we've just handed over our first cheque to them... for £8000!!

The Children’s Food Trust is a national charity which exists to protect every child’s right to eat better and, so, to do better. Their work includes developing healthy school menus and cooking skills with children. Our parent company PKL has worked with the Children’s Food Trust on a number of projects recently, so here at Mid West, we couldn't wait to get involved too!


With our lovely ex-hire equipment selling so well, Lee Vines, our sales and marketing director, was able to present a cheque for £8000 to the Children’s Food Trust at their offices in Sheffield.

“We are very happy to support the Children’s Food Trust with this donation,” said Lee. “Their work, in encouraging more children, schools and parents around the country to have a positive experience with food is very important. We also hope that many schools benefited by being able to buy this ex-hire equipment at heavily discounted prices. School catering managers can now provide more for their students that they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.”

Children's Food Trust Chief Executive, Judy Hargadon, said, "This donation will help us reach even more children - whether through our research programme, our work to improve food in early years settings and in schools, or our work to help even more children learn to cook."

If you've bought any equipment from us over the past few months, then a hearty (but not too violent) slap on the back to you for playing your part! Our agreement with the Children's Food Trust is still in place, so if you buy any equipment from us now, money will go into the pot towards the next cheque..!
 

Thursday 3 January 2013

New Year, New Prices!

Happy New Year! If your new year's resolution is to add to your existing kitchen equipment or to replace your broken old equipment, then you might just be in luck...

Here at Mid West, our new year's resolution has been to lower our prices, and we've done just that! Over the past few weeks, we've been through all our stock and have slashed the price of almost every item. The website has now been updated with the new prices, so if you haven't visited for a while, now's the time to head back over for some second-hand catering equipment bargains.


We have so many items for sale that sadly there just aren't enough hours in the day to get them all up online. If you don't see what you're looking for on the website, just give us a ring and we can double check that the item of your dreams isn't lurking somewhere in our warehouse!

Please remember that this commercial catering equipment won't be restocked once it's sold, so act fast to make sure you don't miss out.
 
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...