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
 
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 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
 
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
 
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 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.
 

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!

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.

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.

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..!
 

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.