Mid West Lonely Hearts 2014

You’ll remember that last Valentine’s Day, we ran a lonely hearts column featuring the boys and the girls. We successfully paired these items up with new kitchens, and we’re hoping to do the same again this year. So, may we introduce this year’s lonely hearts contenders…

Colin the Chargrill
Just because I’m an upfront “get the job done” kind of guy in my work life, doesn’t mean that I can’t also be very romantic. I’ve been known to woo the ladies with juicy steaks and burgers, and I’m no stranger to kissing them on the chops either! I may be a heavy duty kind of guy, but spend some time with me and watch things sizzle!


Daphne the Display Case
With my smooth curves and glossy glass, I’m quite the stunner if I do say so myself! I have a chilled nature and am particularly partial to posh pastries, as well as displaying delicious deli items. I look after myself and always take care with my appearance – it’s important to showcase your assets to maximum advantage. Play your cards right this Valentine’s Day and I’ll show you my Viennese whirls!


Ben the Boiling Top
Don’t be put off by my badboy reputation – my temper may boil over when I’m provoked but when it comes to my work and love life, I’m warm-hearted and attentive. I’m not small – I’m “compact”, so my awesomeness has merely been condensed! Go on, give me a chance - things are sure to get heated very quickly!


Suzie the Salamander Grill
I’m a sizzling, saucy salamander and I’m not ashamed to say it! Although I was once arrested for flash heating, it was all a big misunderstanding. Honest. My main hobbies are grilling, browning (got to top up that tan!) and flashing (but let’s not talk about that). I’m versatile, flexible and always up for a good time, so if you like to live life in the fast lane, I’m your grill!
 

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!

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!

"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...

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.
 

Poetical Pizza

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

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.

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.

10% off all Pot Boys!

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.

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...

The 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.

Fridge 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?
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?
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.