Modern pizza ovens are sometimes also known as deck ovens.   Many of them are also suitable for making toasted sandwiches.  They are available in different sizes and come in single or double versions some suitable for fresh and frozen pizzas, some for frozen only.  They can usually be stacked or mounted on the wall and can hold various different sized pizzas.  Infra-red elements, varying power, removable crumb trays and timers are all features of the products we sell.

The word pizza is thought to have originated from the Latin word pinsa.   Pizza was invented many centuries ago and it has become such a popular dish internationally over the last 40 years that restaurants all over the world have pizza ovens as a standard item in their kitchen.

The Greeks and Phoenicians ate flat bread cooked on a hot stone and seasoned with herbs.  This was called Plankuntos and was used as an edible plate to put meals on such as thick soup or stew.  This flat bread was even known to be praised by Cato the Elder and Herodoctus.  It is similar to what we now know as focaccia bread.  The Veneto region is home to a preserved Bronze Age pizza found on an archaeological dig.

These early pizzas were starting to take on a look and taste of the modern day pizza.  Pizza dough was used and topped with herbs and oil.  Water Buffalo enabled the introduction of a cheese produced from their milk called mozzarella cheese which was added to the pizza and even now is still one of absolute core ingredients on the topping.    Tomatoes were used in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century even though they were thought of as poisonous fruit at first!  Even though the dish originated in peasant communities it was enjoyed as a culinary treat by people of all classes.  It was originally sold on the streets and many areas of Italy developed their own regional styles with different names that are still on pizza menus today.  Now customers can order pizzas with a variety of toppings to suit their own taste.  The dough bases come in different thicknesses, known as thin or thick crust and the actual circular size is measured in inches ready to satisfy consumers according to their appetite!

Carlton Sales sell a wide range of pizza ovens from manufacturers Arcaboa, Blue Seal, Lincat, Maestrowave, Parry and Sirman.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about one of our commercial refrigeration equipment suppliers - Foster – winning a major environmental award Carbon Trust Standard.

At the time I commented on how proud we are at Carlton of our extensive supplier relationships and how, like us many of our suppliers are committed to doing their bit on tackling the causes of climate change and seriously working hard to develop new ways to be energy efficient and reducing the carbon emissions of their businesses and products.

Well know I have just seen that another of our suppliers, T & S Brass, have also won a significant environmental award – this time in the USA.

T&S have been recognised by the Renewable Water Resources (ReWa) with the Compliance Excellency Award for being an outstanding industrial environmental steward throughout 2009. Presented annually, the Compliance Excellency Award honours industrial users who have helped ReWa provide a cleaner environment by achieving an excellent record of compliance. Through an intense monitoring of T&S Brass waste water effluent, the manufacturer met ReWa’s requirements for the second year in a row. This is not the first time T&S has received a ReWa award infact they have won the Compliance Excellency Award eight times since these awards were introduced by ReWa.

All this goes to show that the manufacturers we are working with here at Carlton Services are committed to improving the environment wherever and whenever possible and these are values that we share at Carlton.

If you have any comments or questions about this blog please let us know. We would be delighted to hear them. Do please let us know.

Who has the best Six Burner Range in the UK? Falcon believe they have.

If you are looking for a new Six Burner Range then Carlton Sales can supply you with the Dominator, allegedly the best six burner range in the UK! According to Falcon, the manufacturers of the Dominator Range, their six burner superiority was confirmed at the recent Hotelympia Salon Culinaire where the six burner range was put through some stiff challenges by leading Chefs.

Of course Falcon are aware that other manufacturers make claims that their six burners are the best but according to Falcon “chefs throughout the country have cast their votes and the Falcon Dominator Range continues to dominate the marketplace.”

If you have any comments or feedback about the Falcon range or other manufacturers products please do let us know.

If you would like to know what we at Carlton Sales think of the Falcon Dominator range please just give us a call – 01793 512550 – or contact us via this blog or through our website. We’d be delighted to hear from you.

Last month we wrote a blog on the subject of schools and health organisations benefitting from some new commercial catering equipment that we are able to supply. (Follow this link for the blog Carlton Sales puts focus on schools and healthcare organisations with new commercial catering equipment from Lincat)

That blog was about Lincat commercial catering products, so we were pleased to see another of our suppliers IMC also putting a focus on schools.

This time though it wasn’t about helping the school’s catering company to produce more nutritious lunches, it was all about helping the school children to recognise the significance of climate change and how they can help the environment and combat global warming.

IMC has been running a series of workshops for schools explaining how their recycling solutions can recycle food waste that might otherwise have been sent to landfill where it emits harmful greenhouse gases as it rots away. Using IMCs waste recycling solutions means that this food waste is instead recycled into high quality compost.

If you have any questions or concerns about how to avoid sending excessive amounts of food waste to landfill please contact us online or give us a call on 01793 512550, we would be delighted to talk to you and advise you on how we could help.

Here at Carlton we are excited about Lincat’s promotion of their specialist range of catering equipment, which is ideal for use in schools and healthcare organisations where there is a real emphasis on healthy food delivered on tightly controlled budgets.

The Lincat range includes the popular Lincat LMR 9 – six burner range, together with single and twin general purpose ovens and high capacity atmospheric steamers powered by either gas or electricity. These Lincat products are designed to appeal to the school or healthcare caterer, who prefers to cook in a more traditional way with a focus on delivering real nutritional value. Easy to use and reliable, these Lincat products are capable of delivering large outputs and in our opinion represent excellent value for money.

Lincat’s atmospheric steamers are well designed and feature an internal steam generation capability. This means that the ovens remain fully saturated with steam which guarantees high quality food production. In addition energy costs are saved by the positive two-point door latch mechanism and effective door seal. All components and materials are WRAS approved to ensure both quality and hygiene.

As with all the Lincat equipment Carlton sell and service, these products come will a full manufacturers warranty and will be delivered free of charge to any UK mainland location. We also accept payment via credit cards or we can look at leasing arrangements if you’d prefer.

In our view the LMR9 six burner range, LM09 single oven and LMD9 double oven offer very good performance and real value for money for schools and hospitals. Built with sturdy stainless steel, they are very robust, easy to clean and designed to meet the needs of the busiest school or hospital kitchen.

If you work in a school or a hospital kitchen we’d really like to hear your views on how your kitchen is performing.

· Are you being asked to do a lot more with less budget?

· How well is the catering equipment working?

· What’s your favourite piece of catering equipment?

We are genuinely interested in such things because the supply and maintenance of catering equipment is our business and your experiences will help us to understand more and ultimately help us provide better customer service.

Classeq’s new Duo dishwashers/glass washers/warewashers have space-saving integral water softeners saving you money and space.

At Carlton we have been supplying the Classeq range of dishwashers, glasswashers and warewashers for some time. We have found them to be well designed and reliable offering great value for money for restaurants pubs hotels and cafes and they are made in Britain too.

Now Classeq have introduced a couple of new models which make them even better value in our view.

So what have they done to make us say this? Well their new Duo 3 and Duo 750 machines save space in the kitchen, cut costs and simplify installations because they have integral water softeners. That means no additional external piping or boxes are needed, because the water softener mechanism is all contained inside the machine.

These integral water softeners automatically regenerate themselves and a control panel light informs operators when the dishwashers need to be refilled with salt. With a full coverage filter system that keeps the wash water cleaner for longer the new machines deliver exceptional washing power.

In addition easy to use one-touch controls on all models simplify staff training and reduce mistakes. As well as the new softeners there are integral chemical dosing pumps ensuring safe and accurate use of chemicals. This protects staff, avoids wastage and achieves the optimum wash conditions saving you time and money as result.

The front loading Classeq Duo models are excellent for under the counter, back bar operation as they are double skinned for quiet operation and remain cool to the touch. They have an extremely low wash tank capacity, as little as 10 litres, this means they deliver quick start-up times and lower energy bills.

All commercial catering products supplied by us here at Carlton come with free delivery throughout the UK mainland and are covered by a full manufacturer’s warranty. All commercial catering products are available to lease and all major credit cards are accepted.

For more information on the new Duo Range of commercial dishwashers glasswashers and warewashers or on any of the extensive range of commercial catering equipment that we supply please call Carlton on 01793 512550 or visit our website www.carltonsales.co.uk

We’d be delighted to hear from you.

Hobart UK is part of ITW, a global business and top 100 US listed company.

ITW’s inherent philosophy is to understand, simplify and automate to cultivate real innovation. Hobart equipment is conceived, designed and built by ITW in the UK and Europe. The benefit to you? British innovation, German engineering, Italian style.

Hobart UK has a 100 year strong reputation for quality, innovation, reliability and exceptional service. A customer driven and customer focused organisation, Hobart’s range is the most comprehensive and technologically advanced in the market place.

Want to find out more about Hobart and its products? Contact us!

Hobart strives continuously to develop processes which reduce energy consumption and in turn reduce damaging CO2 emissions. By utilising advanced technologies to reduce water consumption and using water more efficiently, Hobart has been able to significantly lower energy usage in its product range.

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.

Additional Infomation:

Established in 1978, Carlton Services is firmly recognised as the region’s premier sales and service provider for refrigeration, air conditioning, catering equipment and ventilation systems. Carlton Services also prides itself on the excellent customer service it provides. As the supplier of choice to the NHS,MOD, National / Local Government and for businesses of all sizes, we are working to provide you with a well balanced solution for all your sales, service, repairs, maintenance and installation requirements at the most competitive prices.

In addition to our varied engineering services we offer nationwide online sales of leading brands supported by our hand picked team of dedicated and experienced sales technicians. Carlton Services hands on approach ensures that projects and goods are delivered on time, within budgetary constraints and to the correct standard. Dedication to quality is vital, as many of the systems supplied, installed and maintained by Carlton Services are critical in terms of health and safety.

Since 1948 Bravilor Bonamat has become renowned for its professional beverage preparation systems. Starting from quick filtering equipment we are now internationally known for an extensive range of products which provides consumers with hot drinks in many varieties and delicious fresh water every day.

Together with all our colleagues we celebrated this jubilee. We are now looking forward again. New models are being designed, technologies and strategies developed. Together we want to show the world that we will continue our business, onwards to the next jubilee!

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.

Classeq’s Eco glasswashers – low-cost, high-quality glasswashing

Energy costs are soaring up relentlessly and beleaguered bar-owners are seeing their profit margins shrinking, so appliances that promise low energy consumption are in big demand. Classeq’s Eco glasswashers are not only economical to purchase but offer bar-owners savings in running costs, and scrupulously clean glasses into the bargain.

To cut energy costs the Eco glasswashers have extremely low capacity wash tanks – they only need 10 litres for the Eco1 and Eco2 models and 18 litres for the Eco3 – making them quick to heat up. A clever filter system keeps the wash water cleaner for longer so there are less water changes and hence lower fuel bills. But the machines still produce sparkling clean glasses, time after time.

The smallest Eco 1 can wash up to 12 pint glasses per rack – with a wash cycle of only 2 minutes that equates to 360 glasses per hour. The largest in the range, the Eco 3, fits a maximum of 25 glasses in its rack and washes a staggering 750 glasses per hour.

Staff time is critical in any establishment. The Eco glasswashers’ auto cycle facility automatically starts the washing programme when the correct temperatures are reached, allowing staff to get on with other tasks. Integral chemical dosing pumps ensure accurate use of detergents, reducing the risk to staff and lowering costs as well as ensuring the best wash conditions possible.

All Classeq’s glasswashers and dishwashers are built at its factory near Stafford. In this way Classeq can directly control the quality of the machines at all points in their production and quickly respond to demand and installation queries. The Eco glasswashers are competitively priced machines and Classeq offer excellent after-sales service.

For further infomation please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or phone our sales team on (01793) 512550.

Parry Catering has more than 30 years experience of manufacturing and sourcing quality products for the professional caterer. The roots of the company date back to 1943 when Mr. Jack Parry and Mr. Henry Martin formed a partnership originally selling telephone relays which they soon expanded into the production of lamp control gear and quickly became the largest independent producer in the UK. As the company expanded they began to diversify their offerings and in 1972 the Catering Equipment Division was purchased and Parry Catering was born.

In today’s times Parry offer the unique purchase point that 90% of their catering products are both designed and manufactured in a purpose built factory in the Midlands meaning when you purchase Parry you really are buying into the best of British and with so many cheap imports in the market this is reassuring to know. Parry’s modern manufacturing techniques and investments in technology mean that the cost of investing in a British made product may also come as a pleasant surprise.

With Parry’s excellent reputation for producing its own products it adds up that anything they put their name to will also have to be of the highest quality however with its manufacturing and expertise being restricted to making a certain type of product Parry has been listening to its customers needs and joining forces with a variety of service partners to bring to market our own imported product.

Managing Director Terry Cooper says “Our imported product offers all the equipment on any caterers shopping list and it means Parry can almost be a one stop shop, with customers knowing they are buying a quality product at a fair price. The two year warranty we have placed on our range of refrigeration speaks volumes of the confidence we have in the products and that Parry are a company that is not ready to rest on its previous successes but a company that is moving forward and hopefully offering the products that customers will want not only today but in the future too”

These are perhaps bold words for a company that has a reputation for making fryers! However looking through this range it does truly seem to have something for most needs. As well as a very extensive range of refrigeration which includes service and display and of course all refrigeration includes the ground breaking two year guarantee, there are icemakers, glass and dishwashers, slicers, contact grills, water boilers, the increasingly popular combination ovens including a revolutionary 2/3 gastronorm model and a full range of LPG equipment and these items don’t even scratch the surface of the variety within the imported range. As you would expect from anything Parry puts its name to all these items carry at least a one year guarantee to ensure you can purchase with confidence.

The imported products is not the only range that Parry has been working on behind the scenes though. It stands to reason that a company who has over 30 years of experience working with stainless steel will have the facility to design stainless steel fabrications as well. So that’s exactly what they have done. The range as you would expect includes the ever faithful stainless steel tables and sinks which are a staple for any kitchen as are many of the other products within the range however looking beyond the standard range Parry’s Stainless Steel fabrications are only limited to your imagination and any need big or small can be addressed by their specials team so you receive the exact item for your requirements.

For more infomation on Parry products please visit www.carltonsales.co.uk or contact Carlton Sales on (01793) 512550.