Concept & DesignConsultant

REDEFINING FOODSERVICE through global standards

By November 18, 2012October 23rd, 2013No Comments

ckpWhen you walk into a nice fancy restaurant, you might have noticed certain things – such as the plush and comfortable seats, the soft and relaxing ambience and also the good food that is placed before you. Whether you are fine dining or walking through a buffet line with chefs preparing and cooking in front of you, you would seldom note what goes beyond what you can see. Despite the hot stove or sizzling dishes being prepared right in front of you, it is laid out in a way where watching it is a pleasure to be enjoyed with your food.

How this is done is where company like CKP Hospitality Consultant comes in. Established in 1985, CKP as is it more popularly known is a leader in the international foodservice and laundry consultants industry. Their area of expertise and focus are resorts, hotels, food courts, restaurants, hospitals, theme parks, industrial canteens and convention centres.

aswHaving recently moved into their new office at Work@Clearwater in Kuala Lumpur, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Mr Alburn S William, president of CKP. And he is kind enough to share with us his experiences and thoughts on this very niche service. CKP’s new office showed us how functionality can be made to look spectacular. Clean and bright – the overall space is kept minimal yet welcoming when you walk through the doors. And it is obviously something the CKP carry in their work.

“Before we work on the design, we look at it right from the very beginning – how and what the customer sees when he or she walks into a restaurant. With demands of creating a space shared between the kitchen and the dining area – we had to put ourselves in the shoes of the customer – his seat, how he sees his food being prepared and also the overall ambience. How long the establishment expects the customer to be sitting in the restaurant would play a part as well”. Coined as “The Real Estate Study” it is an analysis that has to be done now that preparation and cooking is made into an art by renowned chefs of today making it a total gastronomic experience.

prime03Restaurants adopting either glass walls or even a pass through window to the kitchen visible from the dining area must know what they need to address. Ventilation, safety and hygiene-already a standard practice would need to be brought up a notch. And the practical aspects of conducting maintenance work is a point that should be consider at all times as well. Wastages – be it in how the food is managed to even the air conditioning or exhaust systems is something that is calculated before the layout is finalized.

All these affect the customer’s profits at the end of the day. As a consultant, there is another important aspect that has to taken into consideration – the owners, operators and the chefs. “We speak to the owner, the operator and also the chefs to know what we need to do. When we design for the hospitality industry, we have to know what the operator wants to create and how that design is made to match the entire operations. What the owners are willing to invest and also whether the chefs’ needs are fulfilled”. It is not easy when everything has to be taken into account and the challenge does not end there.

DSC_0113“My team is on a very strict policy – we do not repeat the designs. Every restaurant and its kitchen design begin on a blank floor plan and every nook and cranny with sensible kitchen flow is designed from scratch. We don’t take an older concept or design and override it for the next customer” adds Alburn. The other tough part would be to identify the equipment that is placed in these layouts. “When a consultant chooses or specifies an equipment, we need to know the equipment just as well as the person who is going to be using it. We normally request that the chefs sit in during the proposal stage as they would then supply us the necessary input.” But as a consultant, CKP makes it crucial that the team is exposed to as many brands and types of equipment as the selection should be made independent of any supply interest as the customer’s needs are the priority in every design.

DSC_0114“We communicate with manufacturers as well on trends that are driving the way we design equipment or when we propose a layout. Customizations are costly, therefore the equipment manufacturer must actually make efforts to fabricate equipment that is suitable or adaptable to more than just 1 environment or condition.”

And going through their success and profiles of work done – we know why they are at the top of the game. With more than 1000 successful projects under their belt and growing, their experiences have travelled from continents to continents. With 2 other offices set up – 1 in Shanghai, China to the other office in Dubai UAE – CKP’s team is well diversed in many different palates to ensure that their designs are done to compliment the cuisine.[hr]

OTHER SERVICES BY CKP:

A. Laundry Facilities Planning
A full scope of facilities design services that covers schematic and conceptual design, design development and services coordination with consultants, tender documentation, tendering and evaluation of bids, construction supervision and control of contractor’s works; testing, commissioning and handover.

B. Operational & Development Planning
Growing institutional foodservice establishments may require the preparation of operational and development programs that include feasibility studies to determine the most appropriate method of foodservice operation and type of facilities suitable to the establishment requiring this service.Fundamental requirements such as basic operational elements, design guidelines, opening hours, management, waste control, foodservice sanitation, servery and cashiering operations will be part of the overall analysis which becomes useful when sourcing for contract caterers.

C. Solid Waste Management
This involves an analysis of the generation of solid waste within a foodservice establishment, the separation methodology, estimation of recyclables and waste reduction as well as the facilities and equipment required. To substantiate the analysis, research may be conducted on other parallel facilities and a liaison with local municipal authorities is established, if required.

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Kuala Lumpur Office – Malaysia
CKP HOSPITALITY CONSULTANTS
Suite 2.1, Level 2, WORK @ Clearwater, Changkat Semantan, Off Jalan Semantan, Damansara Heights, 50490 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel : +603-2095 1005  Fax : +603-2011 5664

Dubai Office – U.A.E
CKP MIDDLE EAST CONSULTANTS
P.O.Box 232971, Dubai U.A.E.
Tel : +9714-3278987  Fax : +9714-3278986

For courier address:
Unit 903 9th Floor, Khalid Al Attar Building Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai U.A.E.

Shanghai Office – China
CKP HOSPITALITY CONSULTANTS (SHANGHAI)
Suite 318, 3/F, Sen Ben Plaza, 567 Tianyaoqiao Lu Shanghai, China 200030
Tel : +86 21 2215 7876  Fax : +86 21 2215 7891

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