The Clubhouse Steakhouse
offers a unique menu thanks to Williams Meat Ageing Refrigerators
Finding ways for your business
to stand out from the crowd plays a big part in its success. If you’re doing
something unique then you will often need equipment that is uniquely adapted
for you.
The Clubhouse Steakhouse in
Crawley has evolved from a burger restaurant based in the cricket clubhouse
from where it takes its name into not just the only Halal steakhouse in the UK
but the only Halal steakhouse which offers steaks made with top quality in-house
aged beef. This is accomplished with a selection of Meat Ageing Refrigerators
from Williams Refrigeration which are sited front of house, allowing diners to view
the meat they’ll be eating as soon as they walk in to the restaurant.
Looking for ways to expand
beyond burgers, Head Chef and Chef Patron Azam Riyard began to add dry aged
steaks to the menu. “It just started blowing up,” he says. The rising demand
led him to open up a new location, which serves a selection of the finest beef
sourced from around the world and dry aged in-house, as well as burgers,
seafood and sides. “It’s not your standard steakhouse fare,” says Azam. “We
seek out the best meat from around the world, like Wagyu from both Japan and
Australia, and then our dry ageing takes it to a new level.”
The Clubhouse offers a
comprehensive range of steak cuts, with the most popular being fillet and
ribeye. These are then grilled and served with freshly prepared sauces
including artisanal peppercorn sauce made with Maldon flaked salt and Sri
Lankan pepper, Chimichurri and Béarnaise.
When you’re investing this much
into high quality ingredients you want to get the most out of them, this is
where dry ageing helps. “With traditional refrigeration and ageing techniques wastage
can be an issue, which means we’re losing money,” says Azam. “Dry ageing gives
me a way to give meat a much longer shelf life, and the means of offering our
customers an amazing taste they don’t normally get the chance to experience!”
Ageing meat helps to concentrate
the flavour, giving it a buttery, tender texture. “The flavour is second to
none,” says Azam. “We age our beef for 45 days on average, many of our customers
say that they can’t go back to standard beef once they’ve tried it!”
Once Azam began researching the
ideal dry ageing solution, it wasn’t long before he discovered Williams’ Meat Ageing
Refrigerator. “Before opening up the new restaurant was intent on finding the
best equipment,” says Azam. “Not only did Williams score here but as a British
manufacturer I felt confident that they would be better positioned to respond
to us both before and after the sale.”
After contacting Williams he was
put in touch with Nelson Catering Equipment, who handled the sale of the units.
“They were brilliant, the service they provided was excellent,” says Azam.
“They were very helpful whenever I had a question or needed something
explaining.”
There are four Meat Ageing Refrigerators
installed at the Clubhouse, providing ample storage for the different cuts of
meat they serve. As they were to be installed front of house Williams adjusted
them to reduce the noise produced by the compressor, without compromising their
operation. “Williams were willing to adapt them to my needs, rather than us
being forced to compromise,” says Azam. “We built a great relationship, they
listened to what I wanted and were able to customise the fridges to what I
wanted from them.”
The Meat Ageing Refrigerators
create a dramatic presentation for diners as they enter the restaurant.
“Customers walk in and they can see the ageing process the meat is going
through,” says Azam. “It gives them a great insight into what they’re about to
be fed, it’s very appealing!”
Constructed from robust, easy to
clean stainless steel each fridge features a glass door, with internal energy
efficient LED lighting providing clear visibility of the ageing meat. “They’re
simple to use and maintain,” says Azam. “The stainless steel is easy to clean
and keep looking great.”
The Meat Ageing Refrigerator
features a carefully calibrated internal climate that balances temperature and
humidity to provide the perfect environment for ageing meat. It also features
Himalayan salt blocks which both assist with moisture management while helping
to improve the flavour of the meat.
This allows for considerably
longer ageing processes to be undertaken than other methods. While 45 days is
the average length at the Clubhouse, Azam is keen to see how far he can take
the process. “At the moment I’ve got some which has been in there about 175
days,” he says. “We’ve yet to find the limit, and once it’s been aged you can
vacuum pack it and keep it almost indefinitely.”
The Meat Ageing Refrigerator
features 80mm polyurethane insulation with zero ODP and low GWP and uses a
natural hydrocarbon refrigerant.
The superior product that the Meat
Ageing Refrigerator creates has proved such a hit with diners that Azam is
extremely optimistic about the future of the Clubhouse. “Being the only Halal
steakhouse that serves dry aged beef in the UK makes us unique,” says Azam.
“it’s still pretty rare to get the chance to eat dry aged beef, and with the
demand we’ve already seen I’m sure we’re only going to get bigger and bigger.
We’re going to need more fridges from Williams!”
Williams Refrigeration offers a comprehensive range of commercial
refrigeration including gastronorm cabinets and counters, specialist bakery equipment,
coldrooms, multidecks and blast chillers.
To learn more about
Williams extensive product range visit www.williams-refrigeration.co.uk.
Press
Enquiries:
The Publicity Works: 01263 761000 williams@publicityworks.biz
For more news about Williams visit the
press office at www.publicityworks.biz
Martin Laws at Williams Refrigeration 01553
817002
Williams Refrigeration is a division of
AFE Group Ltd. It is an ISO9001-2008 Quality
Management accredited company and has been awarded
ISO14001, the internationally recognised industry standard for Environmental
Management Systems. Most
recently Williams has demonstrated its commitment to staff welfare by achieving Occupational Health and Safety Standard
(OHSAS) certification 18001:2007.
Williams designs, manufactures and
installs a highly diverse product range, supplying hotels, hospitals, schools,
restaurants, bars and kitchens around the world. With a wide selection of
gastronorm cabinets and counters, prep stations, blast chillers/freezers,
bottle coolers, bakery and modular coldrooms the company provides products that
suit almost any application – a “one-stop”
refrigeration purchasing solution.
The company has also developed a
specialist range of medical and pharmaceutical refrigeration, including bespoke
coldrooms and the Medi+ range of cabinets.
Williams’ commitment to customers is absolute, offering extensive
specialist advice and support from installation through to after-sales, service
and maintenance.