Glass washing at Brighton Metropole
September 26th 2007

One of the latest and largest glass washing systems in the country is now in operation at the Brighton Metropole Hotel, cleaning hundreds of thousands of glasses annually. And along with fast operation, the hotel is getting enhanced cleaning results.

Owned and operated by Hilton, the Brighton Metropole is at the heart of the city's conference and banqueting trade, known for hosting big political conferences, sports events and trade fairs. With over 60,000 banqueting guests annually in nine event halls, the hotel gets through phenomenal amounts of glasses, and insists on top standards.

Greg Starks was appointed head chef in early 2006, and immediately recognised the 'bottlenecks' caused by the old glass washing systems he'd inherited. So when planning a major refurbishment last year - expected to boost business even further - he felt an overhaul of its glass washing was essential. With the previous system, a less than perfect washing system and unreliability were coupled to an inefficient layout that was hampering fast service and bar restocking.

When he first saw the Winterhalter MT rack and flight systems in action at an international Hilton even in May 2006, Greg Starks' first thought was literally "WOW!", he recalls. "I was impressed, not just because the MT system looked stylish, but because it was fast, gave a quality wash and was extremely simple to work". He particularly noticed the touchscreen operating panels, switchable to dozens of languages - very useful in an environment where many temporary catering staff don't speak English.

He decided that Winterhalter would be the glass washer of choice for the Metropole. An MTR rack glass washer was installed in the main warewashing room, alongside other Winterhalter warewashing equipment.

In addition, to ensure the best possible glass wash, Winterhalter's DuoMatik II water softening was installed to tackle the notoriously hard local Sussex mains water, coupled with a Winterhalter Romatik reverse osmosis system to give a pure final rinse and glasses that dry perfectly without polishing.

One extra point that particularly impressed Greg Starks was the automatic startup programme that ensures the machines are ready to go immediately the operators arrive, and an automatic self-cleaning programme that allows the staff to clock off immediately.

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