Clay’s restaurant in Reading has always provided the highest quality Indian food – with customers coming from far and wide to indulge in the South Asian cuisine on offer. This wonderfully lit and tranquil restaurant is renowned for its ability to pair spices direct from India, with freshly sourced local meats such as venison and pork belly.

Using only the freshest ingredients and the most fragrant of spices, Clays were looking to create a safe environment for both their customers and staff, by ensuring the highest standards of kitchen hygiene. That’s where hospitality dealer Aspen Services came in. Richard Brooks of Aspen Services spent a long time listening to the needs that Clays had and came up with the perfect solution.

Richard advised Clays to install three HyGenikx Air and Surface Sanitisers in the restaurant, with each one having a separate but important purpose. As you enter the restaurant, you’ll be able to see the sleek and unobtrusive designed unit neatly set against the back wall of the open kitchen. This HyGenikx is there to support the cleaning regime and to make sure the environment is as safe as possible. The design also provides comfort and reassurance to the customer as Richard explains:

“Clay’s have a front-of-house kitchen, which immediately is high risk. We therefore installed a HyGenikx unit there to support clean air movement and make sure that the environment is as safe as possible. Because of the design of the unit, it actually offers a little bit of comfort for the customers because they see that nice little first aid green cross and it reminds them that they’re in a safe place.

As you make your way back of house you will find a cleverly placed HyGenikx in the cellar, with the primary objective of keeping the area smelling fresh. The cellar not only houses the kegs for the draught beers front of house, but also doubles up as an additional storeroom. Thanks to the HyGenikx – this room smells as fresh as any other well-ventilated room as Richard enthuses:

“Cellars are always a problem area. Traditionally these colder areas are known to emit a multitude of different smells as you enter them, but thanks to the HyGenikx there is no creeping black mould or that horrible beer smell. It’s non-existent. Everything just smells as fresh and clean as the restaurant itself.”

Finally, with a different objective, is the strategically placed HyGenikx in the food storage and kitchen prep area. With the ability to stop bacteria growth at its source, HyGenikx units keep food fresher for longer, aiding the talented chefs as they prepare ingredients for the next service. This cuts down on food waste and helps to keep produce in peak condition as the HyGenikx can prolong the freshness of perishable ingredients*, which helps to maintain the quality of produce. Richard continues:

“We recently partitioned the cellar and created a new prep and room back of house. Because there’s limited air movement in there, it was very appropriate to have a HyGenikx air sanitiser unit in there also. This unit not only helps with the movement of air, but also has provided the additional benefit of keeping their fresh fruit and vegetables fresher for longer, thereby helping to eradicate food waste.”

Richard’s customer, and Clays owner and Executive Chef, Nandana Syamala, is thrilled with the additional benefits that the HyGenikx has brought to his restaurant:

“Post pandemic, it made absolute sense to have the HyGenikx systems in our restaurant to support our 5* food hygiene rating and offer our guests as much safety and reassurance as we can, however in reality they bring so much more. For example our fully stocked cellar would traditionally have suffered from a stale beer smell – thanks to the HyGenikx that is a thing of the past. Likewise, by having one in the prep area we have already noticed how our produce remains at peak freshness far longer. The HyGenikx units are smart, sleek and a really positive addition to any foodservice operation.” 

For Richard, HyGenikx units should be part of the design process:

“We always try to get HyGenikx units included within a design as not only does it promote good hygiene, but its ability to remove odours and to prolong the lifetime of fresh fruit and vegetables means it pays for itself over and over again. The clients always see the benefits very, very quickly.”

For further information on HyGenikx and Mechline, please visit www.mechline.com