Emergency Kitchen Hire at School

Storm Damage to a School Refectory Roof, Two Working Days to Recover

When a school kitchen closes without notice, the pressure is not only catering. Free school meals still have to be served, parents still expect the term to run as published, and the school has no fallback within its own estate. PKL supplies emergency kitchens for exactly this situation, often on the same day, with a 24 hour line staffed 365 days a year.

The Situation

Austin Friars St Monica’s School is a co educational day school in Carlisle, established in 1951, teaching from pre school to sixth form. In December 2013, storm damage affected the roofs of the school refectory and took the catering facility out of use during the last weeks of the winter term.

What PKL Supplied

PKL surveyed the site on a Friday and delivered, connected and commissioned a Magnum portable kitchen for the following Monday. The kitchen was on rental for one week while repairs to the refectory roof were carried out, and it covered the school’s normal service through the period that mattered most in the school calendar.

The Outcome

Matt Harris, Headmaster, said: “We are delighted with the service we’ve received from PKL. PKL staff came to the school to undertake a site survey on a Friday and by the Monday we were promptly supplied with a fully functional portable kitchen.” He added that “Christmas lunches went ahead as planned and parents were able to enjoy refreshments after the Senior School Carol Service”, and concluded: “We were extremely lucky to have such an amazing level of help and cooperation in dealing with the immediate aftermath of the incident and are hugely grateful for PKL’s help.”

Why Two Working Days Was Achievable

A response of this speed depends on the fleet being ready rather than on the response being heroic. After every hire, PKL’s kitchens and equipment are cleaned, tested and re commissioned at the company’s preparation facility, which means units are held in a dispatchable state instead of being made ready once a call comes in. PKL holds over 600 portable kitchen units and 55,000 items of catering equipment, and there is no minimum hire period, so a school can take a kitchen for one week without committing to a term.

If your kitchen is out of service, call the emergency line on 01242 663000 or request a quote.

PKL Group is the UK’s leading supplier of temporary kitchens and commercial catering equipment for hire. The company holds over 600 portable kitchen units and 55,000 items of catering equipment, available on short or long term rental, to provide catering facilities during refurbishments, events and emergencies. PKL also supplies permanent modular kitchen buildings and the contract rental of catering equipment.