In the course of developing a new restaurant concept for venture capitalist Peter Brown, owner of Grassmere Partners and the former CEO of AMC Entertainment, I needed to design a new kitchen to fit into an existing space. It was narrow and not operator friendly and a challenge to maximizing efficiency and throughput.

 

I was unhappy with the standard industry Galley kitchens and side by side units that dominate todays foodservice kitchen designs. And when architect Jeff DeGasperi and designer Maria Klingele created Peter's flagship it was to have 240 seats and  3 x 60 seat luxury movie theaters that emptied and filled three times a night within 30 minutes of each other. In essence three rushes with customers arriving at 10 minute intervals every hour and twenty minutes. We also had to service four areas each with their own menu - a monster bar, a restaurant and terrace, concessions outlet for snacks, 

beverages, barista coffee and a limited in theater menu. 

 

Wolf had originally equipped the MKA culinary center in and our long relationship made our "go to" decision easy.  I wanted to incorporate the latest in technology into the new mix, so I mapped out the menus, the requisite equipment and the exact configuration and technology I needed, and worked with Jay Lawson of Burliss Lawson, who represents Wolf in Kansas City, designer JT Gaughf of Hockenberg's and Joe Maresca from Vulcan Wolf, to build a one piece unit to my design 

 

My inspiration came from the high end French units I had worked on or seen in Europe and it was a challenge that they all embraced. The result was the Chef Patrick McDonnell Series 360º,  by Wolf. A multi station unit that flowed towards the pass rather than divide the kitchen like a traditional galley.

 

We incorporated a center down draft vent, a 360º piano, 4 dual purpose work and assembly surfaces, 6 high speed induction cook tops (with 1º adjustments up to 150º then 5º to the maximum heat level of 450º,  2 gas salamanders, a classical cast iron French Top, a 3' grill, 3 high speed recovery double fryers, 2 high temp - 650º line ovens and 6 refrigerated and 6 freezer drawers. We also added quick shut off faucets and built in electrical outlets for portable equipment and a series of individual temperature controlled hot wells for sauces and condiments.  

 

Everything was custom fitted into a one piece unit topped by a seamless, 18' by 8' stainless steel deck, and the entire unit was assembled on top of 6" high concrete pad with a 3" toe recess.

 

The refrigeration and freezer lines went under the floor to easy access remote compressors set on the roof. This allowed the kitchen to maintain a constant air temperature of  80º Fahrenheit even in maximum rush capacity.  I also insisted on a light colored floor so that the kitchen team would have to keep in clean at all times!  

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It proved to be an incredibly efficient unit and it is available in custom configurations through Wolf to any customer looking for their particular mix of high technology, maximum efficiency and easy maintenance.

 

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