As a united provider of all catering equipment for the UK, Upnorth Foodservice Equipment was amongst a select number of businesses supporting the annual awards, which were held at the Newcastle Civic Centre.

Encompassing a two day event, entailing live food ‘cook offs’ from the competitors, the Blaydon-based company was instrumental in supplying the catering equipment for the eight cooking stations required at the venue.

It was a particularly special night for Upnorth Food Equipment sales executive Tom Cummings, who has been a NECTA committee member for seven years, and a former chairman  when it was formerly known as the Catering Managers Association, which he was with for twenty years.

Tom, who is formerly a chef by trade, said: “I worked for many years within kitchens so this, along with my catering management background, means that events such as the NECTA Awards hold a special place in my heart.

“I speak on behalf of the company directors when I say Upnorth Group is honored to have played a role in supporting an event, which nurtures catering talent in our region – our combined experience in all areas of the industry means we not only feel passionate about it, but that we are best placed to supply and offer equipment advice and supply when talking to chefs and catering specialists.”

This year marks Upnorth Foodservice Equipment’s 10th anniversary. What are the company’s main areas of expertise today and how big is the business?

Upnorth Foodservice was founded as a kitchen house to design, supply, install and maintain commercial food service and refrigeration equipment. There are currently 15 staff in food service and around 60 in the group. Business has grown from its first year when it did a turnover of half a million pounds to in excess of £3m this year. It has taken us 10 years to get there, but it’s been 10 con- trolled years.

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Working in conjunction with Taylor Shaw, the team at Upnorth Foodservice Equipment were approached by the education catering experts to design and install a brand new catering facility at Biddick School Sports College in Washington.

Piloting the new scheme at the college, Taylor Shaw’s operational manager Alison Lisney said: “With nearly 1200 students, our priority was to create an environment that would help reduce queues in the main dining areas and provide an additional modern and convenient dining environment within the school grounds.

“With such a specific remit, we only wanted to work with suppliers that are as keen as we are to embrace innovation and technological developments in an effort to improve the educational environment.

“Given that The Hub was a prototype, its immediate success has meant that we have plans to establish more throughout the North of England, maintaining our successful relationship with the Upnorth Foodservice Equipment team.”

‘The Hub’ features bespoke design and state-of-the-art catering equipment providing hot and cold food and drinks for students on the go and will be rolled out to 12 more schools and colleges by the end of 2012.

Tim Whitfield director of Upnorth Foodservice Equipment said: “We provide a substantial amount of food service equipment for schools and working with Taylor Shaw who embrace the changes in dining culture within the education sector, has been a pleasure.

“Innovative ideas and concepts like The Hub can only benefit more schools and colleges and help reduce the number of students going off campus and we are excited about the ongoing development of this project.”

Upnorth Foodservice Equipment specialises in food service solutions and systems for commercial catering, education and leisure applications. This includes the design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of commercial catering equipment, refrigeration, bar systems, serving counters and extraction systems.