Hoshizaki UK has expanded its popular ADVANCE series to include a selection of Multideck refrigerators.

Boasting stacks of benefits, Hoshizaki’s newest additions provide operators with a sleek and sophisticated design that puts food and drink in the spotlight, and convenience at the heart of the design. With capacities ranging from 600L to 1120L, the ADVANCE Multidecks are available in a variety of sizes to suit venues of all types.

All units within the range also benefit from adjustable height shelving with four shelves provided. These shelves can be tilted up to 75^o angle to create attractive displays, while the clear, tempered glass upstand at the front prevents stock from slipping. Fully integrated LED lighting in each level also helps showcase products in their best light. For quick and easy close-down, Hoshizaki’s Multidecks also feature a night blind with soft-close, meaning stock can remain overnight and thus making stock rotation far easier and helping reduce unnecessary food waste.

Simon Frost, Director Hoshizaki UK & Ireland, explains the advantages of Multidecks:

“When it comes to grab and go, convenience is key. Customers want to be able to quickly select their food, and then literally grab it and go. Multidecks eliminate the hassle of opening and closing doors yet make the food selection process more immersive for consumers, compared to having staff-facing access units only. With these units operators are putting products within arms reach, encouraging purchases, while streamlining customer service.”

Popular for making premium refrigeration accessible to the wider market, Hoshizaki’s ADVANCE series already comprises a variety of blast chillers, upright cabinets, and counters – with optional toppers and saladettes – fridges and freezers. For style-conscious operators, these models slot in perfectly for a front-of-house operation as a solo component, or to complement existing behind-the-counter ADVANCE units.

For more information on Hoshizaki, please visit www.hoshizaki.com

Catering and hotel kitchens around the world are under enormous pressure. Staff shortages, rising costs, sustainability requirements and digitalisation deficits are making everyday life more challenging, yet guests still expect the highest standards of quality. The Rational Kitchen Barometer 2026, developed in cooperation with the statistics portal Statista provides the world market leader in thermal food preparation with a comprehensive analysis of how kitchens are meeting these challenges. The results are based on assessments from 250 kitchen operators in Germany, Japan, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

“The catering industry is at a turning point. Decisions can no longer be based on gut feeling, they require reliable data. With the Kitchen Barometer 2026, we provide the industry with exactly that: clear facts, sound insights, and strategies for future-proofing kitchens,” explains Brendon Land, Managing Director at Rational UK.

The key study results at a glance

Skills shortage with a domino effect:

Staff shortages are and remain the dominant issue in professional kitchens. 64% of businesses reported significant bottlenecks in the past year. The consequences are particularly significant, and can be clearly seen and measured: reduced opening hours, more overtime (which incurs additional costs), longer waiting times for guests, and increasing staff turnover, as teams are constantly working at full capacity. This creates a vicious circle: fewer staff lead to higher workloads, which in turn lead to further staff losses. Restaurant kitchens are responding by taking measures to retain staff, optimise processes and implement digital solutions. However, there are still significant gaps between current efforts and the expected benefits.

Rising costs are squeezing margins:

Kitchen operators across all countries are reporting rising operating costs 52% of respondents cite energy prices as a major cost driver, while just under half are struggling with rising personnel costs.

Many businesses are faced with a choice: either raise prices and risk losing price-sensitive guests, or absorb the additional costs themselves, which would have a significant impact on margins. Depending on the region, kitchen operators are taking action in several areas. For example, 75% consider energy-efficient appliances to be a strategic investment as they reduce current cost pressures while supporting long-term sustainability goals.

Sustainability is becoming a reality, bringing with it additional tasks:

Guest expectations are rising, and kitchens are responding. 62% are experiencing increased demand for greater sustainability, and 67% now consider this issue to be central or at least important. This increased relevance is triggering clear changes in business practices: measures such as reducing food waste, using regional and seasonal produce, and cleaning in a resource efficient manner are being widely implemented. The challenge now is to create transparency, measure progress and communicate it convincingly to guests.

Lack of digitalisation hinders standardisation:

Although efficiency requirements are constantly increasing, many kitchens still operate predominantly in analogue mode. 65% of respondents do not consider their kitchen to be fully digitally integrated. Almost half do not use multifunctional or programmable appliances that deliver consistent results regardless of the user. Businesses often rely on paper checklists and training courses or direct feedback from branches for quality assurance, which is time-consuming and hardly scalable. However, the majority of respondents plan to invest more in digital infrastructure to overcome staff shortages and cost pressures sustainably.

Intelligent cooking systems as a solution:

One way to overcome the current challenges and bottlenecks is with intelligent cooking systems such as the iCombi Pro and iVario Pro from Rational. These systems significantly reduce energy and water consumption, offer numerous digital functions such as appliance monitoring and consumption data management via the ConnectedCooking app, and simplify work processes through features like intelligent cooking paths. This always ensures reliable food quality, even with limited, frequently changing or inexperienced staff.

The full study can be downloaded for free at www.rational-online.com/en_gb/cmp/kitchen-barometer/. Interested parties can also find concept proposals tailored to their business there.

Ki-Tech Solutions and Innovations took to the launchpad at the recent ceda Conference at St Georges Park to officially showcase their totally independent full kitchen operations monitoring platform.

Providing real-time data to capture utilities usage, cost-in-use and operational carbon, the dashboard was welcomed by ceda Members during the Partners Connected sessions.

Not only does it provide real time insights, the dashboard has an elevated level of functionality including comparison data, enabling the operator to select either sites or equipment type across up to a hundred fields to measure performance against similar metrics – enabling a real like-for-like study to evaluate performance across a day, week, month or year, with corresponding reference data to compare against the previous measurement period.

With an open API, data from equipment manufacturers can be integrated with ease and the system is not limited to utilities management – additional sensors for temperature monitoring, leak detection, door openings and security can all be included. In fact, if there’s a sensor for it, the platform can probably manage it!

Automated management control systems also enable utilities to be managed, not just monitored, offering the possibility to realise meaningful savings on energy spend and an effective ROI.

Competitive pricing models, including a client specific and personalised web page are all available. If you want to know more, please do get in contact with the team.

Contact us today:
connectwithus@wearekitech.co.uk

Richard Fordham
richard@wearekitech.co.uk
07968 426302

Andy Fulham
andy@wearekitech.co.uk
07880 700900

Martyn Cowling
martyn@wearekitech.co.uk
07850 936246