Partners

A reputation for innovation, combined with a heritage of manufacturing excellence enables Hobart’s expert teams to develop machines with features that make kitchen life easier and more productive.

From fast, cost-effective, energy smart warewashers to multi-functional cooking solutions that save time, energy, water, and food wastage. Hobart’s dedicated customer back innovation programme – working hand in hand with kitchens to uncover operational pain points – means we can purpose build machines for the unique challenges of school catering.

Partner Q&A with Jeff Priest, Product Manager, Warewashing

Summarise your school food sector product/service range

School kitchens face pressures that most commercial operations don't. Tight budgets, high throughput, limited staff and the constant challenge of delivering nutritious meals at pace. Our range is built around those realities.
On the warewashing side, we offer a full range of class leading solutions, from glasswashers and undercounter dishwashers through to high-capacity rack and flight machines, depending on the scale of the operation. Designed with real world savings in mind, schools looking to reduce utility costs without compromising on hygiene standards, can trust Hobart to deliver. 

For cooking, our Chef'sCombi brings multi-functional capability into kitchens where space and budget are always at a premium. One piece of equipment, endless flexibility. Everything we make is designed to be reliable, efficient and – most importantly – simple and intuitive to use.

Why is the school food sector so important to your business?

Schools represent one of the most demanding foodservice environments there is; high volumes, strict hygiene requirements, cost constraints and the added responsibility of feeding the next generation. 

The sector really matters to us; we have a long tradition of working with catering teams on-site to understand exactly how we can help. The quality of school meals has improved enormously over the past two decades and the catering teams delivering that improvement deserve equipment that supports them properly. We work closely with education caterers, not just to sell machines but to understand the operational challenges they're actually facing.

That insight feeds directly back into our Customer Back Innovation programme, which has shaped our product development for over 20 years. Schools aren't just customers to us. They're development partners and the direct beneficiaries of our decades long, comprehensive R&D programme.  

What do you do as a company to support the school food sector?

Hobart support goes beyond just a sale. Our teams work alongside education caterers through every stage, from initial consultation and site surveys through to installation, free staff training for the life of the equipment and ongoing service.

Our Customer Back Innovation programme means we spend time in working kitchens, running workshops with operators to understand where the friction points are. That research shapes everything from machine design to workflow recommendations.

We're also mindful of the financial pressure schools work under, which is why we created the ITW Leasing and Finance division to help school kitchens get the model they need not just the one they can afford.  Our most popular 24-month, interest free package not only helps kitchens preserve cash flow, but those taking out plans can not only benefit from groundbreaking warewash, cooking and food prep products, they can also finance award-winning refrigeration from Foster and Gamko, and software and scales from Avery Berkel. Allied to this, ITW Leasing & Finance division will support applicants with refurbishment costs and can finance non-ITW equipment up to 25% of the total order value, where ITW does not supply a comparable machine or accessory (for example, coffee machines). 

Crucially, because ITW is a lender, not a broker – the division is able to approve 99% of applications straight away. 

What is your lasting memory of school food from when you were at school?

Crumble and custard. It's not a complicated answer but it's an honest one. There was something genuinely comforting about a bowl of apple crumble with proper custard on a cold afternoon. School food at its best has always been about that kind of straightforward, nourishing satisfaction.

That sense of homeliness is something education caterers still try to deliver today, and I think they deserve more credit for it than they often get. It's harder than it looks.