Every so often, we like to go back and reconnect with the chefs and sites we’ve worked with. Not just to catch up — but to understand how things are really performing, years later.
This revisit to The Dawnay Arms reminds us why we do what we do. It’s not a flash-in-the-pan install. It’s a kitchen that’s still delivering savings, day after day, a decade on.
At The Dawnay Arms, Chef Martel Smith was spending over £11,000 a year just to run his gas range. His old French-style suite burned through 1044kWh/day and needed replacing.
After seeing CHR’s work at Wellocks, he reached out with a clear brief: cut costs without compromise.
We installed a custom Ecochef induction suite, retained key infrastructure, and delivered the new kitchen in modular sections — through the front door and across the bar. No walls removed. No disruption. Martel kept trading throughout using our loan equipment.
The Results:
£10,000 saved per year
Over £100,000 saved to date
Energy cut from 1044kWh/day to less than 20kWh/day, covering full lunch and dinner service
100 pans/day removed from wash-up
One service visit per year — zero call-outs in 10+ years
“Smooth and efficient install. Cooler, quieter kitchen — with major savings on gas, labour, water and chemicals.”
— Martel Smith, Chef Patron
Why It Matters
At CHR, we’ve been building energy-efficient, sustainable kitchens for more than 15 years — long before it became a buzzword. We didn’t jump on the bandwagon — we built the road.
Since 2010, we’ve committed to phasing out gas from our designs, prioritising induction, connected controls, and data-led planning. Every stove we build includes in-built energy monitoring — and now these systems can be fully connected for real-time tracking and optimisation. With over 100 Ecochef projects completed, our approach isn’t theoretical — it’s proven.
This project at The Dawnay Arms is a perfect example: real savings, better performance, and a kitchen team that’s genuinely happier day to day.
Many kitchens we visit use the wrong kit for how they actually operate.
Traditional gas suites are built for all-day heat. But most modern kitchens have peaks and off-peak periods — and that mismatch leads to wasted energy, overheated spaces, and worn-out teams.
Ecochef solves that — high performance when needed, and always off when you don’t.
The Dawnay Arms project won a CEDA Grand Prix Award – Best Small Project, but for CHR, this is just another day’s work. We’ve done this 100+ times. It’s not standout — it’s our standard.