The new flagship Gateway building on the University of Cumbria’s Lancaster Campus opened its doors to students and staff in January 2009.
The £9.2m building includes a ‘one stop shop’ for all student facing services including Student Development and Advisory Service (SDAS), Student Administration and Student Finance, as well as the campuses main catering outlets.
Designing within the project objectives of achieving a BREEAM ‘very good’ rating, the University appointed foodservice consultancy The Russell Partnership to develop and design the campuses new catering facilities.
David Bentley FCSI, the Partner responsible for brand research and 
development as well as design and planning within the Partnership, explained the facilities included a central kitchen, grab & go retail unit, as well as the University’s new feature dining and conference area on the top floor; in total some 1100m2 of catering space with fantastic views across the City and Morecambe Bay.
“The top floor dining area is key in the University’s future conference and events business strategy,” says Bentley. “The area features a self-service / theatre servery area supported by a standalone satellite kitchen, shouldered by split dining areas each having its own interior style and feel. The area also benefits from having large panoramic windows and picturesque views.”
Rieber’s Varithek ACS 1000 cooking solution was chosen for the theatre servery area within the main servery.
“The Varithek unit was selected as the interchangeable cooking units give the University the flexibility of changing their menu style and food offer to suit both their conference market as well as today’s demanding student”, explains Bentley.”
The Varithek unit included an induction wok, induction hobs, a flat plate creperie and a grill plate. The self-ventilating system enables the unit to be operated without the need for an overhead ventilation canopy. Non-stick thermoplate cooking pans were also supplied as part of the overall package.
Featured on the ground floor is the ‘Snack Zo
ne’ for food on the go such as coffee, smoothies, pastries and tray bakes, as well as wraps and sandwiches.
This unit is situated adjacent to a large social space with comfy seating for student interaction and leisure time.
For more information about the University of Cumbria, please visit the website at http://www.cumbria.ac.uk
Consultancy by David Bentley FCSI 
