Picking up a fresh, protein-rich meal at the supermarket and eating it straight away at home. This is now possible thanks to a new concept that supermarket chain Carrefour and D’Heldt presented at the annual Salon de Fin d’Année Carrefour in Brussels at the beginning of September. D’Heldt is responsible for the design, sale, and installation of the equipment.
D’Heldt and Carrefour jointly developed the concept for a new type of food corner. “It consists of a chicken rotisserie that cleans itself automatically, a warming cabinet, and a cold display case, both with three levels,” says Enki Denys, manager of D’Heldt. “This allows us to offer all the elements for a tasty, quick meal in one place.”
In many supermarkets, the baking and packaging process still takes place in the butcher’s workshop. “With this new setup, customers can see it happening right before their eyes. This gives them a better idea of the freshness and quality of the products. It’s ideal for enticing them to make a purchase.”
Fri-Jado chicken rotisserie and counters
The two partners deliberately chose the Fri-Jado TDR 8 AC, a self-cleaning chicken rotisserie. The initial investment is slightly higher than for other chicken rotisseries. “But our customer’s calculations show that the savings in personnel costs more than offset this,” Enki explains. “Even with the additional cost of water and soap consumption, you will recoup your investment within two years. And after that, you will continue to enjoy the benefits of automatic cleaning.” What’s more, the appliance stays much cleaner, so you don’t have to worry about an inspection by the FAVV/AFSCA (the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain).
The prepared chickens are stored in a warming cabinet. Next to it is a cold display case with chilled drinks. The counters in the new food corners are also Fri-Jado products. “Both the warming cabinet and the refrigerated display case are from the well-known Modular Convenience Counter line. As a store manager, you choose the width of the appliances yourself. Usually, that’s 90 or 120 centimeters.”
Custom-made food corner
D’Heldt offers store managers the option of having a custom-made grill corner designed. “They can contact us for a site visit,” says Enki. “Based on their input, such as prices and personnel costs, we decide together which solution best suits their store.” Contact D’Heldt for your new grill corner.