Mar 2001 Volume 82 Number 3 "serving the protectors"
New club kitchen a total rebuild

A fter its recent four-week closure and a $100,000-plus makeover, the SA Police Club kitchen was re-opened for business early last month.

Complete with new refrigerators, cook-tops, oven and deep fryers, the “fully new kitchen”, says club management, is on a par with those of Adelaide’s best restaurants.

Head chef, Tony Coyne – thrilled with his new workplace – was away on leave while tradesmen undertook the renovations. He returned on a few occasions, however, to help his apprentices, and saw the work in progress.

“I saw all the walls down and thought: 'Bloody hell! This is going to look awesome!’ And it does,” said Mr Coyne.

“I’ve worked in a lot of good restaurants and hotels around town, and I can say it is a very good kitchen.

“Before Christmas we were knocking out at least 1,100 meals a week, so I would expect that now we can improve on that. We’ve got the bigger space and facilities to do it.”

Tradesmen – through a month-long rebuilding assignment – removed walls, tore away an old ceiling, fitted new wiring and poured a new floor. They also fitted new stainless steel food preparation areas and replaced the drainage system.

Delighted to see their old kitchen disappear, Police Club staff and management have called the transformation “brilliant”. Club secretary, Merge Presser, said the refurbishment – first spoken of 10 years ago – was the most extensive in the kitchen’s 40-year history.

“The kitchen has been designed around current standards in places like the Hyatt,” said Mr Presser.

“Everything in the kitchen is new, except for a couple of items we kept, such as a large food processor.”

While memories of the old kitchen are fast fading, Mr Presser remembers its “very cramped” conditions and lack of food preparation space.

“The (old) kitchen just couldn’t cope,” he said. “When washing dishes and doing all the 'grotty’ stuff, you’d have people and dishes everywhere. It was just getting to a critical stage where we had to do something.

“Things like the deep fryers, the oven and cold-room compressor were starting to create financial problems. They were costing us a lot of money to repair. The best thing to do was to 'go the whole hog’.”

Mr Presser said club diners could now expect better meals of improved quality and presentation. He also said food was likely to be served hotter and more quickly.

He expects Mr Coyne and his chefs will soon “create different types of meals” and “upgrade” the club’s menus.

On the new kitchen’s first day of operation, Mr Presser fully endorsed the decision to rebuild. “As secretary, I believe we’ve done the right thing,” he said.

“The kitchen is one of our main areas of income. We continually receive letters and 'pats on the back’ about the presentation, quality and quantity of the meals. And this kitchen is designed to last quite a long time.” – Brett Williams

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