Update

Staff and volunteers in our Big Papa’s Kitchen have been limping along with its current domestic equipment, trying to prepare food for community meals, the café, and catering for large youth events like our Zion concerts. Having no extraction system in a compact kitchen limits the cooking that can be done and the equipment that can be used, and this meant that staff and volunteers have to be really careful not to set off the fire alarms with excessive fumes in the kitchen.

Thanks to the generosity of funders like the Rata Foundation, the Christchurch City Council, The Pub Charity, and the Lottery Grants Board, we were able to raise enough funds to install an extraction and ventilation system.

This project is part of a larger kitchen upgrade project that will see us fit the kitchen out with commercial kitchen equipment to increase its capacity and effectiveness. The total cost of the project is around $120k, with almost $60k raised so far.

Manufacturing and installation of the hood were only a part of what had to be done to get us to where we are now. The tricky location of the kitchen, its low ceiling, and some structural barriers meant that some extensive ductwork was required for venting fresh air into the kitchen and for extracting dirty air out.

The hood was supplied by Southern Hospitality and was installed by ERS, who also designed, built, and installed the ventilation and extraction system. Phil Tindall from Lucid Commercial Design is managing the project, ensuring the build is compliant with Council regulations.

Once the balance of the funds is raised, Northgate will be able to upgrade the services in the kitchen and source commercial equipment to replace the domestic ovens that are currently in use.