Oven-ready opportunity
Oven-ready opportunity
Boyce’s Bakery has been expanding across Kent since it opened its first site in 1995. Co-owner Nicholas Canty tells Chris Evans how Merrychef and Welbilt helped them find new ovens to match their ambitions.
ith its 13 stores across Kent, England, Boyce’s Bakery hasn’t been afraid to grow. But the owners recently realized they needed to expand their menu as well. “We were already selling a huge range of baked goods, including paninis, hot wraps, toasties, sausage rolls and pasties,” says Nicholas Canty, coowner with wife, Stacey, and Tommy and Gemma Boyce. “But we wanted to provide pizzas – slices, quarters and whole ones – too.” The company was started by Nicholas’s father-inlaw, Keith, and his wife, Karen, in 1995.
Then, about 10 years ago, Nicholas started his own bakery. Both were setting up shops across Kent, so they decided to merge their businesses and support each other. The ovens they had been using in the shops could only hold and heat one panini at a time. On top of this, they were “difficult to repair and find engineers that could fix them beyond warranty,” says Canty. So, earlier this year, they reached out to Merrychef®.
Boyce’s Bakery co-owners are Nicholas Canty (above), Tommy Boyce, and Gemma Boyce
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“We noticed that Merrychef was already supplying its ovens to top brands like Costa®, Marks & Spencer® and Subway®, so we were intrigued to see what made them so good,” says Canty. Welbilt®, the parent company of Merrychef, met with Boyce’s Bakery to discuss their vision and operational requirements. Boyce’s then went to the Guildford demonstration kitchen to test their food products across different Merrychef ovens: the conneX® 12e, the conneX® 12 with a panini press, and the conneX® 16. “It was clear straight away that they were quality builds. We were impressed with the speed they were able to produce, cook and heat our baked goods. And when they came out of the oven, the consistent quality of how they looked was amazing,” says Canty.
They chose the compact, high-speed conneX 12 – not just for the consistency, speed and quality of the food, but also for the oven’s capacity. “It’s ideal for the quantity they want to produce within the right timeframe, and it fits on a standard 600mm worktop,” says Randeep Prabhakar, regional sales manager, London and South England, at Welbilt. The ovens have transformed how Boyce’s Bakery operates. “Being able to cook up to three paninis at once has sped up our process and delivery to customers – cooking times have halved to one minute – and the quality and consistency is right every time,” adds Canty. “Plus, it’s great to be able to showcase the delicate, light flavor of the bread, which is baked on site, rather than pressing and squashing it as we’ve done with the other ovens. And the filling doesn’t spill out either. It’s been a game changer.”
The conneX 12 is also easy to use. Its new, highdefinition screen, running the latest easyTouch® 2.0 software and featuring more than 100 preprogrammed recipes, makes operation simple for everyone. “You just click on the button for each set food item, and the job is done perfectly. The Welbilt chef, Greg Crump, showed us how to set the recipe programs and make changes. It’s been a seamless transition,” says Canty. So much so that, after testing the oven at one busy site in Leysdown-on-Sea, they rolled them out to all their shops.
The conneX 12 is ideal for the quantity they want to produce within the right timeframe
Going the extra mile
Welbilt are also on-hand at all times if Canty and his team need help with the appliances. “We want to work closely with our customers and form partnerships, rather than just be a manufacturer who sells a product and leaves,” says Prabhakar. “Randeep has been brilliant, really attentive to our needs, and even does site visits to make sure everyone’s happy with the ovens,” says Canty. “And if there’s an issue with the ovens – which there hasn’t been yet – then there’s a system in place to get an engineer out quickly,” he adds. “We have our own in-house service department and engineers here in the UK, plus dedicated culinary chefs who can create or tweak menu programs,” says Prabhakar.
Welbilt can help monitor all the conneX appliances across Boyce’s sites through its KitchenConnect® online system. Once connected, this will provide data on everything, from what’s being cooked, when, by site, and what’s on trend. “They’ll be able to push new menus out remotely from the platform,” adds Prabhakar. “The software will tell me everything – from whether the ovens are being cleaned properly and consistently to if there’s been a dip in sales of a particular item,” says Canty. “It will also indicate if we need more ovens for a site.” More sites certainly seems likely. Their 13th site, in Sittingbourne, is about to open and there are plans for more. “We are looking at populated areas across the county. Our customers range from eight year-olds to pensioners, because of the products we sell, so we can go to places the big chains don’t necessarily go to,” says Canty. Having satisfied customers helps underpin this ambition, he adds: “They are loving the food cooked in the new ovens.”
1950
Merrychef designed its first commercial microwave in 1950, beginning a 75-year legacy of innovation for accelerated cooking
2022
The company launched its breakthrough conneX 12 and conneX 16 ovens in 2022
80
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The conneX range features ground-breaking speeds that are up to 80% faster than other cooking methods
How does Merrychef help businesses improve their service?
Merrychef delivers faster cooking times with consistent, high-quality results, helping operators serve more customers efficiently.