Sean Armstrong had a problem. Supplying his much-admired Auckland restaurant
Prime with bread of a consistently high quality seemed near impossible.
Recognising the gap in the market the popular celebrity chef did the only thing he thought would make sense – he stepped in to bake his own.
Loaf Handcrafted Breads has since become a New Zealand business phenomenon. The great reputation of the artisan bakery has resulted in daily servicing of over 1100 customers, from small cafes to large businesses and airline caterers in local, national and international markets.
With such development the Loaf production capabilities have also had to grow. The 80 square metre floor space the company started with in 2004 has now been expanded to 1250 square metres.
In this space the ovens bake constantly from 6am to 10pm. As Loaf is effectively a 24-hour business any equipment development needs to be carefully scoped and seamlessly
installed.
So when three new Tagliavini Rotor double rack ovens were introduced everything needed to go according to plan.
Moffat’s NZ Bakery Manager Tony Crump helped ensure consultation, installation and operation went smoothly. “Sean was determined the process have zero negative effects upon his customers,” said Tony. “Through careful production planning we were allowed a 12 hour window to remove the three old ovens and install and initiate the three new ones.”
Another key consideration was with consumption and production criteria. When Tony initially approached Sean it was with a solution to significantly reduce energy consumption.
Tagliavini Rotor ovens have an average consumption 25 to 30% lower than the ovens installed at Loaf, with improved outcomes in both recovery and bake processes.
Investing in key technology has ensured the company can continue to evolve and thrive, and the prominence of the Loaf name has helped the company reach markets far from its premises in Mt Wellington. Now, with big plans to capitalise on the appeal of artisan baking, Sean Armstrong’s Loaf continues to be the toast of the town.
Prime with bread of a consistently high quality seemed near impossible.
Recognising the gap in the market the popular celebrity chef did the only thing he thought would make sense – he stepped in to bake his own.
Loaf Handcrafted Breads has since become a New Zealand business phenomenon. The great reputation of the artisan bakery has resulted in daily servicing of over 1100 customers, from small cafes to large businesses and airline caterers in local, national and international markets.
With such development the Loaf production capabilities have also had to grow. The 80 square metre floor space the company started with in 2004 has now been expanded to 1250 square metres.
In this space the ovens bake constantly from 6am to 10pm. As Loaf is effectively a 24-hour business any equipment development needs to be carefully scoped and seamlessly
installed.
So when three new Tagliavini Rotor double rack ovens were introduced everything needed to go according to plan.
Moffat’s NZ Bakery Manager Tony Crump helped ensure consultation, installation and operation went smoothly. “Sean was determined the process have zero negative effects upon his customers,” said Tony. “Through careful production planning we were allowed a 12 hour window to remove the three old ovens and install and initiate the three new ones.”
Another key consideration was with consumption and production criteria. When Tony initially approached Sean it was with a solution to significantly reduce energy consumption.
Tagliavini Rotor ovens have an average consumption 25 to 30% lower than the ovens installed at Loaf, with improved outcomes in both recovery and bake processes.
Investing in key technology has ensured the company can continue to evolve and thrive, and the prominence of the Loaf name has helped the company reach markets far from its premises in Mt Wellington. Now, with big plans to capitalise on the appeal of artisan baking, Sean Armstrong’s Loaf continues to be the toast of the town.
IN THE KITCHEN
- 1 x Waldorf 800 Series FN8130G - 600mm Single Pan Gas Deep Fryer
- 1 x VMI Berto Italia FBF120 - Spiral Mixer - 120kg
- 2 x Tagliavini RT810CGP - Rotor Gas Double Rack Rotating Rack Oven
- 1 x Tagliavini RT810EP - Rotor Electric Double Rack Rotating Rack Oven
- 1 x Moffat SIL1317M - Silhouette2 Slicer - 13 and 17mm Slice Thickness - 3 Phase
- 1 x Cobra C9D - 900mm Gas Cooktops - Open Cabinet Base
- 1 x Daub DR-ROBOT2-4/30A - Fully Automatic Bun Divider Rounder
- 1 x Blue Seal Evolution Series GT60 - 600mm Gas Fryer
- 1 x Paramount BM40AT3PS - 40 Litre Planetary Mixer
- 1 x Rapidmac RAPIDMAC50 - Water Chiller
Above all else, consistency of quality is vital to the expansion of the Load brand, and the new bakery equipment had to provide perfect peace of mind.
The USB programming capability of the ovens ensures such consistency. All ovens are now identically programmed – and in the future any changes simply require 30 seconds to upload new recipe files.
Output was also an important factor. Two of the new units are gas operated and one is electric, and going from one rack to two in the electric oven provided a huge gain. Thanks to the superior efficiency of the Tagliavini Rotor oven the required power supply was still the same too, even though production output was doubled. The reduced footprint of the new ovens also allowed the business to increase capacity and output, delivering greater quantities at the same high level of quality.
