Multifunctional kitchen equipment help with everyday life at Prisma Ylöjärvi

Prisma Ylöjärvi in Finland serves its customers with a restaurant area and lunch buffet. Jouni Vaarala, master chef at Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa and responsible for the design and construction of the restaurant project, says that in a grocery store, customers are very different from restaurant customers when it comes to purchasing restaurant services. 

The restaurant area at Prisma Ylöjärvi, which opened last fall, was selected based on customer requests for a hamburger and wing restaurant and a restaurant serving Asian food. Another special feature of Prisma is the Ruokatori self-service lunch buffet, where customers can pick up their lunch to go.

– The biggest difference compared to a restaurant is that people don't wait for their food in a supermarket. If it takes a few minutes to prepare food to order in front of the customer, that's already too long. This determines what kind of equipment is purchased for the kitchens.
The hamburger restaurant in the restaurant world was equipped with new equipment that allows food to be prepared according to the time requirements of busy customers.

– They were provided with new induction equipment that they had not used at other locations in the chain. They have benefited greatly and enjoyed learning more about the equipment. This has enabled us to tailor their products even better to the wishes of Prisma customers, Vaarala explains.

Versatility is the key

– There is also a growing need for ease of shopping in stores. One example of this is the increasing popularity of self-service, which emphasizes a clear process where customers know where to take the food, how to weigh it, how to pay for it, and where to eat it.

A self-service buffet has special requirements when it is built into a grocery store and its customers. The driving factor behind the purchase has been the versatility of the entire grocery store throughout the day.

 – The store needs equipment that responds to changing situations and keeps up with the times. Purchasing habits change during the day, and store customers think a little differently at different times. That's when we need to get the most out of our equipment, which means we need special equipment. For example, Metos' combi plates serve us well in the lunch buffet, either hot or cold, as needed. After lunch, we can put all the plates on cold if necessary and serve packaged meals, Vaarala explains.

Ideas for equipment choices 

Vaarala praises Metos for its good and trusting relationships – things have always worked well, which is why it was good to embark on this project together.

– I enjoy the fact that Metos always gives me ideas about what kind of equipment can be used today to get things done as cost-effectively as possible. We can also visit Kerava to familiarize ourselves with the equipment together with the team and partners, which is really important! 

Vaarala believes that in large projects, it is important that, in addition to smooth kitchen design, information on electrical and air requirements, among other things, is easily and reliably available to other builders. Smooth cooperation behind the scenes is crucial to ensuring that the entire project runs smoothly from start to finish. 

Ergonomics to control musculoskeletal disorders

Pirkanmaan Osuuskauppa has incorporated employee well-being into its strategy as a "people first" principle. One essential part of well-being at work is ergonomics, which has been taken into account in kitchen design. 

– In the design of this project, attention was paid, among other things, to ensuring that unnecessary steps do not have to be taken, as there is already a lot of walking involved in the work. This is closely related to the placement of equipment, and work ergonomics were improved with Metos' ergonomic, adjustable tables. Each employee can adjust their desk to the optimal position for them, so that they can make for example a thousand baguettes during their shift, says Vaarala.

Vaarala praises the project for going smoothly from planning to implementation and commissioning.

– All our wishes have been met, and we have received some great ideas. Having worked in the kitchen industry for a long time, I particularly appreciate always having the latest information about equipment and its features and functionality. The equipment has always been selected to suit our exact needs, which I value highly.