PUSHING FORWARD
Once a popular cinema – The Gaumont – the Art Deco building on London Road in Derby has been home to the all-you-can-eat COSMO Authentic World Kitchen since 2013. While it’s no longer leading actors taking centre stage, the chefs entertain diners throughout the week with their live cooking skills, using fresh ingredients daily to whip up authentic dishes – from Japanese, Italian and Chinese, to Indian and Thai.
Sid Panday, restaurant manager at COSMO Derby, explained: “We’re one of the busiest restaurants in the group, welcoming families to celebrate occasions. We want adults and children to feel excited from the moment they walk in.”
In a venue built on theatre, even dessert has become part of the show, with Carpigiani’s semi-automatic soft serve machine delighting customers with creamy portions at the touch of a button.
“People enjoy pressing the button and watching as the machine produces a perfectly formed soft serve portion in a cone. It adds an extra level of excitement to our dessert station and brings it to life, much like our live cooking stations for each cuisine.”
Behind the scenes, the decision to introduce Carpigiani’s 241 SA was driven by more than its theatrical show alone. With COSMO Derby welcoming high volumes of diners, the dessert station needs to be as efficient and reliable as the rest of the kitchen.
“It became clear that we needed something to genuinely keep up with volume, without compromising on quality. The previous machine wasn’t giving us the consistency or reliability we needed, with frequent breakdowns causing a headache – particularly during busy service times.”
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The solution came through COSMO’s long-standing relationship with JM Posner, which supplies dessert ingredients – including soft serve mix – across the Group’s restaurants nationwide. Working closely with the operations team, JM Posner recommended the introduction of the Carpigiani 241 SA semi-automatic soft serve machine, aligning ingredient quality with equipment performance. The partnership has driven significant improvements in efficiency, reduced product waste and lowered cost per portion.
“Since installation 18 months ago, we’ve served over 150,000 portions of soft serve ice cream,” continued Panday. “It feels exciting now when customers head towards the machine, knowing they’ll experience the joy of a perfect portion of soft serve being dispensed into a cone, every single time. They simply take one, place it into the holder, press the button and the machine automatically creates that ‘wow-factor’, adding to the experience.
“It’s been consistent from day one, and even on our busiest evenings we’re confident it can handle the demand. Plus, our cost per portion has reduced a lot, alongside food wastage, because the machine serves a pre-determined portion that people actually consume.”
Operational improvements have been just as important, with extended cleaning cycles reducing the frequency of full cleans, meaning less time spent on machine maintenance and a reduction in mix waste too.
“Previously, we were experiencing a lot of machine downtime through faults and having to clean every week, which is time-consuming and meant draining product to do it. Now, we clean monthly by choice, although the machine can go to 42 days because of its self-pasteurisation technology. It has significantly reduced waste and saved valuable time for the team.”
Kan Koo, chief executive of COSMO Group and owner of COSMO Derby, said: “There is no denying that it’s been a challenging time, and we feel incredibly proud to have 22 locations – and counting! We’ve come a long way since opening our first restaurant in 2003 and this partnership is a strong example of how COSMO will continue to evolve.”
