Restaurant Story

Tom Sellers
Chef Patron of Restaurant Story

“When we decided to build story, I wanted to work with all the people in the industry that I knew of that specialise in what they do. The main reason I chose Foster was that for me, I consider them the best in the business at what they do.”

“I’ve been very lucky to work in some fantastic restaurants throughout the world, and I think it’s safe to say that every one of the restaurants used Foster Refrigeration”

With the opening of Story, Sellers is very much writing his own; designing a state-of-the-art kitchen with specialist help from Salix Commercial Kitchens and Foster Refrigerator.

Sellers said part of the joy of the Story, was the possibilities in design and technology it brought with it: “Primarily, a kitchen design needs to encompass the necessary working space, the best and the most effective equipment for our needs, and it all needs to be contained within an overall design that provides a logical and efficient working environment for the staff” said Sellers. “I worked with Rod Cullen at Salix, who have provided invaluable advice and insight into areas of kitchen design that might not have occurred to me.”

And central to kitchen design is refrigeration.

Sellers said: “The importance of refrigeration exists at almost every level within the business. At a primary level, it is all about the preservation of our ingredients. Clearly, Story aims to offer one of the best dining experiences in London, so the quality of the plates of food we present to clients is the be-all and end-all of the business. Poor preservation and unnecessary waste is simply not acceptable. “

Chef opening drawer of Foster refrigerator equipment

Chef opening drawer of Foster refrigerator cabinet

“It’s not an accident that many of the world’s greatest kitchens use Foster equipment”

“Beyond the food, having the right refrigeration and freezer cabinets in the right places is a fundamental component of the kitchen design. Furthermore, refrigeration is also a key consideration in controlling our energy costs – after all, refrigerators and freezers are the only pieces of equipment in the kitchen that run 24 hours a day, seven days a week”.

Sellers said it is the quality of the Foster brand which made the Norfolk-based company the obvious choice at Story and with one eye on the future, Foster’s energy saving products and carbon reducing mandate also appealed.

He said: “It’s not an accident that many of the world’s greatest kitchens use Foster equipment – it’s been proven to work reliably and efficiently in very demanding environments and where the expected standards are very high.

“Perhaps it’s a generational thing, but I’m also very aware of the environment. Many equipment manufactures talk about their environmental credentials, but Foster has always been a company to lead by example and let its products do the talking.

“The EcoPro G2 range of refrigerators is demonstrably the most energy efficient in the market, and that’s an important consideration for me. In choosing Foster we manage to tick all the crucial boxes. We get class leading performance, class leading energy efficiency and customer service that is second to none – so why look elsewhere?”