You’re holding an important event and want everything to run smoothly. You’ve decided to cater for the celebration so you’re hiring a cool room to safely store the food and drinks for the big day. Here are some tips to help you have a successful event and avoid any hiccups:
Select a quality-built cool room
The last thing you want is a cool room that is missing some important safety features, that may lead to an unnecessary accident. Check that the cool room has all the safety features to avoid any injuries that may cost you more than being unable to continue hosting your event. Are power cords all tagged and tested by a qualified electrician? Are the steps for the cool room sturdy and professionally built? Is it a 10 amp cool room? If used for home events or at sites with standard power points, ensure the cool room is not 15 amp that may overload the power source, causing electrical problems. Does the unit have a lockable power inlet to avoid tampering? These are questions to ask when hiring a cool room as the safety of anyone using the cool room is the number one priority.
Position in a safe & optimum location
Ensure the chosen site is level and no more than 25 metres from the power source. Also try and position the unit in a convenient site, close to where you plan to prepare or serve the food/drinks. Cool rooms that have lockable doors can be positioned outside and guard against theft or malicious damage of stored goods. If storing inside a garage, ask whether the cool room size you have selected can fit in your garage.
How to best store your goods
Having ample shelving inside the cool room is important as having adjustable shelving, that offers you the greatest flexibility for storage. It will allow you to efficiently store your goods depending on their size and make better use of the area inside the cool room. When storing cartons or slabs, position them away from walls to allow the cool air to circulate more effectively. Use shelves to store food items for more hygienic usage of the cool room.
Store your goods well before the event starts
Food or drinks that are not already cold may take several hours to get to the temperature you want. Be sure to have the cool room delivered several hours before your event commences to give you ample time to stack the cool room and allow all the contents to cool if they’re at room temperature. To save time, try and purchase or have drinks delivered cold as they can take several hours to cool.
Use good hygiene practices when storing food
To avoid any guests getting sick from incorrectly handling or storing food, follow these safe food handling and storage tips:
- Wash hands thoroughly with soap prior to handling food,
- Keep food refrigerated at 4 degrees Celsius or lower until ready to serve/cook,
- Use separate tongs/servers for meats, salads and vegetables,
- Be extra vigilant with refrigerating high risk foods at the correct temperature such as raw and cooked meat (including chicken and turkey), dairy products, eggs and their related products, cold meats (ham, salami etc.), seafood, along with prepared salads and foods.
- To avoid cross-contamination, always separate raw & cooked foods.
Cool rooms with an adjustable temperature control allow the cool room to be used for a number of applications including the safe storage of food, drinks and flowers. Having the flexibility of adjusting the temperature will provide the ability of setting the cool air flow at a safe and optimum temperature for the goods stored.
We hope the above tips help with the planning and the success of your next event or function. Here at Auswest Coolroom Hire, we’re the experts when it comes to hiring quality built cool rooms that offer all the bells and whistles when it comes to safety, features, design and good, old fashioned service. Read more about our range of standard cool rooms, glass door cool rooms and freezers available for hire.
