Wash your hands in milk after you’ve chopped or handled chillies to neutralise the heat.

One of the most common questions we have regarding freezers is about how to get them down to their optimum temperature.

Many people will put food straight in the freezer still in the original packaging, but is important to remember that food in a cardboard box greats pockets of air which act as insulation and prevents the area inside the freezer reaching its lowest maximum temperature.

It would be good practice to remove food from its cardboard packaging and wrap individually or to put it in an open container such as a gastronorm.

Vitrified crockery or hotelware is often preferred by restaurants and hotels where the appearance and quality of plates and bowls is of the upmost importance.

Vitrified crockery is double baked, during the baking process it is more susceptible to breakage compared to tableware that has been baked just the once, therefore the resulting price is often higher. However as the high end hotels and restaurants will testify this price is justified in the resulting product.

Items which are vitrified are tougher crockery, less likely to break, chip, or crack. They are also more likely to keep their crisp white colour where as some cheaper crockery may grey over time, this is ideal more hotels and high end restaurants. Another advantage vitrified has is that its less likely to show scratch marks from cutlery use often making regular plates appear much older than they may be.

At Buycatering have a number of vitrified products on offer, such as our range of Hunter Crockery.

There are a number of guidelines that need to be followed in order to ensure you are storing food in your fridge & freezer in a safe manner, and to also increase the lifespan of the food. We have outlined some of the main points you will need to consider.

Follow these guidelines!

•    Aim to keep the coldest part of the fridge between 0°C and 5°C.

•    The temperature of a household freezer should be set at a steady -18/-19°C, and industrial freezers should be set at around -21/-22°C

•    Keep a fridge thermometer in the coldest part of the fridge and check the temperature regularly.

•    Freezing food stops the growth of bacteria, it does not kill it. So if the freezer gets too warm bacteria can start to grow again. Let the freezer reach its optimum temperature before use.

•    Transport chilled and frozen food as quickly as possible and put them in the fridge or freezer straight away.

•    If frozen food has been taken out of the freezer it should be allowed to defrost and should not be re-frozen.

•    Wrap or cover all raw or uncooked foods so that they can’t touch or drip on to other foods and contaminate them.

•    Don’t overload the fridge: the cooling air that circulates to keep the fridge cold gets blocked and pockets of warm air form.

•    Don’t put hot food in the fridge – let it cool first.

•    Empty any part-used Can into a bowl and cover it before putting it in the fridge, otherwise the tin may contaminate the food.

•    It’s important not to overload your fridge. Unlike freezers, which work more efficiently when packed with food, fridges should not be overloaded.

•    Remember to keep the door open for as short a time as possible. Opening the fridge or freezer door warms up the air inside.

•    Remember although water freezes at 0 Celsius most foods require much lower temperatures to freeze.

As every chef knows, a decent knife is the secret of successful food preparation, and the good news is that even the budget brands are competing with the big names.

Knife Know How:

A fully forced knife is made from a single block of steel, and will be of better quality than one stamped from a continuous thin strip of steel.

Knives can be either full tang- where the steel extends into the full length of the handle, or partial tang – where it only goes part of the way in. Full tang means a knife will be stronger and more balanced.

If you store knives in a block or on a magnetic strip rather than in a drawer, they will blunt less quickly.

To avoid damaging them, never cut on hard surfaces such as glass or marble. Wooden boards are the most knife-friendly.

Always dry knives immediately after washing to avoid rusting.

View our selection of knives.

Kitchen foil, which is made from aluminium, can be useful for wrapping and covering foods. But it's best not to use foil or containers made from aluminium to store foods that are highly acidic, such as:
- Tomatoes
- Rhubarb
- Cabbage
- Many types of soft fruit

This is because aluminium can affect the taste of these sorts of food, especially if they are stored in aluminium containers for a long time.

Remember you can get great deals on a catering kitchen foil at buy catering.com

Aubergine, tomato and Parmesan Lasagne, Serves 6

Ingredients:

2tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1 medium aubergine, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
100g mushrooms, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
500g jar Dolmio Tomato Sauce for Lasagne
6-8 dried lasagne sheets, about 100-135g
470g jar Dolmio Creamy Sauce for Lasagne
30g parmesan cheese, grated
Mixed-leaf salad, to serve

Step One
Preheat oven to 190c (170c fan). Heat the oil in a large pan and add aubergine and onion. Cook over a medium heat for 5min until softened.

Step Two
Add the mushrooms and tomatoes and cook for another 5 mins. Stir in the Tomato Sauce for Lasagne and bring to the boil. Take off the heat and check the seasoning.

Step Three
Tip half the aubergine mixture into a large ovenproof serving dish. Cover with half the lasagne sheets and spread over half the Creamy Sauce for Lasagne. Repeat layering with the remaining aubergine mixture, pasta and Sauce.

Step Four
Sprinkle over the parmesan cheese, then cook for 30-35min until bubbling and golden. Allow to stand for 3 min, and then serve with salad.

Beef and Chestnut Mushroom Lasagne with Two-cheese Crust, Serves 6

Ingredients:

500g extra-lean prime beef mince
1 onion, finely chopped
250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
500g jar Dolmio Tomato Sauce for Lasagne
6-8 dried lasagne sheets, about 100-135g
470g jar Dolmio Creamy Sauce for Lasagne
50g mozzarella cheese, grated
25g parmesan cheese, grated
25g dried breadcrumbs
Mixed-leaf salad, to serve

Step One
Preheat oven to 190c (170c fan). Heat a large saucepan and dry-fry the beef to brown it – do this in batches to prevent the meat stewing. Add the onion and mushrooms and cook for 3-4mins. Stir in the Tomato Sauce for Lasagne and bring to the boil. Take off the heat andcheck the seasoning.

Step two
Tip half the mince mixture into a large ovenproof serving dish. Cover with half the lasagne sheets and spread over half the Creamy Sauce for Lasagne. Repeat layering with the remaining aubergine mixture, pasta and Sauce.

Step Three
Mix together the mozzarella parmesan and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over the lasagne.

Step Four
Cook for 30-35min until bubbling and golden. Allow to stand for 3 min, and then serve with salad.

Great value Roasting Dish, perfect to cook and serve your lasagne, and for those who can’t get enough lasagne you can even get six of them for just €26.