Synergy Grill fires up self-taught chef at Sussex steakhouse
The ClubHouse Steakhouse in Crawley, West Sussex, is really pushing the boundaries of what it means to be unique.
“We’re very unique in what we do. We are the only steak restaurant in the whole of England who dry ages Halal beef in house. We use very good suppliers from the UK and around the world to ensure that we can provide a very, very good fine dining experience.”
From intricate dry-ageing processes to unbeatable food challenges, head chef and local cricket coach Azam Riyard has been bowling over residents and tourists alike since opening his own steak restaurant.
His secret? Dry-aging the best halal beef from around the world, sourcing top quality British ingredients, and having a Synergy Grill at the centre of his kitchen.
In a bid to attract more people to his cricket club, Azam started flipping burgers in its rundown clubhouse. His love of cooking, followed by diner’s sizzling reviews, urged him to venture out with his own restaurant, affectionately naming it The ClubHouse. He saw this as an opportunity to take his culinary offering to a whole new level.
To reflect the quality of his farm-to-plate dishes Azam says he knew he couldn’t compromise on the equipment. Like his is beef, and dry ageing refrigerators, the cooking surface had to be second to none. He explains, “The philosophy behind the food is that we want it to taste incredibly good, so we use the best ingredients, the best quality beef, and very good equipment to make sure that we deliver a brilliant product onto the plate so the experience of our guests is second to none.
On top of grilling his premium range of steaks – from Jack’s Creek Australian Wagyu to British grass-fed Black Angus – the cooking surface needed to be consistent and reliable enough to cook everything else on Azam’s menu which boasts fresh lobster, dry-aged fish, asparagus, halloumi, and 1.2kg burger patties.
“You need to be able to trust your equipment to be consistent,” he says. “As soon as soon as you start the Synergy Grill up, the temperature is consistent. All four corners of the grill have got the same temperature. As a chef it’s all about consistency. We use the Synergy Grill for almost everything that comes out of the kitchen. It plays a massive role as a team member. The way it cooks absolutely anything we throw on it is just brilliant. It’s also very good when it comes to retaining moisture in the beef. So, without the Synergy Grill it would be impossible to produce what we produce.”
For me the quality of our food is broken down into three parts: the meat, the ingredients, and the cooking surface. Without these three parts working in harmony it's impossible for us to do what we do. I did a lot of research on what grill I should get, and in doing so, I came across Synergy Grill. The feedback from functionality to energy efficiency was consistently very good. So, it was a no-brainer for me to invest in Synergy Grill for my kitchen.
Azam Riyard
The real testament to the Synergy Grill, in Azam’s opinion, is when guests – some of which are fellow chefs – ask what cooking equipment he uses. He says, “The first question guests ask is ‘what do you cook on?’ And the second question is ‘where do you get your beef from?’. That’s the honest truth. So, the quality of the grill and beef work hand in hand. Many chefs have asked what cooking surface we use so I take them into the kitchen and show them because most of them haven’t even seen a Synergy Grill – they’re just used to conventional pub grills. I think it’s time for everybody to start investing in a good Synergy Grill for consistency, reliability, and ease of cleaning.”
With its impact on taste, and ability to maintain speed and temperature control – not to mention the “vital” resting shelf feature – it’s hard for Azam to boil it down to one feature that makes the Synergy Grill a necessary part of his kitchen. “I’ve got three top features,” he says. “One is the cooking surface which is brilliant. It’s consistently hot across the whole surface. Two is the energy-saving factor – it’s very energy efficient. And three is the cleaning, or lack of cleaning, process. You just have to scrape off the top after use and then vacuum it out once or twice a week. Essentially it self-cleans.