Frying dry
Tweed Netball Association made a simple equipment change to provide healthier and safer options at their canteen and have never looked back.
Tweed Netball Association is made up of nine clubs with over 100 teams and has been operating since the early 1970s. The association has a canteen running every Saturday during netball season, and during competitions and carnivals, feeding up to 1,100 patrons a day.
Out of the oil and into the oven
The club made two small changes at their canteen and saw big results.
- Introduce fresh fruit, on the front counter at point of sale and move the sweet treats further back.
- Put water at eye level in front facing fridges, moving other drink options around this.
Introducing fresh fruit
After moving the clubhouse to a new location, the association decided to prioritise the health of their players and families, and the safety of their volunteers, by leaving the deep fryers out of the new canteen kitchen, replacing them with air fryers.
By removing the need for heated oil, the association ensured they offered their players and families healthier options, whilst also removing the risk of oil burns by volunteers in the kitchen. An added bonus – their canteen supervisor doesn’t have to empty and clean out the big fat cookers fortnightly anymore!
How does it work?
The association started with 3 air fryers, but have since upgraded to 6, and use them to cook potato chips, chicken nuggets, spring rolls and dim sims.
The association can get food out quickly and meet their customer’s wants and have seen that making this change has not impacted canteen service or their bottom line. Plus, the canteen has never had a complaint, people say the food tastes even better!
On top of the healthier cooked items the association promotes other healthier options at the canteen including,
- Water and 99% Fruit Juice,
- Assorted Salads and Sandwiches, and
- Sushi.
Water is promoted front and centre in the fridges to encourage their members to win with water.
Perks of using air fryers
The association found many benefits with replacing the deep fryers with air fryers:
- Saving money, they found air fryers use less electricity (no need for an extraction fan), and they don’t need to purchase oil.
- Saving time, heating up the air fryers is much faster, and no more cleaning out of oil!
‘‘With the removal of the fat it keeps our kitchen cleaner, and we have now been able to bring in volunteers from the age of 14’.
-Helen Rigney, President