A trusted name, a universal oven and an ability to last for at least 20 years, are just some of the reasons Adrian Mitchell, Duchy Originals’ manufacturing manager, chose Double D’s (Broxburn, West Lothian) rack ovens for its first bakery production unit in Launceston, Cornwall, last year. "We’re not a big plant bakery, but the Double D rack ovens match the scale of what we’re doing - targeting a niche market with a new range of organic pastry products, a line which we discovered wasn’t viable for larger manufacturers," Mitchell says.

== GAP IN THE MARKET ==

Duchy Originals works with around 30 partner licensees which produce a range of bakery products all carrying The Prince of Wales’s seal. Duchy Originals spotted a gap in the market for organic pastry products, and so launched the organic range, which includes four 7.5-inch tarts in lemon, chocolate, Bakewell and treacle, mini jam and lemon curd tarts, Cornish pasties and cheese-based flans.

Following initial training and familiarisation with the Revorack oven’s technology, including the CCS I controller, the staff at the bakery now operate 20 different baking programmes, designed to give the desired bake for each product, or product stage.

"The Revorack ovens include a sophisticated airflow system, which gives consistency and can continually be fine-tuned," says Mitchell. "We blind bake all pastry cases, then fill them and bake them again to achieve the premium product we’re looking for. The technology allows us to accurately control every aspect of each bake, so we always know what to expect. Also, we commissioned two-door ovens so we have controls on both sides, which makes the baking process more efficient."

It’s still relatively early days for the new bakery and the Revorack ovens are in use up to six hours a day, leaving plenty of capacity for baking further organic product lines, including meat pies, which are due to be launched before the year end.

== range development ==

"There has been a lot of work to get to this stage, but we’re now comfortable with the product and, coupled with the Revorack ovens’ technology, we’re looking forward to developing the range further," adds Mitchell.

Like all Double D products, the Revorack oven can be custom-built and comes in a range of sizes, from the compact single-rack up to 10-rack capacity, including high-volume dedicated ovens for pie, savoury and quiche production, says the firm. Double D believes it is worth investing time in finding exactly the right oven to suit each customer’s requirements. The company says it has been host to bakers from all over the world who visit Double D’s test centre near Edinburgh to trial the company’s products using their own recipes