What is a Cold Room? A Complete Guide

Whether you’re hosting an outdoor event or trying to run a busy catering business, a cold room can help you run things more efficiently. By providing a cool, safe storage space for perishable items, you'll be able to run your events seamlessly - without having to worry about wasting fresh goods or serving unsafe food.

So, what is the purpose of a cold room? In this blog, we're going to go over the key benefits of using a cold room, why it can be useful for your business, and why hiring a cold room can bring down overall costs for both event planners and hospitality businesses alike. Let's take a look!

What is a cold room?

A cold room is a large, walk-in fridge that can be used to store fresh and perishable food items, such as fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy products. A cold room can also simply be used to keep drinks cool and fresh - what's worse than a lukewarm pint of beer?

Companies running brick-and-mortar businesses (such as bars and restaurants) often have their own cold room on-site or adjacent to their premises, but the availability of cold room hire services has made it easy for catering businesses and party planners to rent a cold room at a lower cost.

When it comes to walk-in cold room vs walk-in freezer, your main difference is in size, capacity, and power.

What is a cold room used for?

While a cold room can be used for almost any type of event, the following uses are the most common:

Weddings

One of the most common uses for cold rooms is weddings - with 82 guests being the average size of a UK wedding party, that's a lot of food and drink to keep safe! Rather than relying on the wedding venue's fridge or freezer capacity - which can often be limited and cramped - a cold room can be placed adjacent to the venue, allowing the wedding caterers to store their perishables in a larger, temperature-appropriate environment.

Outdoor events

Another common use for cold rooms is outdoor events. Whether you're hosting a garden party or a large-scale summer barbeque, it can be difficult to store all perishable items at a safe temperature, especially if your event is taking place during the hot summer months. A cold room will ensure that all your perishables are kept safe and cool, so you don't need to worry about food wastage or any health and safety concerns.

Bars and restaurants

Running any type of hospitality business can put a strain on your kitchen storage space, which is why many bars and restaurants keep a cold room adjacent to their premises to help store all their food and drinks. Aside from offering a temperature-controlled space, a cold room also helps businesses to keep track of their inventory more efficiently, helping to bring down the associated costs (and environmental consequences) of commercial food waste.

Catering businesses

If you have a catering business, you'll most likely often be working on location, whether it be at a wedding, a concert, or any other large event. A cold room is a great way for caterers to keep their food items safe, and in doing so protecting their reputation; serving food that hasn't been stored at the right temperature can quickly become unsafe to eat, even after being cooked. Giving your guests food poisoning can not only damage your professional reputation, but could also represent legal concerns for your business. With a cold room, you can regulate the temperature as needed, to ensure that you're only ever serving safe food.

Emergencies

If you're running a business in the hospitality industry, the breakdown of a fridge or freezer can bring your operations to a halt, and potentially represent hundreds or even thousands of pounds in lost trade, food waste, and lost profits. Many companies rely on emergency cold room hire in the event of an appliance breakdown in their kitchen, and at Ice Cool Trailers, we provide emergency cold room hire across the South of England, with some deliveries arriving in just 2-3 hours.

What are the Benefits of a Cold Room?

Extended Preservation and Enhanced Quality

Cold rooms provide optimal conditions for storing perishable goods, which helps in slowing down the biological processes that cause food to spoil. This not only extends the shelf life but also preserves the quality, taste, and nutritional value of the products stored.

Efficient Space Utilisation

Cold rooms are designed to maximise space efficiency. They can be customised to fit specific spatial requirements, allowing for optimal organisation and storage of large quantities of goods in a controlled environment. This is particularly beneficial for businesses that require bulk storage capabilities.

Cost-Effectiveness

By extending the shelf life of products, cold rooms reduce waste and decrease the frequency of restocking, which can lead to significant cost savings. Additionally, the ability to buy and store products in bulk during peak seasons when prices are lower can further reduce operational costs.

Regulatory Compliance

Many industries are governed by strict regulations that require specific storage conditions for certain products to ensure safety and quality. Cold rooms provide precise temperature control that helps businesses comply with these regulations and avoid potential legal issues.

Enhanced Operational Efficiency

Cold rooms are equipped with modern refrigeration technologies that allow for automated temperature and humidity control, reducing the need for manual intervention. This enhances operational efficiency and ensures consistent conditions that are crucial for product preservation.

Flexibility

The versatility of cold rooms makes them suitable for a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food service, and floral. They can be adjusted to specific temperature and humidity levels to meet the unique storage requirements of different products.

Security and Safety

Cold rooms are typically constructed with robust security features to prevent unauthorised access and protect the contents inside. Moreover, they are designed to maintain stable conditions even in the event of power failures or other disruptions, which enhances safety.

Hire a cold room for your next event

Buying a cold room upfront is a big financial investment, not to mention that it takes up a lot of space! If you're an on-call caterer without your own premises, lugging a cold room back and forth to various event venues can put a strain on your transport costs. Plus, the process for installation can be lengthy if you're working within a narrow or cramped space.

At Ice Cool Trailers, we offer cold room hire across Southern England for weddings, outdoor parties, and all hospitality businesses. We'll transport your cold room to the venue ourselves, where our skilled team will carry out a quick installation and check that everything is running efficiently. Once your event is over, we'll return to pick the cold room up, and transport it safely back to our warehouse.

Overall, a cold room is an invaluable asset for any business handling large amounts of food or drinks. Not only will it help ensure that all your perishables are kept at a safe temperature, but it'll also help to minimise food wastage while maximising the efficiency of your operations. Contact us today for further details, or call us on 01635 250 950 for any urgent or emergency requests.