The chefs turning down the heat by switching from gas to electric
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- UK restaurants and cafes closed or cut hours during summer heatwaves as kitchen temperatures became dangerous, with no legal maximum working temperature despite calls from the TUC.
- Induction cookers reduce kitchen temperatures by up to 10°C by heating only the pan; Jeremy Pang of the School of Wok said he reaches 350–400°C with induction while still achieving wok hei.
- A Global Cooksafe Coalition report found one gastropub cut energy use by nearly two-thirds, saving £9,000 a year, repaying the retrofit within three years and an estimated £65,000 over 10 years, with carbon emissions falling by about two-thirds.
- Ellen Chew, founder of Rasa Sayang in London's Chinatown, said induction hobs silenced the turbo gas burners, transforming the kitchen atmosphere.
- Chantelle Nicholson opened Mayfair's Apricity in 2022 with electric-only hobs; the restaurant won a Michelin Green Star, and she cited gas pollutants linked to asthma as a reason for the switch.
- Luke Burgess, owner of Scholé in Australia, cut cooktop cleaning time from 24 minutes to 21 seconds, saving more than AU$30,000 (£15,700) in wages over a year.
- Camilla Born, CEO of Electrify Britain, called on the government to strip levies from electricity bills to make switching from gas cheaper for businesses and consumers.
Why it matters: Restaurant kitchens become safer, quieter, and significantly cheaper to run when chefs ditch gas: one gastropub saved £9,000 a year and cut energy use by two-thirds, while induction slashed a cooktop's cleaning time from 24 minutes to 21 seconds and lowered kitchen temperatures by up to 10°C — easing both the heatwave risk to staff and exposure to pollutants the source links to asthma.
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