Foster XR20 Blast Chiller 20kg 5 Grid

The Foster XR20 is a self-contained blast chiller rated for 20kg loads across five grids per cycle. Its purpose is straightforward: bring cooked food from +70°C down to +3°C within 90 minutes, keeping the chilling process within recognised food safety guidelines. It is designed to sit within a structured cook-chill workflow rather than serve as an occasional-use unit, and the controls reflect that.

In regular service, the XR20 performs consistently across different types of produce. The microprocessor offers both hard and soft chill programmes — soft chill for delicate preparations such as custards, set creams or mousse-based dishes, and hard chill for dense proteins, bulk stocks and batch-cooked preparations. Selecting the appropriate programme reduces spoilage risk and gives production teams repeatable results across a varied menu. The unit also logs cycle data, which supports due diligence records without requiring separate manual documentation.

From a day-to-day operations perspective, the design reduces friction in the kitchen routine:

• Smooth interior with no exposed fixings, reducing cleaning time after service
• Stainless steel construction throughout, meeting expected food-safe hygiene standards
• Standard 75mm shelf spacing accepts GN trays and grids without adjustment
• Hydrocarbon refrigerant, widely supported by UK refrigeration engineers
• Cycle logging via microprocessor to assist HACCP and due diligence compliance

As a self-contained unit with an integral condenser, installation is less involved than remote-condensing alternatives. That said, ventilation in the surrounding area does matter — positioning the unit in a confined or poorly ventilated space will reduce chilling performance over time and place additional load on components. Electrical supply requirements should be verified against the technical datasheet prior to installation. The unit's footprint makes it workable in kitchens where space is limited but a reliable blast chiller is still operationally necessary.

The XR20 suits restaurants, hotel kitchens, care and school catering operations, and contract caterers running moderate batch volumes as part of a regular cook-chill cycle. It is less well suited to very high-throughput sites where larger loads or more frequent cycles are the norm — if that describes your operation, it is worth discussing whether a higher-capacity unit would serve you better before committing.

If you would like to talk through whether the XR20 fits your kitchen's output and workflow, the team is glad to help you work that out first.