Gas remains the preferred choice in commercial kitchens, primarily for its instant heat and lower running costs. Hospitality industry sources say that gas remains the preferred option for high-volume cooking and professional chefs.

The scale of the sector needs to be considered in any move to net zero, with over 140,000 businesses in the hospitality sector. It might not be huge volumes of gas but it is certainly a large number of users.

Now of course electrical appliances can be used, and I am not one to judge the quality of the output produced from gas or electric, but I do know that the hospitality industry in the UK has been struggling of late. Politicians are demanding action to support restaurants, pubs and cafes. So how can they afford to switch appliances at this time?

Indeed, I would ask the question, “has anyone even considered the sector?” There is much heat generated over decarbonising homes; plenty of money promised for clean power but what about your local?

And back home, on a smaller scale, the same quandary exists. If you switch from gas to electric heating what about your cooking? Over half of UK homes still use gas to cook. The cost to switch from gas to an induction hob, including removal of gas appliance, install and new pots and pans is estimated to be around £1000. That’s another cost of net zero for the consumer for which no grants exist.

Adding that onto the heat decarbonisation sums and the financials simply do not work. It’s a far cry from the “warm and fuzzy” campaign currently being run by DESNZ. Warm and fuzzy doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table, that’s before we even consider cooking it.