THE chefs at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Hobart are a happy bunch - particularly since the hotel connected to the natural gas network three months ago.

Chef de cuisine Darren Lynch, in the Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart kitchen, now cooks with gas.

General manager Ralph Freckelton said natural gas was quite clearly the preferred cooking method for the hospitality industry.

“While chefs may not be too concerned whether it is LPG or natural gas, from the hotel’s perspective, natural gas is more cost effective and it is cleaner,” he said.

“While our chefs are happy, we feel happier about the whole thing too because of the savings and the environmental benefit.”

Mr Freckelton said the Hotel Grand Chancellor Hobart connected to the natural gas network at the end of March this year.

The hotel uses natural gas for cooking in all of its kitchens, heating of the hotel’s various public areas and hot water.

“It is early days for a cost comparison with electricity, but the indications are very, very positive,” Mr Freckelton said.

“It took us about 12 months to work through the process before deciding to switch to natural gas.

“TasGas was very accommodating during that negotiation process, and then again when we switched.”

TasGas General Manager Russell Reid said for cooking, there was no comparison between gas and electricity.

“If you ask any chef or home cook who has cooked with gas, they never want to cook with electricity again,” he said.

Mr Reid said instantaneous and continuous hot water was also a benefit of natural gas, which allowed better temperature control

“But the big advantage is the cost,” he said.

“Not only is the cost of gas cheaper than electricity for hot water (6.57 cents per kWh compared with 11.85 cents per kWh), but you only need to heat the volume of water you need to the temperature you need.

“This saves energy, reduces greenhouse gases and saves money.”