Elias Rached, regional vice president sales MEA at MKN, reveals the latest in kitchen innovations.
Tell us a bit more about your product.
We would like to talk about our new SpaceCombi combi steamers. They are ideal for every environment and everyone. As a professional compact class, the SpaceCombi addresses the growing concerns of modern chefs and operators.
With a focus on space, flexibility and independence, the SpaceCombi boasts innovative technology made for chefs. They save space, are easy to operate and are energy-efficient and simple to clean at the same time. Despite their width of only 55 cm, they are fully featured professional combi steamers, offering GN 1/1 capacity without compromising on any of their many technical features.
For example, the new MKN Guided Cooking concept boasts a higher degree of automation and technical intelligence. Intuitive operation, simple instructions and other support functions make these combi steamers the perfect assistants in the daily kitchen routine. They ensure constant process reliability, even when personnel without any cooking experience work in your kitchen. That’s quality you can rely on!
The new MKN SpaceCombi models serve a wide range of catering concepts at different locations. The SpaceCombi Team ensures maximum variety with minimum space, as two separate cooking chambers are housed in one single appliance. The SpaceCombi Magic Team with integrated extractor hood is particularly suitable for sales points where there is insufficient technical infrastructure, for example at petrol service stations or supermarkets.
The possibilities for creative culinary concepts are endless. And the new models make cleaning by hand a thing of the past. Thanks to the WaveClean automatic cleaning system your SpaceCombi ,combi steamers are sparkling clean using only one cartridge for detergent and rinse aid. And there’s no need for any additional manual cleaning as the cooking chamber interior and the triple glazed insulated door are automatically cleaned as well.
What’s the latest in the market?
In terms of combi steamers, our latest products are the above-mentioned SpaceCombis. We’re also very proud of our new FlexiChef, which has been extensively optimised and is faster than ever in almost every respect. It optimises time, space, efficiency, quality, cost-effectiveness and motivation for chefs in professional kitchens.
A notable highlight is that the FlexiChef remains the only cooking appliance equipped with a skillet pan and with its own automatic cleaning system. Besides the regular cleaning cycle at the end of the day, SpaceClean can perform automatic intermediate cleaning, which only takes two minutes. This feature is exemplary for important standard requirements in professional kitchens in the future.
The new FlexiChef is not only more efficient and flexible than its predecessor, but also extremely easy to install. The cutting-edge touchscreen operating system MagicPilot is so intuitive and dynamic that even untrained chefs don’t have any problems using it. Together with various support functions and a higher degree of automation, it’s part of the new MKN Guided Cooking concept for achieving culinary excellence in every professional kitchen.
SmartBoiling is a new, energy-saving water boiling process, accessed directly as a quick start function from the home screen. Standard features such as internet compatibility and Connected Kitchen cater to networking appliances and optimum equipment management. In addition, installation as well as power and water supply lines have been considerably redesigned and simplified.
What are some of the upcoming trends you’re expecting?
The increasing mobility of consumers and small workspaces due to rising property prices are transforming the eating-out market. Ever-smaller kitchens only offer limited space for food preparation and equipment.
Consumers also demand product variety to meet diverse eating habits and food trends. Now, not only does food have to taste good, but it also has to be healthy. The offer is varied, presentation is appetising, dishes are prepared before guests’ eyes and cooking is celebrated as art.
Customers also require easy access to refreshments and snacks all day at sales points located at work, in shops, and during travel and leisure activities. Basic requirements in the food and beverage service sector are becoming increasingly complex, and these challenges are often met by untrained personnel or temporary staff. In an ever-changing world of trends and customer needs, chefs are constantly challenged to deliver an impressive menu that is fast, fresh and full of flavour. This challenge is imposed onto not just master chefs, but also untrained and temporary staff in increasingly limited kitchen space, making highly functional equipment more important than ever.
To summarise, today’s trends include increasing costs for kitchen space; smaller kitchens mean less preparation space; an increasing demand for theatre-style show cooking; a need for high standards of hygiene, which strictly controlled; an increased demand for energy efficiency; fresh and healthy food; and the importance of ease-of-use for untrained staff.
What would you advise chefs who are looking for the best ovens?
To get in contact with MKN through the many points of communication we offer. For example, our online seminars at your preferred time. MKN application specialists will take you on a culinary journey around the entire world of professional thermal cooking technology digitally, and live.
Simply tell them your preferred date and required topics and they will take care of the rest. MKN is thinking one step ahead, while offering new online seminars. Our experts connect with you virtually in your own kitchen – giving personal consultations online and live. They have all the answers to your questions and help you implement your requirements.
Join our digital events on Facebook and Instagram and experience product innovations first-hand – this has always been the motto of the MKN Cooking Experience seminars. In the current situation where personal contact is reduced to a minimum, we have launched a series of new digital events to give interested viewers a chance to experience the world of cooking live.
We will also be introducing our new products, the FlexiChef 2.0, SpaceCombi Team and SpaceCombi Magic Team during these events. We present these live videos on our MKN Facebook and Instagram channels and on Webinaris on various dates. Experienced sales professionals and chefs report on MKN equipment, cooking methods and individual food products.
While the chefs prepare a variety of dishes, viewers can gain deeper insights into MKN professional cooking technology and new products. We warmly invite you to take part in our interactive digital events and ask your own questions in our live chat. You can find further information about topics and dates on the MKN website.
