Consistent high quality, uniform cooking results and the efficient use of supplies are a must in out-of-home catering, say experts at Rational.
To ensure this for 20 or 2,000 meals, many chefs rely on intelligent kitchen technology. An example of how this works and what results can be achieved can be showcased through the new iCombi Pro combi-steamer, they add.
Five hundred identical-looking meals, 20 identical fish fillets, Monday to Sunday the same colour of baked cauliflower – that much quality is a customer magnet, says the company, which highlights that this is how it supports chefs in achieving their goals.
“Cooks can report on this every day,” says Thomas Hofer, managing director at RATIONAL Kitchen & Catering Equipment Trading FZCO. “If the quality is not satisfactory, the product is not even issued. Or the guests return their food. In both cases, high costs arise from unsold goods, which should be avoided.”
With the interaction of intelligent control and innovative technology, Rational has succeeded with iDensityControl in the new iCombi Pro in producing in such a way that one piece looks like the other. This not only fulfills guest wishes, but also reduces the waste of goods to virtually zero and significantly increases the number of goods that can be sold.
To ensure consistent quality, sensors feel and recognise the current cooking chamber conditions every second, so that the required amount of energy – i.e. the combination of heat and humidity – is optimally adapted to the food and the desired result, explains Hofer.
This creates an individual climate that ensures consistent food quality and special taste experiences. However, since external influences such as door opening, food and ambient temperature repeatedly throw the climate out of balance, intelligent climate management must compensate.
Only then does the interaction of sensors in the cooking chamber, active dehumidification and flow-optimised cooking chamber geometry create a climate that enables exceptional productivity and outstanding cooking results.
Thanks to the new cooking chamber geometry and the intelligent fan wheels, which adapt intelligently to the product, quantity and cooking status in terms of direction of rotation and speed, the air flow is optimised so that the energy is distributed even more evenly down to the last corner.
As a result, the energy input to the food is even higher, it’s cooked faster and cannot dry out. At the same time, the powerful vacuum technology removes moisture from the cooking chamber even faster and more effectively, thus ensuring crispy crusts, crispy breading and grill patterns with optimum roasting flavours. The result is outstanding, uniform quality across all trays, such as 80 turkey escalopes in an iCombi Pro 10-1/1.
Thanks to precise temperature control of up to 300 °C, pizzas become crispy, steaks get the coveted grill pattern and even frozen convenience goods such as chicken nuggets or French fries are prepared evenly, crispy and juicy.
“Even if large quantities of frozen goods are placed in the cooking chamber, the iCombi Pro has enough power reserves to reach cooking temperature in no time at all.” This applies to heat as well as steam, because 100% hygienic live steam, exact steam temperature and maximum steam saturation ensure outstanding food quality from 30-130°C, in single and full loading, for salmon, dim sum and flan,” says Hofer.
If reliable, high-quality production is possible, this is worthwhile in two respects: customers will be happy to come back again and again, and the waste in the kitchen is reduced to a minimum. This also reduces the amount of goods used, which in turn has a positive effect on costs. And 500 absolutely identical looking meals are no longer a challenge.
