13 minute read
Well equipped
The recent Commercial Kitchen Show and Restaurant Show/Catering Equipment Expo highlighted new and existing ranges of catering equipment on offer to operators, with this month’s European Pizza & Pasta Show set to provide a further opportunity to consider products and equipment of particular interest to the pizza and Italian food sector.
SHOWCASE
Well known sector supplier, Jestic Foodservice (www.jestic.co.uk), showcased a range of equipment at Commercial Kitchen, emphasising their focus on the collaboration between some of the very best manufacturers who set out to produce the most innovative equipment and the operators who in turn use the equipment to create outstanding food and drink.
On show was the advanced MKN SpaceCombi® which offers all the power, features and control chefs could hope for in a combi, claim Jestic, but at just 55cm wide it is 40% smaller. Easy to operate, thanks to its MagicPilot touch and slide operating system, it as simple and intuitive as your smartphone.
Henny Penny continues to lead the way when it comes to high performance, oil saving fryers and two of their leading models were on show, including the Evolution Elite which takes consistency and efficiency to the next level and the new Henny Penny GVE low oil volume open fryer - a simplified, easy to use fryer which can cook the same size load in 27% less oil than a traditional 25 litre vat.
Also on show was the Mibrasa® (a charcoal oven which brings the deep rich flavours distinct to charcoal fired cooking to all types of ingredients including meat, fish, vegetables, seafood and desserts and uses 40% less fuel) and the Mibrasa® Parrilla grill with its extensive cooking surface and elevating system suspended over the open fire to give chefs maximum versatility and control.
Jestic also presented the latest holding technology from Moduline, which utilises a wire heating element wrapped around the cavity and is electronically controlled with precision to hold the humidity contained in food for perfect serving results. The Moduline range of Retherm ovens
ensures precise control with an operating temperature range of +30°C to +160°C and quality results when re-heating previously cooked food for service. Other highlights were the innovative storage and shelving solutions from Metro and the Antunes countertop equipment range which are used by QSR chains around the world.
There was also plenty to see on Jestic’s neighbouring stand where the fast and efficient 3i and 4i high speed ovens from XpressChef which cook fantastic food in a fraction of the time were on display.
The XpressChef 3i features a 7” True-Touch™ HD touchscreen with a smartphone-like scrollable imagebased menu and combines three cooking technologies to make cooking a variety of foods on-demand quick and easy.
The XpressChef 4i makes highvolume, speed cooking easy - harnessing impingement, convection, infra-red radiant and microwave assist cooking technologies – say Jestic, combining a generous 38 litre cavity which can accommodate a 14” pizza with a compact exterior which is stackable to increase throughput and save valuable counter space.
THE PERFECT BLEND
Also showcased on Jestic’s stand was the versatility of Vitamix blenders, designed to maximise uptime and save you money over the life of your machine, where every component is designed and built for unsurpassed durability, say the company (another high performance range on show being the soft ice cream and ice machines from Icetro and the profit generating slush machines from Elmeco).
DECK OVENS
Commercial deck ovens, such as those supplied by Blue Seal, are traditional Italian style, stone base deck pizza ovens that offer flexibility in being able to cook deep-base or thin based styles of pizza.
Designed for everyday professional use, these powerful electric ovens cook at high temperatures to ensure fast service and great cooking results. They are also a represent a competitive alternative to wood burner stoves or gas ovens, which are can often be higher maintenance and require more specialist and costly extraction systems to take away smoke and fumes.
Blue Seal’s ovens can accommodate 4 x 12” pizzas per deck, and they are also compact, versatile and very operator friendly, point out the company. Fast, and efficient, these ovens are ideal for restaurants with outdoor seating areas, and who want to offer quick but appealing pizzas for alfresco dining to their guests as the warmer summer months arrive and the trend for eating outdoors becomes ever more popular.
The company offer single deck and twin deck ovens which operate up to 400 degrees centigrade, giving optimum cooking temperatures for decks of their size. The single deck can be stacked onto the twin deck very easily creating a triple deck, maximising the output from the floor space, they add. The Blue Seal oven chambers also all function independently, allowing the pizza chef to control temperatures and bake more types/sizes of pizzas at once, therefore reducing serving times for busy restaurants, claim the company.
The fact these ovens are only single-phase power supply makes them very versatile too, suitable for dark kitchen takeaway sites and certain mobile kitchen operations that may have limited power supplies. Due to the electric power supply, the ease of installation is simplified as there are no complex regulations regarding interlocks/ventilation and extraction requirements, as associated with gas powered or solid fuel type ovens.
Deck ovens can also be used in professional temporary and portable kitchens, as long as there is adequate air circulation and any vented heat/steam can be dissipated into the atmosphere or directed outside, say Blue Seal, so as to maintain healthy and comfortable HSE working environment tolerances. Portable kitchens of this type can conveniently accommodate catering contractor needs for supplying rapid efficient food offerings at a multitude of outdoor events, for instance.
Blue Seal say that they also appreciate that restaurants need uncompromising, consistent quality results from the equipment they use, which is why their ovens use accurate thermostatic temperature control, eco-compatible material for thermal insulation and high quality refractory stones to provide excellent heat retention. Each chamber has top and bottom temperature control, so the pizza chef can adjust the performance of the chamber to suit baking pizza either in pizza pans, or traditionally straight onto the stone.
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It goes without saying that blenders have become invaluable in the commercial kitchen, relied upon to blend, puree, grind, chop and emulsify with speed and efficiency, all capabilities offered by the latest Hamilton Beach Commercial Expeditor family of culinary blenders now available from FEM (Foodservice Equipment Marketing, www.fem.co.uk).
From soups and sauces to marinades and dressings, Expeditor Culinary Blenders can enable commercial kitchens to create the food they desire with the newest models - the HBF510-UK and the HBF510S-UK - being no exception, claim FEM. Both have powerful 2.4HP motors and an adjustable speed dial with variable speed functions that can chop and puree even the thickest of recipes. The operator can quickly switch between low speed, high speed or chop for improved performance on difficult to blend ingredients.
The container and blade design keeps ingredients constantly circulating through the blades to ensure that contents are well-emulsified and smooth. Built to last, the HBF510 blenders’ stainless steel blades and all-metal drive coupling also help to ensure robustness and a long service life, they point out. Blade design and jar shape help chefs create silky purees, creamy soups, and signature drizzles to maximise profits, and a large dosing cup makes adding liquid for emulsions while blending both safe and easy.
Sure Grip feet and a large handle ensure safety of operation. The sealed paddle switches are both leak-resistant and easy to operate with a protective brow to direct drips away from the controls, and the jar pad removes easily for cleaning.
The HBF510-UK features a BPA-free co-polyester container with a capacity of 1.4 litre while the larger HBF510S-UK has a 1.8 litre stainless steel container. Both are supplied with a two-year parts and labour warranty (the HBF510-UK has a list price of £530.00 and the HBF510S-UK a list price of £660.00).
NEXT GENERATION
Falcon (www.falconfoodservice. com) unveiled its next generation of convection ovens at the Restaurant Show. This new range of ovens combine performance, flexibility and energy efficiency in a compact footprint, and they’ll feature connectivity, using Falcon’s Connected Kitchen system, say the company.
One of the key themes of the stand was the perfect grab and go, with new convection ovens joined by Falcon’s established range of High Speed Ovens which feature three different models offering a choice of sizes, power levels and capacities. All are countertop units that combine powerful microwave technology with other cooking methods, which vary depending on the model. Alongside these is Falcon’s new ScanHeat, an easy to use microwave where the user simply scans the barcode on the food packaging, pops it in the oven and waits for the beep with ScanHeat doing the rest. Completing the grab and go team was the latest Lainox Naboo Boosted combi oven.
Linking them all together is Falcon’s Connected Kitchen system, which can connect any appliance and they all share the same platform and dashboard, point out the company. Crucially, it’s not limited to Falcon manufactured equipment, but a universal system that can be fitted to appliances from any manufacturer. Visitors were able to see Falcon cooking appliances in action with their development chef, Shaune Hall, putting them through their paces for visitors to sample the tasty results!
A revolution in food delivery
Autumn is here, winter is on its way and the demand for food delivery to the home or office keeps growing. The Covid emergency is permanently changing our habits and today a food business can’t do without a delivery service capable of maintaining the high quality of the product, report well known Italian pizza equipment company, GI Metal, suppliers of a new professional food delivery solution called RedBox.
How can it be done?
Redbox allows food businesses to maintain the quality of the pizza and other hot food items by keeping them warm and crunchy thanks to a patented temperature and moisture control system, say GI Metal.
Pizza, pasta-based dishes, fried dishes, hamburgers and any other type of hot food can maintain the correct degree of heat and moisture, enhancing the most refined and sophisticated ingredients without ever compromising taste and quality. Indeed, RedBox allows you to adjust the temperature and then keep it constant for all deliveries (setting it from 65° to a maximum of 105°C).
The patented RedBox system is electrical, powered by a dedicated high-power lithium battery, having been designed to be used on all types of cargo scooters, both electrical and petrol-fuelled, and on cars (four seats or more, with collapsible rear seats), located in the trunk, via a dedicated adapter kit.
What do pizza makers think about it?
GI Metal interviewed a number of Italian pizza makers who have been using Redbox for several months now, and all told them that they are satisfied having bought the heated pizza carrier box. 60% of those interviewed confirmed that they bought RedBox because they wanted to maintain the quality of the delivered product: not only pizza, but also pasta, hamburgers and fried dishes (probably the hardest product to reach destination warm and crunchy).
“I’m extremely satisfied with RedBox because it improves the final product. It allows the pizza to be delivered warm, without that rubbery effect typical of pizza transported with classical thermal bags. Delivered pizza will never be say, right out of the oven, but it greatly helps the product, highly improving its quality level,” said Manuel Maiorano of La Fenice Pizzeria Contemporanea in Pistoia.
Luigi Lucchetti from the Pizza e Fichi pizzeria in Ostia (RM) said: “Redbox allows us to deliver an almost perfect product to the customer. We make a lot of fried food which arrive crispy and warm: the difference is quite noticeable.”
Nowadays, delivery is part of the business of the majority of pizza parlours, some have always been doing it while others have arranged it to deal with an evergreater demand since last year, observe GI Metal, and in this context, it’s even more important to be able to be set apart, the company feel. 40% of those interviewed also declared that they chose RedBox to optimise deliveries - making several deliveries together, for example, expands the usual range of action, in turn saving time, money and dedicated staff.
Gianluca Procaccini chose Redbox for his il Campione pizza parlours on the Ostia coast. “Now we make up to five deliveries when before we could make no more than two. This takes about 40-45 minutes, the time in which the pizza stays warm,” he said.
Pablo Biagoli of Pizzeria Bargello in Pistoia added: “Since our pizzeria is right in the middle of town, we really needed to be able to do two to three deliveries together. So we go out once instead of having to go back and forth from the pizzeria. It saves us time and fuel, aside from the fact that the pizza is definitely better quality and our customers can tell that right away.”
What do customers think?
Customers who are particularly satisfied by the quality level, GI Metal have found, find themselves with an almost boiling pizza in their hands, but maintaining the taste and flavour of pizza ‘just out of the oven’. Cristian Varriale from the Basilicò pizzeria in Naples, commented: “We have a positive feedback both from a financial and interpersonal standpoint. People are extremely happy and this makes the difference compared to our competitors.”
There’s also a definite curiosity about the vehicle used for delivery, GI Metal have found.
“When we reach someone’s home with the delivered pizza, the customer has the impression that our service is more careful and complete. When we take the pizza carton out of the box and put it into the customer’s hands, they’re amazed how warm it is. The customer is intrigued. They’ve never seen an oven in a car, so they ask questions and want to come and see,” said Antonio Cacioli, Pizzeria La Ruota, in Selvino (BG).
RedBox can be purchased outright, rented or supplied via a financing option (www.gimetaldeliverysolutions.it).
Manuel Maiorano, La Fenice Pizzeria Contemporanea, Pistoia. Luigi Lucchetti, Pizza e Fichi, Ostia (RM). Gianluca Procaccini, Il Campione, Ostia (RM).
Pablo Biagoli, Pizzeria Bargello, Pistoia.
