6 minute read
Equipment Trends
Foodservice of the Future: TOP EQUIPMENT TRENDS
While the pandemic up ended the foodservice industry last year, it also prompted the innovation and evolution of restaurant and foodservice equipment and technology. Necessity if the mother of invention after all.
Here are the top equipment trends that have come into the forefront in recent years, boosted by COVID-19 and a renewed focus on health, hygiene, and both economic and environmental sustainability.
Kitchens are adopting open concepts and front-of-house prep, especially as the trend toward natural ingredients and clean menus continue. Customers want to see where their food comes from, they want to feel like they are part of the experience and be assured that the cooking facilities are squeaky clean.
Visually appealing cooking equipment includes ovens and fryers in bright colours. The new equipment also features sleek touchscreens instead of bulky buttons and knobs.
Restauranteurs are also trying to make the most of their kitchen space. Many restaurants and cafes are downsizing for takeaway only options as pandemic directed consumer trends change the way they eat out.
Some of the hottest kitchen equipment includes combination and rapid cook ovens that feature several cooking methods for preparing a variety of foods.
For example, Alto-Shaam’s Vector Multi-Cook Ovens, available through Burns & Ferrall. Vector is the only oven that allows simultaneous, highquality preparation of a wide variety of food. The secret to Vector MultiCook Ovens lies in the Structured Air Technology®.
This innovation offers up to four ovens in one each chamber with independent temperature, fan speed and cook time control. This oven can cook up to four different food items simultaneously with no flavour transfer.
EQUIPMENT THAT REDUCES LABOUR
Any foodservice equipment that reduces labour and improves efficiency is a must-have because today’s restaurant kitchens are getting smaller, not to mention the reduction of staff caused by COVID-19. Equipment that saves on labour and makes trainer easier, along with technology that is simple, is the trend. Introducing Il Uno’s Artisan Pizza Kitchen Solution, the ultimate solution for the foodservice industry to create their very own gourmet, authentic Italian pizzas for their customers, without the need for expensive labour, equipment, wastage costs or space.
The Il Uno oven can be operated by virtually anyone, it is a turn-key solution that requires no cooking skills whatsoever. This means, that businesses can save money by using lower-cost unskilled staff to operate the solution, at times when a chef may be too expensive such as afterhours, in out-of-the-kitchen locations such as the hotel pool or for corporate catering events.
ON-SITE COMPOSTING AND RECYCLING BINS
In line with top sustainability and eco-friendly trends, food waste is a hot topic in the foodservice industry. It is something the food industry needs to address because 4-10% of food purchased by foodservice operations is discarded before it reaches guests.
There are many companies that provide on-site compost and recycling bins and waste pick-up, such as Auckland’s We Compost. We Compost is Auckland’s leading commercial compostable waste collection service. Each week they collect over 50,000kg of organic waste.
AUTOMATED TECHNOLOGY
Even before the pandemic, customers expected fast service, personalisation, and convenience, including a more convenient and customised dining experience, COVID-19 set this expectation into overdrive. The foodservice industry responded with contactless ordering and payment, digital menus, and atthe-table technology.
Restaurants stand to benefit from this adoption of technology, not only as it streamlines operation, but as it also enables operators to learn more about guests through the data the technology collects.
For example, the ServeMe App. The ServeMe App helps take customer orders safely and efficiently. The App is an affordable solution for some of the challenges the hospitality industry is facing from, receiving takeaway orders through to dine-in orders and paperless menus, ServeMe makes ordering safer, faster and easier for you and your customers.
equipmenttrends REINVENTING THE RESTAURANT: Top Technology Trends
Advanced technology is developing to aid in making restaurants as safe as possible amid a global pandemic and as the health of employees and customers becomes top priority in restaurants. The push for various contactless dining options is becoming commonplace, while technology that actively tries to lower the risk of spreading bacteria and viruses is favoured by many eateries, bars, and hotels.
Here are the top restaurant technology trends to keep your eye on this year:
1. QR Code Menus
A Quick Response (QR) code is a type of barcode that holds information and can be accessed through a smartphone’s camera (depending on the model) or with an external app. Recently, restaurants have been using QR code technology to house their menus. This eliminates the need for servers to have more interaction time with customers, as well as cuts down on contact surfaces with tangible menus.
2. Individual POS System
Checkout
To further reduce interaction time between servers and customers, restaurants have started setting up Point of Sale (POS) checkout systems at tables. When customers have finished dining, they no longer have to wait for their servers to bring them their bill. Customers can pay at their leisure whenever they are finished with their dining experience.
3. Advanced Online Ordering
Technology
To streamline orders and offer customers the best service possible, larger restaurant chains have been creating their own apps. Having your own app can also improve your marketing, as it allows you to send out push notifications about specials and coupon codes.
However, even if you are a smaller establishment, the rise of food ordering technology and the number of delivery and ordering apps available has meant a more competitive cost for operators.
TRENDS FROM OVERSEAS:
These trends have yet to be adopted in New Zealand, where our pandemic situation is a little easier than in other countries, however, as pandemics are an inevitable part of our future and will become part of the new normal, you can be sure that these technologies will make their way to Kiwi shores soon enough.
1. Sanitising Using UV
Ultraviolet (UV) lights have been used to disinfect hightraffic areas such as the New York City subway or hospitals and are now making their way into restaurants to quickly disinfect potentially harmful surfaces. Whether the UV lights are installed at the door upon entry or hanging in the dining area, this UV light has given customers and employees an extra layer of security when handling the restaurant experience.
2. Facial Recognition
Technology for Contact Tracing
In various parts of the United States, restaurants are required to take down the name, phone number, date, and time of every customer’s visit. This is an attempt to stay on top of contact tracing in case multiple customers test positive for COVID-19 and officials need to find the link to the outbreak. Restaurants were finding it difficult to stay on top of this regulation, which sparked the need for facial recognition technology: a sleek display screen mounted on a long podium that records entry times, images, and temperatures of visitors.
3. Zero Contact Temperature
Tests
To lower the risk of potentially sick customers entering the restaurant, hosts will take a contactless temperature read of every customer to check for fevers. Digital infrared non-contact forehead thermometers measure a person’s temperature on their forehead without contacting the skin. The infrared technology detects the intensity of the light emitted from the forehead and converts it into a temperature reading on the large LCD screen, with the entire process taking only about one second.
