EQUIPMENT TRANSITIONING WITH RATIONAL - PART 3: MAINTENANCE

Regular iCombi Classic cleaning cycles keep Grand Geneva Resort & Spa’s kitchens operating efficiently.

Grand Geneva Resort & Spa offers guests a variety of food and beverage options, from fine-dining restaurants to a casual bar and grill. As many as 12 kitchens support the all-seasons resort, which sits on 1,300 acres in Lake Geneva, Wis. Every kitchen relies on the same set of RATIONAL iCombi Classic combi ovens (both 20-full size) located in the banquet kitchen and readily accessible via a service elevator.

“All of our concepts, from the Geneva ChopHouse to Ristorante Brissago to Grand Cafe, use the RATIONAL equipment. Banquets is maybe the one that gets the most use out of them,” says Executive Chef Dustin Urbanik. He joined the property in 2018 as the ChopHouse’s chef de cuisine and rose through the ranks.

Simple Steps

Urbanik oversees the upkeep of the combi ovens, which were in place when he arrived at the resort. He says with regular care, such as running a self-cleaning cycle daily and deep cleaning weekly, they work well.

“Like a car, where you do oil changes on it to keep it running, you keep the combi oven clean every day,” Urbanik says. “They’re built to last, and they work like a charm so long as you’re cleaning them every day and not beating them up.”

One example of a repair Urbanik managed was when the combi oven’s self-cleaning function didn’t work. It gave an error message. “We called the engineering department and they came and looked at it and

BY couldn’t figure it out, so we called RATIONAL and they gave us a few options, a few self-remedies to look at,” he says. With help from RATIONAL, the resort’s team found calcified water had clogged some filters. The team thoroughly cleaned the filters and the combi oven was back online. continued on page 112

To ensure the combi ovens operate at peak performance, new hires at the resort get one-on-one training with an experienced chef on how to use and care for the equipment. They learn how to handle the cleaning tablets, interpret the messages on the display screen and other steps.

The Numbers

1,200

More than 1,200 certified RATIONAL service partners are available to operators worldwide.

Mediterranean Menu Trends

With Chef Maria Loi