Lone rangers: the next generation of prime cooking

Next-generation prime cooking appliances have evolved into single machines that do it all, saving time, energy and costs. Angela Frewin reports

"With energy costs soaring, those in it for the long haul are looking at ways to cut costs for a sustainable future," says Mark Hogan, commercial director at Foodservice Equipment Marketing (FEM). "Buying energy-saving equipment is no longer an optional extra – it's a must to soften the blow of energy price hikes."

FEM's Alto-Shaam cook-and-hold ovens, which are ideal for labour-free, overnight cooking, have a ventless, waterless design that simplifies installation and lowers costs. The gentle halo heat technology, adds Hogan, offers better quality at a lower cost than conventional counterparts, while deluxe models incorporate the ChefLinc remote oven management system.

Carbon-reducing induction cooking will have a role to play as the government seeks to reduce emissions by 78% before 2035 compared to 1990 levels. Trevor Burke, managing director at Exclusive Ranges, says induction is a major feature of the cookers in the bespoke-built ranges from Menu System: "Induction is no longer the technology of tomorrow and is already widely available in the foodservice market. It is creating new ways of working and operational habits in the kitchen and chefs are fast learning that equipment needn't be on all the time to be usable."

Steve Hobbs, director at Grande Cuisine, says: "There is no doubt that chefs and caterers in general are looking to minimise product purchases – and with it running costs – by ensuring they make maximum use of each individual piece of cooking equipment. That's why we are seeing more and more of them opting for multifunctional products, something that I believe will only happen more frequently. This multifunctionality was once the sole preserve of standalone items of equipment, but it has now found its way into cooking suites."

The group's Mareno 2-in-1 plancha cookplate with four independent heating zones and Plaque Athanor plancha, for instance, can be used for both direct and indirect pan cooking.

A kitchen all-rounder

"By their design and nature, combi ovens are one of the most versatile prime cooking appliances to be found in a professional kitchen," says Scott Duncan, managing director at Unox. "Designed to cook, steam, roast, grill, fry or bake, a modern combi oven is packed full of innovative features and technology to drive consistency, save energy and reduce the demand on labour."

These mothers of kitchen multifunctionality have not been resting on their laurels. Unox's Cheftop Mind.Maps Big Compact Plus addresses the shrinking kitchen issue without shrinking output. The high-performance trolley combi oven, fitted with Data Driven Cooking technology, packs 20 shelves suitable for GN 1/1, 1/2 and 1/3 trays into an ultra-slim 650mm wide footprint.

The ‘no boiler' instant steam injection system on Taylor UK's Eloma Joker significantly reduces energy and water usage compared to conventional combis, says marketing director David Rees. This innovation and the powerful control system allows chefs to cook a range of different foods together and switch swiftly between cooking modes.

The Hobart Bonnet high-speed steamer, which can poach, boil, braise, steam, sous vide and reheat, uses dry steam under pressure to cook food rapidly (27 minutes for pork ribs against more than two hours in a conventional steamer) while retaining the appearance and flavour of food. It can, adds John Stewart, product manager for cooking and food prep at Hobart, prepare food to order as one portion takes the same cook time as 100, reducing food wastage.

Speed and convenience

Heavy-duty, deep-pan cookers are also branching out. Rational's versatile iVario cookers are advanced bratt pans that can boil, fry and deep-fry up to four times faster with up to 40% less energy than conventional kitchen equipment, says marketing director Adam Knights. With their multi-use capabilities, they can replace stoves, pots, pans, deep-fat fryers, pressure cookers and bains-marie in restaurant kitchens. Two-pan models divide into a total of four zones that can cook different foods at different temperatures simultaneously which, says Knights, "speeds up mise en place enormously".

MKN's FlexiChef modern tilt skillet can fry, steam, boil, deep fry, high-speed cook or sous vide cook three times faster than conventional cookers and up to twice as fast as conventional pressure cookers. Variable levels of high-speed cooking and OpenXpress steam release offers huge flexibility, adds Wayne Bennett, vice-president sales and marketing for the UK and Ireland at MKN, and allows caterers to break the cycle and cook other foods in between.

The Bonnet Precipan is another "serious space saver", says Stewart at Hobart. This multifunctional braising pan provides nine cooking methods (simmer, grill, braise, sauté, steam, boil, pan-fry, deep-fry and smoke) in 30% less kitchen space, and the two cooking wells each offer three independent temperature zones. Precision cooking and a rapid temperature boost function can reduce water consumption by 60% and food shrinkage by 10%.

The seven-function Fitpan offers a griddle plate, bratt pan, pasta cooker, slow cooker, steamer, boiler, bain-marie with a core temperature probe and USB ports for recipe storage. It is one of the smarter, faster and safer appliances available in Welbilt's recently introduced Olis Diamante system, a modular, horizontal kitchen platform designed, says national sales manager Alistair Farquhar, to streamline tasks, from prep to cooking and cleaning.

Another Diamante option is the Fryer Evo with a new, safer oil filtering system placing the pump within a closed circuit. Its 7-inch high-resolution touchscreen control panel manages temperature, HACCP alarms, tank cleaning and programming. A reduced cool zone delivers high output to oil ratio and enhanced energy efficiency on durable Valentine fryers from Valentine and CuisinEquip, whose portfolio includes pasta cookers, Lightfry (the industry's first commercial air fryer) and Locher chargrills, induction ovens and boiling tables.

Sales director Steve Elliott sees an increased uptake of specialist grills, such as Locher's height-adjustable electric salamander grill with automatic plate detection that turns power on or off as a dish is inserted or removed. "Using energy-efficient infra-red heating elements can reach temperature in as little as five seconds. The Locher electric salamander grill is an example of innovation in the grill and prime cooking market, moving away from the traditional energy-hungry, gas-powered salamanders that were once a common sight in commercial kitchens," says Elliott.

"We are seeing considerably more demand for electric than gas," agrees Hobbs. "Our feeling is that there will be a move away from natural gas, both commercially and residentially, with it likely to be replaced by hydrogen or ‘town gas' that can be produced and distributed locally [not via the national grid as at present].

"Much of the UK will move from natural gas to hydrogen which, while a much greener gas to burn, does not have the thermal output of natural gas, making it unsuitable as a cooking medium. This will further drive demand for electric appliances."

Well connected

The benefits of building digital technology and wireless connectivity into appliances are manifold, from more precise temperature control, HACCP logging and problem alerts to remote monitoring, control of all processes and the easy distribution of recipes to multiple sites. Now a more joined-up approach is emerging.

Grand Cuisine's Mareno iCHEF-enabled kit is, claims Hobbs, "the industry's first and only fully touch-controlled range of commercial equipment" and covers electric hotplates, ceramic glass and induction ranges, fryers, fry tops, combi ovens, pasta cookers, bratt pans, boiling pans and bain maries. All can be linked to its Power Guardian system, which regulates and halves the power used by connected kit. Power Guardian can further link into energy management systems for lighting, heating and air conditioning.

The new Celsius Black with full Data Lounge data management system available on the bespoke-built Menu System cooker ranges not only manages both induction and non-induction kit but is designed to work across other platforms, such as salamanders, fryers and combi ovens. This effectively creates fully managed ranges which themselves, says Burke, can be integrated into a full kitchen energy management environment.

Clean break

"Caterers should be looking for more than just standard self-cleaning functions from modern appliances," stresses Bennett at MKN. Innovative, added-value cleaning systems will, he explains, help extend the appliance's lifetime and minimise energy and resource consumption.

New WaveClean technology on MKN's FlexiCombi and SpaceCombi combi steamers reduces water consumption by 36% compared with the previous version, while FlexiChef's SpaceClean technology is, says Bennett, "the first and only automatic cleaning system for skillet pans".

A new grease collection option on FlexiCombi MagicPilot models separates out fats, oils and grease, which can, says Bennett, "be sold to other industries such as biofuel and cosmetics to drive additional income".

Unox's Speed-X is billed as the world's first self-washing combi speed oven. Its automatic Rotar.Klean system, says Duncan, "integrates a one-litre tank, water filtration system and intelligent sensors to provide up to 2,000 litres of filtered water and instinctive wash cycle suggestions, based on the level of cleaning required". The oven, with a dedicated Speed-Plate position, can perform up to four accelerated cooking functions at once and accommodates up to 10 GN 2/3 trays.

Kitchen staff at the South Lodge luxury spa hotel in West Sussex are using the powerful ConvoClean technology in their new Welbilt Convotherm Maxx combi oven as a dishwasher.

"We actually use it to clean other things as well as the Convotherm itself," says executive chef Lewis Hamblet. "Bits of the grill, or other things we can't put through the wash – we just put it in the Convotherm and as well as cleaning the oven it cleans the other equipment too." Certified for non-attended cleaning, ConvoClean offers four cleaning levels plus a steam-disinfection cycle.