Edge: Adopting Proven Technology in Your Kitchen

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Adopting Proven Technology in Your Kitchen

By: David Voelz, CEC, CWPC, CCA, WCEC, CDM, CFPP, FMP, FSWC

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE TERM LUDDITE? Merriam-Webster defines a Luddite as “someone who is opposed to change, and especially to technological change.”  Are you the one who goes to food shows and sees all the shiny new products and walks on by?  Do you have younger workers asking why you don’t have “X” equipment, like their other job?  You know it makes things so much easier… 

Although exploring new technologies is important, there is something to be said for sticking to some of the old, reliable ways.  I recall an executive chef I worked for as I was coming up telling me a story about his executive chef reading him the riot act as a young professional.  He relayed that he had been walking around the kitchen for half an hour looking for the mandoline slicer when his chef intercepted him.  The executive chef asked if he had a chef’s knife, to which my chef responded in the affirmative.  The ranking chef then took the opportunity to tell him that in the 30 minutes he had spent looking for the mandoline, he could have completed his task—and likely more—with his chef’s knife.  I’m hoping that you have at least adopted the mandoline, but let’s explore other ways to embrace and make the most of entry-level technology.

COMBI OVENS

Combi ovens, short for combination ovens, give you the flexibility to cook as a steamer, as an oven, or anywhere in-between.  I first saw a “combi” when I toured a culinary school just out of high school.  The Swiss chef said, “They’re big in Europe and they’ll be the future.”  He wasn’t wrong.  But here is where many people go wrong with combi ovens.  They think, “Now I don’t have to buy a steamer and an oven!”  What they don’t consider is, what happens when that one piece of equipment breaks?  Now your one piece of broken equipment is actually two broken appliances.  Ultimately, it’s your decision on how to go about outfitting your kitchens, but if you plan to purchase a combi oven, do it with the intention of learning how to use it properly.

I did an event for a major commercial kitchen equipment manufacturer several years ago.  The corporate chef instructed us to load the food into the combi oven.  Once we closed the door, he brought over a thumb drive, opened a small door on the oven panel, then proceeded to scroll through endless menus before finally turning the oven on.  I’m not suggesting you go that far, but it’s possible.  At the very least, you should learn to cook things with a certain amount of steam.  Food such as roasts benefit greatly from this kind of cooking.  Since roasts cook for long periods of time, they are prone to drying out.  Cooking with a percentage of steam will ensure that they do not turn into shoe leather.

The next step after that is to be able to make a simple program of “X” time as an oven, then changing over to “Y” time of combination cooking.  Think of prime rib.  If we were to cook prime rib in just a steam environment, it would come out looking gray and unappetizing.  But, with the combi, we can run it for a bit as an oven to get that nice Maillard reaction of a brown crispy outside.  Then we can program it to inject a percentage of steam to keep it moist throughout the rest of the cooking process.  Combi ovens aren’t difficult to use.

SPEED OVENS

Many dining concepts are going to the university model where there are several stations for our guests, patients, residents, or students to choose from.  Inevitably, a deli station will be in the mix. I hear the Luddites saying, “I have a fancy six-slice toaster.  What else do I need?”  Well, you need a speed oven. They are given all sorts of names, but these are the ones you see at the world’s most popular sub sandwich shop.  Many will shy away from these ovens.  First, they’re expensive.  You can buy several six-slice toasters for what you’ll pay for a speed oven.  Next, they’re bulky.  And noisy.  Not just when they’re cooking, but also those ridiculous alarms when they are finished cooking.

However, think about the upside. You immediately double the offerings in your station by being able to provide both cold and hot sandwiches.  While people are waiting the short time it takes their sandwich to get toasted, they have time to look at the other offerings you have placed on the counter.  Your opportunity for impulse buys goes up.

Chips, cookies, brownies, fruit cups, or whatever else you think will be an appropriate sandwich side should see an increase in sales.  You will also be able to develop specialty sandwiches that are meant to be served hot.  Have you ever considered selling a cold chicken parmesan sub?  I hope not! But with a precooked chicken cutlet, a little tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese, you have a quick and tasty hot sandwich.  As a final note, these ovens are now being offered in much slimmer footprints, so they are easier to integrate into your existing stations.

SOUS VIDE COOKING

If you haven’t adopted this technology yet, it’s likely the most intimidating of all.  First, you are likely scared of getting “busted” by your health inspector.  You’ve heard of a variance, but don’t know what that is, much less how to write one or apply for one.  Before you even buy equipment, that’s the first hurdle you need to clear.  The good news is that more and more municipalities are seeing sous vide in operations and are familiar with them.  Also, it’s easy to get templates of variances to use.  You can adjust them to your recipes and have them on file.

Though you don’t have to, the next thing to get accustomed to is cooking in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit.  Not to worry; most recipes or charts provide both temperature measurements and you can choose which one to use.  This was a hurdle for me as well, but now I don’t think about cooking sous vide in any other way than Celsius.  I find that the degree separations and cooking times just make more sense to me in Celsius. But again, don’t let nerves stop you from adopting this very useful method of cooking food (often meat or fish) involving vacuum sealing and immersing it in warm water.

Many styles and models of sous vide machines are on the market now.  If you are only going to be doing a dish or two using this technology, buy a small machine that is similar to the ones for home use.  If you plan to do lots of cooking or large batches, you will want to size up.  A word of caution: this may also mean that you will need a larger electrical supply.  Check with your facilities director to make sure you can add an outlet or convert an outlet to a higher voltage.  And don’t forget, you will also need a vacuum sealer.  A countertop model is fine for most applications.  However, if you plan to do anything with liquid in it, make sure to get a chamber model, so you can have more control and not have juices all over your countertops.

The last note about sous vide is that it is a process you need to continue to experiment with.  Sous vide cooking will alter the texture of foods since you are cooking at lower temperatures over a long period of time.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but you will want to make sure you are not going against the tastes of your customer.

Case in point: I worked at a country club where we sold a lot of U-10 scallops.  We could not get them out the door fast enough. So, I used sous vide as a method to speed up our cook times and to be able to give a more consistent product.  However, I had one diner who objected.  He just could not get over the way the texture of the scallop changed and refused to order them.  But there are plenty of choices on how to cook with sous vide, so don’t be afraid to jump in and try. Scan the QR code in this article for a link to a great guide to get you started.  You can begin with mashed potatoes if you want. Yes, mashed potatoes!

SUMMING IT UP

With labor being hard to recruit and constantly running below grid, these and many other types of technology will help you take some of the load off your existing team.  Work with your accounting staff to budget for these pieces of equipment, but also budget a little extra to experiment with some recipes. Have fun with it, involve your staff, and reap the benefits that a little technology can bring to your dining program.

About the Author

David Voelz, CEC, CWPC, CCA, WCEC, CDM, CFPP, FMP, FSWC

David Voelz is the Senior Dining Director for Glenaire CCRC in Cary, N.C., managed by Compass Community Living, a Morrison Company. He is a Past Chair of the American Culinary Federation’s National Certification Commission, and a Charter Member of the ACF Sandhills Chef’s Association.