News – 2024-05-24
Whether it is for a wedding with 100 guests or for a lunch in the company restaurant: When many guests want visually appealing, hot and tasty food at the same time, it can be a challenge for the kitchen team. Especially if there is a shortage of staff. One solution is to separate production and service with Cook & Chill and Finishing. Sascha Barby, Vice President Live Customer Experience at RATIONAL, explains how this works.
Question:
What is Cook & Chill and Finishing?
Barby:
In the first stage, the food is cooked to just the right level and then blast chilled - as if we had stopped time to preserve quality. Just before serving, the dish is brought to consumption temperature in a few minutes.
Question:
What is the difference between Finishing in an iCombi Pro and traditional food regeneration?
Barby:
With conventional regeneration, there is a risk that too much moisture will form puddles on the plate, too much heat will dry out the food or nutrients will be lost. With the iCombi Pro, heat and humidity are so precisely controlled that this is virtually eliminated.
Question:
How does this work?
Barby:
The iCombi Pro recognises the size and quantity of food and even takes the weight of the plate into account. Using its built-in intelligence, heat and humidity are now added at precise intervals to maintain a balance between condensation and evaporation - this is known as dew point control. This ensures that food is cooked to perfection and of excellent quality. You could even say that the quality with Cook & Chill and Finishing is often better than with a single cooking process: Preparing food when it's time and then being able to heat it flexibly reduces stress in the kitchen, which has a positive effect on quality.
Question:
Which companies is the process suitable for?
Barby:
With minor adjustments, the technology is suitable for almost any operation: If many dishes need to be served at the same time – for example for a banquet – the mobile plate rack can be used to finish up to 120 portions at the same time. Of course, this also works with individual plates, for example in à la carte service or for hotel room service. Finishing in containers is ideal for buffets or industry catering where a variety of foods are served in large quantities.
Question:
What is the biggest advantage of Cook & Chill and Finishing?
Barby:
The main advantage is the separation of production and service. This ensures short waiting times for the guest and consistently high quality. And all this with less staff. Let’s take a hotel with room service as an example: If the kitchen is still busy and a chef has time, they can prepare, plate and chill a variety of dishes. Later in the evening, perhaps only one employee is present – when an order comes in, he simply loads one of the prepared plates into the iCombi Pro, selects the Finishing program and can serve after a few minutes. He doesn't even need any cooking experience. Another example: At a wedding with 100 people, of course, everyone wants to start the dinner party at the same time. With same-day production, it only takes one small thing to go wrong - and then there's a rush and the quality of the food suffers. And even if everything is ready and served on time, what if the witness is giving a half-hour speech right now? The food then has to be kept warm, which further reduces its quality. Cook & Chill and Finishing, on the other hand, allow you to prepare your dishes at your leisure, finish them in a matter of minutes and serve them at your convenience.
Question:
What do restaurateurs need to implement this technology?
Barby:
In addition to the right appliances and accessories, such as the mobile plate rack or the Thermocover, a little background knowledge is required. While any member of staff - even a non-professional - can use the pre-installed Finishing program without any problems, Cook & Chill does require a certain amount of experience: Food must be brought to the correct temperature during pre-cooking to ensure food safety and to prevent overcooking during final cooking. Thanks to the many chefs who work at RATIONAL, we have a wealth of expertise that we pass on to our customers through training courses and individual consultations. We can teach you everything you need to know about the technology to get the best out of your iCombi Pro.
Thank you for talking to us.
Further information on Cook & Chill, Finishing and iCombi Pro can be found at rational-online.com.