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Banquet Combi Ovens » Full Steam Ahead
“Banquet food preparation has come a long way with the help of combi ovens,” says Charles Phillips, executive chef at Westin Chicago North Shore. Phillips uses seven Electrolux 20-rack gas powered air-o-steam combi ovens and one 10-rack model. The combi ovens use a patented sensor-driven humidity control in each cooking mode. In the convection mode, for instance, the air-o-clima sensor allows the ovens to maintain perfect moisture levels in food by adding or reducing humidity in the cooking cavity. The air-o-steam oven also comes with a 6-point cooking probe, which uses the lowest measured temperature among those points to drive the cooking process.
“We can steam spinach at 140 degrees, and the chlorophyll doesn’t break down and turn the spinach brown,” Phillips explains. “Overall, the ovens have allowed us less holding times and enabled us to serve high-quality, restaurant-style cuisine for hundreds of banquet guests.”
Electrolux high performance combi ovens are especially important for the Westin Chicago North Shore, which may be the only hotel in the country featuring two full-service Kosher kitchens (separate for meat and dairy), capable of serving more than 2,000 people at multiple events at one time. That’s in addition to the primary kitchen.
“This technology has essentially changed the way we do business,” Phillips says. “It’s a standard in Europe, and it makes sense for us to follow suit. Having seen the difference it makes, I wouldn’t want to go back to working without it.”—ABA
Electrolux Professional manufactures a wide range of hotel foodservice equipment, including pressure braising pans, high-speed combi ovens, blast chillers, integrated cook-chill systems and modular cooking equipment and systems, the perfect choice for small and medium-sized hotel kitchens needing a multifunctional structure for pubs and bars, lobby outlets, poolside service and other areas requiring remote, small-footprint kitchen equipment.
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