Hotel Banqueting Systems » Chef's Vision

When it comes to a chef’s goals for the kitchen, efficiency is near the top of the list. Josef Zimmerman, executive chef at the Milwaukee Athletic Club, says the Alto-Shaam banquet system they added three years ago has helped make his vision of a productive culinary department a reality.

“With two Alto-Shaam combi ovens, one blast chiller, and seven holding cabinets, we are able to serve up to 800 dinners per evening. The culinary operation has become super efficient,” says Zimmerman, who also notes that the increased productivity has played an important role in cost-effectiveness. “Our culinary labor budget has been reduced by more than 40 percent over the past 3 years, and we’ve reduced our overall maintenance budget for culinary equipment by almost 10 percent since adding the Alto-Shaam equipment.”

Zimmerman credits the banquet system for more than just efficiency, however. “Regarding our food quality, we’ve improved substantially,” he says. “Our seafood and vegetables are cooked with low temperature steam, for example. With this method, we cook to perfection several hundred portions without losing valuable vitamins and nutrients.

“Overall, this system meets higher demand while lowering labor and food costs,” Zimmerman says. “Our entire culinary department praises it.” —VO