Editor’s note: The author is partner, R.O.S.E. Associates, a foodservice advisory company in Atlanta. The guest column is part of The Schechter Report and NRN’s content partnership, and the views do not necessarily reflect those of Nation’s Restaurant News.
You’ve looked at combi ovens and decided that you really like them and can even deal with the price tag. Now what? Considering the time of year, let’s look at our equipment line-up as if it’s a football team. Your combi is your QB and he’s a triple threat. You’ve got to support your leader with some great tools; wide outs, running backs, a tight end and others. We can spend the rest of this blog entry discussing the importance of a great offensive line, but for now we’ll stick with kitchen equipment.
To begin, how about a microwave? I’ve been in so many restaurants that went out and bought a cheap retail microwave and the operators are so proud of the hundreds of dollars that they saved, until they realize that they end up replacing them every other month and how little power they actually have. Spend the extra money and get a commercial microwave; in the long run, it’s a smarter investment and will help your operation more than a “cheaper” alternative.
Steam tables are another equipment piece that many operators have a hard time choosing. That’s because there are so many models and a huge range of prices and quality. The correct decisions will be determined by several factors and one of the most important is whether your guests will see it. Why pay for equipment that looks great if it’s to be hidden behind a kitchen wall?
Operators also need to decide if they want the wells sealed or not. Do you want to open a drain to let the water out or lift the pans out and dump them manually risking burns and other accidents? Will there be a drain in the floor or will you have to empty that hot water into a bucket? If so, why bother paying for that drain if you’re going to have to carry that hot water anyway? Do you need to be able to bring the water in a well to a boil and use it to heat products and then hold them or do you not need to get products above 180oF? Do you want to go with two wells? Three? Four? More? There are so many choices.
If kitchen space permits, I would always recommend having one more well than you think you’ll need. You may start your menu with a specific amount of items that you feel you will need to hold hot and, then, a year later, you’ve added a few new items and now you have to either reduce the size of your pans or decide which items are most important to hold. Wouldn’t you rather just crank up that extra well that you spent a little more money for up front? I think so.
As always, you have to know your operation and menu before you make these types of equipment decisions. Otherwise, you’ll most likely make some mistakes and pay the price down the road.
