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With matters like soaring food costs, declining traffic and penny-pinching patrons to grapple with, some restaurant operators can use the boost that a well-planned equipment upgrade brings. A new piece of hardware can yield such benefits as faster production, streamlined kitchen operations, reduced labor and higher-quality food. In some instances, it is literally the key to menu innovation.
Red Lobster demonstrated the latter when it rolled out its Wood-Fired Grilling program in all 680 of its North American units last fall. Billed as “the largest systemic change in Red Lobster’s history,” it is part of a growth renewal plan for Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants Inc.’s seafood brand. Wood-grilling “is really a new way of life for us,” says Michael LaDuke, Red Lobster’s senior executive chef. “It’s front and center about what we do now.”
The eight new wood-grilled seafood, steak and chicken items were made possible by upgrading the company’s former primary pieces of grilling equipment. The open-top gas grills in a majority of its restaurants were modified to burn oak logs with a gas assist. Other restaurants that relied on traditional double-stacked broilers scrapped those pieces and put in brand-new gas-assisted wood grills. All told, Red Lobster invested $2.5 million in the equipment changes, the company says.
Red Lobster hitched its star to wood-grilling based on customer research that ranked it foremost among 17 different cooking techniques for seafood.
“We have a great opportunity to use this new equipment to provide a better experience for our guests,” LaDuke says.
He declined to specify sales results, but mentioned anecdotal evidence of greater customer satisfaction and rising preference for grilled items.
Another casual chain seeking renewal is 244-unit, Nashville, Tenn.-based O’Charley’s Inc., which has installed induction-powered sauté stations to boost speed of service and add versatility to its kitchen. The induction devices use electromagnetic energy to heat up almost instantaneously when ferrous-metal pans are placed upon them. Also incorporated in the induction sauté stations within easy reach are a cold storage rail for sauces and refrigerated drawers for pasta, vegetables and proteins.
“It’s a great, flowing station,” says Stephen Bulgarelli, vice president of culinary development, who added he has “no doubt” that it is speeding up ticket times.
At Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint in Jackson, Miss., executive chef-owner Dan Blumenthal is saving valuable time and steps in the kitchen with a high-tech rapid-cooking countertop oven that uses three modes of heating: hot convection air, microwave energy and infrared heat.
“It allows you to heat an item and crisp it at the same time,” Blumenthal says.
For example, he uses it for one-step cooking of his hot spinach dip. It no longer needs additional time in a convection oven or broiler to melt its cheese topping after it is heated through.
“And it does all this in a fraction of the time conventional cooking takes,” Blumenthal says.
On his radar for a future kitchen is a clamshell-type griddle that uses steam to cook food quickly while retaining moisture. The hinged lid of the clamshell flips down on the griddle and bathes the food with steam, reducing the cooking time of most items by half. One possible use is cooking burgers directly from a frozen state, thus streamlining operations and eliminating thawing and waste.
“A griddle normally cooks one side of the food, but with this, once you close the lid, it shoots steam on it and cooks both sides,” Blumenthal says.