A ceramic insert that enables a microwave oven to produce pizzas quickly with evenly browned and crispy crusts, a finned stockpot that slashes cooking time and energy use, and a combi oven with a barcode scanner that does away with the task of programming are three of the 18 forward-looking items recognized this year with National Restaurant Association Kitchen Innovations Awards.
Each of the awardees, which will be showcased at the 2009 NRA Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago May 16-19, have been shown to yield such benefits as higher productivity, lower costs, easier use and “greener” operations.
“As we do each year, the judging panel worked hard to ensure that the equipment we chose was truly innovative, not just improvements,” said William Eaton, president of Cini-Little International, a foodservice consulting firm based in Germantown, Md., and one of nine judges for the awards. “Not to diminish any of these items, but a couple were really a lot of fun to examine, because we got into new areas.”
Among the picks are Advanced Composite Materials’ Silar Flatstone Grill, a ceramic insert for an industrial microwave oven that allows it to turn out pizzas evenly cooked on the top and underside in less than three minutes, and the Eneron Inc. Turbo Pot, which has fins that capture more of the heat from a gas range, cutting cooking time and energy use in half for cooking tasks.
Another awardee, the Garland Restaurant Range Xpress Clam Shell Grill, has platens that can be pre-programmed to fit the thickness of up to 30 different food items. “Energy savings result from the ability to cook more products effectively,” Eaton said.
Promising better consistency and easier use is the Hobart Bluetooth-enabled Combi Oven with Barcode Scanner. A swipe of the bar code on a food item automatically selects the proper cooking setting, simplifying a task some operators find hard to do manually.
“It significantly improves productivity because there is no down time trying to figure out how to set it,” Eaton said.
It also features wireless exchange of recipes.
Also honored were the Frymaster Gas Protector fryer, which has a 30-pound fry pot with the production capacity of a 50-pound fryer and an automatic oil replenishment feature, and the Lincoln Foodservice Products Quest EMS Energy Management System, which adjusts the airflow of an impinger oven when cooking is not taking place.
“It’s an innovation that results in energy savings and a carbon footprint benefit,” Eaton said.