Cooking healthy and happy experiences

Designing and planning kitchens, especially in the hotel industry is important as the emphasis is on managing space, access to appliances, ease in operations of equipment, safety when using appliances, easy access to food storage, maintaining cleaning and hygiene standards and so on. Today, improvements have been made from electric to electronic for efficiency, increase in speed, reducing labour and provide quality output. The equipment is expected to be reliable and hold routine loads. It also adds to the profitability of the operations, creating happy guest experiences and earning good reputation for the establishment too.

FORM AND FUNCTIONALITY

Talking about the priorities when it comes to form and functionality when working on kitchen spaces, Rajendra Kankal, Regional Sales Director - ISC, Granuldisk, explains, “Functionality decides why and form decides the how of technology. From this perspective, functionality is the first priority because that is the reason why the product will exist. For example, functionality of X2 Lean Wash Center is washing of all wash-ware required for smaller commercial kitchens in one machine. It will do the job effectively (wash results, auto-sensing wash mode for utensils and crockery) and efficiently in terms of less use of water, energy, chemicals and man hours. At the same time, form is important as it results into ease of operation and ease of service. Some of features on our new product line are info-graphic for control display, automatic hood, wi-fi connectivity to the machine etc. It will be the piece of equipment which chefs and stewards will be proud to use in their kitchens.”

RATIONAL International India Pvt Ltd has also been successfully combining food quality, efficiency and cooking intelligence seamlessly, hence making it the new standard of professional kitchens. “We always put our customers in the centre. Through constant engagement with our existing and prospective clients, we learn about their evolving requirements in real-time. Our research and development team which not only comprises engineers but food scientists, physicists and chefs, work closely to develop products meeting current and future needs of the market,” says Saurabh Puri, Manager Marketing Communications, RATIONAL International India Pvt Ltd.

Sharing the priorities of thinKitchen™ when it comes to form and functionality, Anand Baldawa, CEO, thinKitchen™, says, “Time saving, space saving and customisable yet multi-functional products along with environmentally conscious products are the need of the hour as these will improve overall quality of life.” 

Always choosing to put ergonomics first, the design of UNOX ovens is modern with panel controls being hi-tech, immersive and very intuitive for chefs and operators. “In fact, while UNOX continues to lead the way in technological innovation for professional ovens, the user experience and ease of use remain of utmost importance. As a result, the programmes are very simple to set, save and repeat, facilitating the work of every member of the staff whether they are more or less skilled in the kitchen,” informs Vikram Goel, Managing Director India, UNOX India Pvt Ltd. 

OFFERINGS FOR HOTELS & RESTAURANTS

On considerations while making offerings to hotels and restaurants, Kankal says, “When we conceive a product for hotels and restaurants, number of meals served per day, kind of utensils and cooking tools used, kind of food that is served with special considerations to the starch, grease, protein etc are kept in consideration. We also consider level of adaptability to use new technology and user-friendly equipment, quest of hotels / restaurants to maintain hygiene in wash-ware as well as dish room, sensitivity towards eco-friendly practices like water and energy conservation, less use of harsh chemicals, minimal negative impact on the health of staff etc.”

For the hospitality sector, Hafele India has an innovative range of solutions. “Our space optimising, cost-effective and design-enabling products are a popular choice among hoteliers and designers who enjoy a holistic set of benefits bundled with with a rounded service approach when they work with us,” shares company spokesperson, adding the pandemic has changed consumer patterns and behaviours dramatically. “Hence, hotel operators need to stick to the design that ensures social distance and maximum touch-less / contactless operation. All manually operated swing doors have now been converted to automatically operated solutions to decrease the level of physical contact. Similarly, automatic  / sensor-based soap dispensers are being installed in all guest washrooms to provide touch-less and safe experience,” he says. 

Effortless operations, smart ergonomics and elegant aesthetics are considered essentials when it comes to hands-free automatic sliding solutions. For the same, Hafele has introduced its high performance automatic sliding series – Autotec Sliding under its SLIDO range of sliding solutions, which not only conforms to the above-mentioned expectations from hotel guests but delivers even more. Loaded with functional features like modern automation, easy customisations, buildable configurations and reliable operations, the automatic sliding systems falling under this series are compatible for use in hotel main entrance to lobby, public areas where swing glass doors are used to demarcate between lobbies to restaurants and all-day dining to business centres.

Over the last couple of years, digital transformation has changed the way the hospitality industry works. “Guests are demanding for more digital-savvy services and mobile keys to access guest rooms. Hafele supports hotel operators with RFID locks which work on a BLE technology – the result is that you can configure guest access on their mobile phones for ease of convenience. “We understand the clients’ needs and consider all the above points while making offerings to our clients,” the spokesperson adds.

Puri feels the key potential lies in the systematic design and planning of a kitchen. Increasing kitchen efficiency while reducing costs is the real quest. “It can be achieved by optimising several aspects like defining the kitchen’s use, extensive staff training and reaping maximum space available. RATIONAL cooking systems have been known to aid kitchens on these fronts. Our equipment increase kitchen efficiency right from lowering energy consumption to cooking large batches of food to perfection while occupying nominal space,” he informs.

Partnerships with their brands to innovate and/ or introduce new patterns and / or designs on a regular basis with a focus on the Indian market with the Indian consumers in mind is what is followed at thinKitchen™. Baldawa says, “The emphasis is on our roster of over a dozen global leading hospitality focussed kitchen brands ranging from tableware, kitchenware, cookware, glassware and barware. A wide assortment – both breadth and depth – which are either in stock with us or in stock with our brand partners. There is a range of 1,200-plus SKUs to buy from and 12,000-plus to select from. The products come with ‘international warranty’ as they would be anywhere around the world.”

Well aware that it is not easy to find skilled staff who can use sophisticated technology despite there being an increasing need to build efficient kitchens, UNOX India offers ovens equipped with a very simple, effective and intuitive technology everyone can learn to use. “Equipment must come in different dimensions in order to fit in every space, even the limited ones,” says Goel.

EMERGING TRENDS

Sharing his views on the emerging trends, Kankal opines, “Post-Covid19, there has been a growing awareness towards hygiene and need minimum touch points to avoid risk of contamination. Hotels are trending towards easy of operation and maintenance by adopting the automation in all the areas related with kitchen. Customers are looking for smart, robust and reliable equipment that supports overall profitability of the business.” 

Apart from awareness on health front, customers are also looking for quick service within the foodservice industry, shares Goel. “Being able to serve customers in no time is one of the latest objectives for commercial kitchens. Our new combination SPEED-X™ + EVEREO® is set to become one of the best line-ups to face the challenge of offering quality food without letting customers wait for their meal,” he says. On the other hand, Baldawa says that with complexities in supply chain increasing, clients seek transparency in the supply chains from partners and vendors. “There has been an increasing shift towards sustainable choices,” he says. 

As the pandemic has cautioned the masses about food safety and hygiene, professional kitchens have started upgrading their kitchens with intelligent HACCP-certified cooking equipment to ensure kitchen compliance and hygiene. “Equipment from RATIONAL fulfils that aspect. While minimising the kitchen staff’s manual involvement, the smart and multifunctional cooking systems from our company ensures consistent results every time. Last but not the least, the modern-day consumers seek quick service and high-quality food. Our cooking systems cater to these needs hassle-free,” shares Puri. 

Another trend that has been noticed lately is the inclination of people to store more so that they don’t have to frequent the market often. “With the fear of fourth wave looming large, everyone wants to stay safe and have a well-stored home. The need for larger storage spaces within kitchens is needed to support this trend. Tall units are generally a clever answer to bulk storage requirements. They optimally use the vertical space within a kitchen giving more storage possibilities within one compact unit. Hafele’s new tall unit storage solution can take up to 100 kg of load (20 kg per basket) at a given point of time – this can help you plan your grocery purchases significantly,” shares the company spokesperson. 

Finally, the need for a safe and hygienic environment within the home is topping the priority charts. Hafele’s engineered stone surfaces for countertops are designed for ease of maintenance and use; their composition materials lend inherent anti-bacterial properties thus making these surfaces extremely hygienic and safe. The idea is to stay healthy.