Lower commercial kitchen temperatures fuel better ROI
Witnessing tropical weather across most of its expanse around the year, India by and large faces humid, warm spells that get unbearable during summers. Given the operating conditions within professional kitchens that mostly house traditional cooking equipment desiring gas burners or burning charcoal, the temperatures are bound to increase alarmingly, making the in-kitchen conditions unfit for the kitchen staff. Commercial kitchens can see peaking temperatures as high as 45°C, exposing the chefs and other staff to face the risk of heat-related illness. High temperatures within professional kitchens can boil down to the high perishability of stored raw food materials and in turn impact food safety and quality too.
Particularly, the traditional cooking equipment have been responsible to rise temperatures so much that chefs and other kitchen staff had no option but to leave the kitchen till the temperature regularises. That translates to lost time and business. Not to forget the mounting smoke levels that can adversely affect the kitchen staff’s respiratory functions and impact the food taste and quality with prolonged exposure too. Moreover, working in such high-temperature conditions, kitchen staff can sweat profusely, create safety hazard as well as contaminate the food unknowingly. High temperature causes fresh vegetables and meat to degrade in composition faster than in optimal temperatures.
As food service business operators, it is our responsibility to maximise safety for our employees and customers while making the maximum out of every day in terms of margins.
Additionally, it is important to consider the environmental impact of our cooking methods. Traditional cooking equipment relying on charcoal fire contributes to pollution and is not an eco-friendly or environmentally friendly solution. Apart from the health risks and temperature concerns, using coal further exacerbates the negative impact on the environment. By adopting modern, sustainable cooking technologies, we can not only address the temperature and efficiency issues but also contribute to a greener future.
As a first step, smart kitchen design is the key. Ensure all your cooking equipment is placed strategically to be accessible by the different kitchen staff at different request times. Proper ventilation and moderating the kitchen temperature with air conditioning are advised. Cold rooms or high-capacity cold storage facilities are to be placed away from high-temperature cooking stations to ensure the longevity of perishables.
As tech has made operations easy across industries, professional kitchens have seen remarkable innovation in food production backed by nothing but pure tech. We as food service businesses hence need to upgrade. We must let new-age technology replace bygone-era cooking equipment. As said popularly, change is the only constant. Professional kitchens in India now have a plethora of smart kitchen equipment that are known to not only provide ideal desired results but also optimise costs and induce easily automated operations to reduce the burden on the kitchen staff.
We at Paradise Biryani have had several challenges while scaling up our business. The foremost hurdle to resolve immediately was the high ambient temperature in our kitchens which was mostly contributed by our large traditional cooking equipment that depended on charcoal fire. We learnt how RATIONAL’s smart combi-steamer equipment – SelfCookingCenter and now their latest model iCombi Pro were able to prepare most of our preparations like Biryanis and Kebabs with perfection and consistency every time, without causing any substantial increase to kitchen's ambient temperature.
Relying on smart kitchen equipment from RATIONAL has helped us at Paradise Biryani, especially by reducing kitchen ambient temperature which is directly responsible for the brand’s ROI. It is time for food service businesses to have a consolidated approach by vouching on new-age tech for making the brand sustainably reliable for all stakeholders.
