(Via Henny Penny’s Blog)

With growing competition and a constant struggle for market share, today’s foodservice operators face more pressures than ever before. You are surrounded by evolving — and sometimes conflicting — corporate initiatives and customer demands, requiring everything from menu expansion and decreased store footprints to more transparency, higher staff wages and much more.

As you evaluate your list of desired upgrades and needed store repairs, it’s often easy to look at cooking equipment as just another expense. However, it’s important to realize that the equipment you choose for your kitchen does much more than simply cook food. The right equipment can make your facility’s system stronger as a whole — providing greater flexibility, maximizing smaller kitchen space, streamlining workflow and even building in cost and labor savings.

Two particular product categories worth considering are combi ovens and fryers:

Combi Ovens

Popular in European kitchens, combi ovens aren’t as widely embraced in U.S. facilities — perhaps due to lack of awareness. But the benefits they provide are invaluable to high-volume operations and low-traffic businesses alike.

• Healthier foods: Consumers are demanding healthier options while still expecting the usual menu items. Finding the right balance may seem difficult, but combi ovens can help operators enhance any menu, as these ovens can roast and steam proteins and vegetables while also baking desserts and other hearty side dishes.
• Smaller footprints: Cooking with a combi oven eliminates the need for convection ovens and steamers, clearing valuable floor space. And for even the tightest kitchens, more compact options like the Henny Penny FlexFusion Space$aver combi oven can fulfill a variety of cooking needs.
• Flexibility: It’s hard to predict the menu trends of the future, so it’s important to have equipment that can accommodate a wide variety of foods and cooking methods. A combi oven can often handle a wide variety of current menu items, while also providing flexibility for the future.

Fryers

From QSRs to fine dining and even non-commercial kitchens, fried foods are often a menu staple. However, fryers are often looked at as one in the same, despite the many differences in volume, specialty and innovative features.

• Flexibility/Space Savings: Some menu items are better suited to pressure frying—a method that locks in flavor and moisture—while others are meant for open frying. However, when space is at a premium, a pressure fryer can double as an open fryer to provide maximum flexibility.
• Volume: Some fryers are designed especially for high-volume kitchens and can help increase throughput while reducing oil costs. However, if you select a high-volume model that you don’t truly need, you might actually be wasting oil and energy.
• Cost-savings: With Henny Penny’s next-generation Evolution Elite open fryer, operators can realize the cost- and labor-saving potential of Smart Touch Filtration™, the latest advance in built-in, push-button filtration from Henny Penny. With a suite of oil-conserving features, the Evolution Elite allows for 40% less oil in the frying vat — savings that goes straight to the bottom line.

Equipment as an Investment

With careful purchasing choices and knowledgeable industry partners like Henny Penny on your side, it’s easy to make equipment a net positive for your operation. Keeping in mind how each piece functions as part of a larger system, you can create an efficient combination of equipment that maximizes space, saves time and labor, and builds a foundation for growth and expansion for years to come.

More space. More advanced technology. More great taste.

That’s the power of a truly versatile solution like the Henny Penny FlexFusion Platinum Series combi oven, replacing the need for a steamer, grill, convection oven and more. Now you can prepare an assortment of your customers’ favorite foods with confidence thanks to the FlexFusion’s extra capacity and capability.

The FlexFusion Platinum Series gives you greater volume and quicker ROI with the exclusive FlexiRack system, allowing you to boost your capacity by 100% with specially designed pans, trays and grids that are engineered to slide directly into rack runners.

When it comes to saving time, the FlexFusion Platinum Series delivers with the Two-in-One WaveClean™ cartridge. With just a single, easy-to-use cartridge, the unit cleans itself automatically with the push of a button — improving safety by eliminating the need for hands-on contact with harsh chemicals. The FlexFusion’s boilerless design also prevents lime buildup, while its DynaSteam2 precision steam technology applies moisture directly to a fan to distribute droplets evenly.

If you can use an iPad, you can use this touch screen

With the all-new Chef’s Touch Operating System, you get an expansive collection of apps, menus and functions that help you get the most out of your combi oven. Its smartphone-like interface features a rugged touch screen that allows you to easily swipe through lists of powerful programs, enabling both automatic and manual cooking.

Popular Chef’s Touch Apps Include:

• Video Assist gives you unlimited combi training for your associates
• PerfectHold switches to hold mode after cooking
• Time-to-Serve coordinates cook times
• Family Mix displays items that can be prepared together
• GreenInside displays water/energy usage/tracking
• Dynasteam2 precision boilerless steam generation with built-in energy-saving heat transfer
• ClimaSelect allows you to set and maintain humidity levels at exact increments

Additional Resources

Henny Penny FlexFusion Platinum Series Combi Oven Brochure

FPE-G-615 FlexFusion Platinum Combi Data Sheet

FPE-G-620 FlexFusion Platinum Combi Data Sheet

FPE-G-115 FlexFusion Platinum Combi Data Sheet

FPE-G-120 FlexFusion Platinum Combi Data Sheet