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The Three P’s of Achieving Consistent Food Quality (from HennyPenny.com)

Discover the procedures, products and programs that can help your operation serve the best with every order.

While today’s most successful foodservice operations may offer a range of menus and pricepoints, one thing they all have in common is consistency, defined as “the achievement of a level of performance that does not vary greatly in quality over time.” In fact, no facility can be considered effective or successful in the current foodservice landscape without the ability to reliably replicate customers’ favorite dishes time after time.

By implementing proven systems — including the latest procedures, products and programs for cooking — operators can more accurately control the variables that affect food quality and consistency.

 

Procedures:

From ordering ingredients to standardizing recipes, operators can take several steps to optimize their procedures for maximum consistency. By sourcing food products from the same vendors — at the same specs for size, brand and delivery temperature — facilities can limit the challenges that can threaten consistent results when replicating dishes.

When standardizing recipes, it’s important to consider details like unique titles, ingredients, itemized weight/volume and specific preparation instructions. Other notes about cooking time and temperature, serving size, recipe yield and necessary equipment and utensils can also be helpful to staff on different shifts as they replicate each recipe.

 

Products:

Cooking equipment is a critical part of the consistency equation for any operation, large or small. Whether it’s the performance and capability of the equipment itself or the information it conveys to kitchen staff, every factor plays a key role in ensuring customers get the results they expect.

For example, by using a combi oven in place of a traditional oven, operators can prepare a much wider variety of menu items without sacrificing control — plus, the latest technological advances in the category allow users to store a full range of settings and cooking programs based on food type, desired preparation and volume.

The FlexFusion combi oven from Henny Penny features the Chef’s Touch control panel with a state-of-the-art, full-color touchscreen that gives users total control with both customizable and preset AutoChef programs.

Other areas of the kitchen also offer opportunities to build in greater consistency, such as a facility’s fryer lineup. With today’s technology in place, the latest fryers can store between 40 and 160 unique programs — and with features like load compensation (adjusting cook time when the standard load is incorrect), proportional control (preventing oil from exceeding its set-point temperature) and filter tracking (giving management total visibility over filtration frequency), these advanced models can help cut costs, save labor and ensure control throughout the cooking process.

The new Evolution Elite with Smart Touch Filtration™ from Henny Penny features push-button filter activation with automatic drain operation — with on-the-fly filtering complete in just four minutes or less. With filtration being the most significant contributor to consistent oil quality, these types of automated features play a vital role in preserving the flavor, appearance and texture of fried menu items.

 

Programs:

Once the necessary procedures and proper equipment are in place, implementing equipment programs can help simplify workflow, reduce preparation time and ensure finished dishes are consistent when they leave the kitchen. Whether it’s a varied batch in the combi oven or a one-off fryer load, it can be extremely beneficial for operators to program select repeatable preparations based on the current menu — allowing kitchen staff to work smarter, not harder, with the touch of a button.

Consistency is a foundational goal for any foodservice operation — regardless of service style. By considering the cooking equipment, team procedures and specific programs at work in the kitchen, operators can guarantee a higher level of food quality with every order, every day.

 

(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.