FEDA News & Views

76 FEDA News & Views Additionally, an induction well for warming does not require a water hookup so operators do not have to pay to pump water in. This also allows for greater fl exibility since the absence of an electrical or water connection enables the kitchen staff to freely move the induction range to wherever it is needed. Outside of the kitchen, induction soup rethermalizers provide 360 degrees of warming without the need to continually fi ll them with water, making them an ideal fi t for hotel buffets, supermarket hot bars, and convenience stores. "You can set up a soup station anywhere in your grocery store on a 20-amp out- let," Bartelt says. The ability to place an induc- tion range or warmer anywhere is invaluable to operators, especially as kitchens continue to get smaller and the need to maximize space becomes more urgent. The tighten- ing of cooking space is a trend seen throughout the industry because the front-of-the-house is where the profi ts are made. To help chefs compensate, Vollrath designs all its equipment with smaller kitchen foot- prints in mind. "The overall theme of fl exibility and footprint covers the products we're developing, whether they be induction products or non-induction products and even small- wares," Bartelt says. The trick to providing fl exibility is fi nding ways to generate the same out- put in a smaller space. In some cases, it could mean a change in materials. Vollrath is looking at how metallurgical engineering could help it manufac- ture equipment that will last longer, be easier to move around the kitchen, and cheaper to operate. Likewise, it's rethinking the designs themselves. At this year's NRA Show, Vollrath introduced a new look for its soup warmer lids that moves the hinge from the middle toward the back. Now, when someone lifts the lid, it exposes as much as 80 percent of the surface area instead of the stan- dard 50 percent, making it much easier for cooks and customers to serve themselves. The welding on the handle also was changed to make it cooler to the touch so users won't have to worry about burning themselves while fi lling up their bowls. Those changes may seem small, but they make the soup warmers much faster and easier to use, explains Bartelt. "Thinking through a relatively simple design made an impact not only on the opera- tor's effi ciency but also on how the customer interacts with it," he says. ■ THE DROP-IN VERSIONS OF VOLLRATH'S INDUCTION SOUP WARMERS/ RETHERMALIZERS ARE DESIGNED FOR "SET-AND- FORGET" OPERATION, MAKING THEM IDEAL FOR BOTH BUFFET- STYLE SERVICE OR A BACK-OF-THE- HOUSE STATION. Digital Precision Advancements in technology are enabling manufacturers to fi nd new ways of enhancing the ease of use of their equipment. Already, Eu- ropean manufacturers are implementing digital controls into their de- vices, a trend Vollrath CEO Paul Bartelt expects to fi nd its way to the U.S. market. Digital controls allow for much greater precision, a major advantage for kitchens that want consistency. Most analog ranges use a dial that goes from one to 10 to set temperatures, but there's always some guesswork as to how hot each of those settings actually are. Digi- tal controls solve that problem by allowing cooks to set a specifi c tem- perature. It's a more accurate way of cooking, but Bartelt warns there will be an adjustment period. "We'll have to learn as an industry how to take that improved precision and use it to provide the end customers with a better product," he says. As that shift occurs, Bartelt says younger chefs who grew up in the digi- tal age will have a leg up on their predecessors. "If you're under 35, you're much more comfortable interacting with digital control systems than if you're over 35," he notes. Integrating digital components into equipment also will eventually lead to smart controls that will allow a cook to select a dish from a preset menu and have the machine optimize the cooking process while ac- counting for variables in the equipment or environment. A roaster could pull data from various internal sensors to gauge temperature and mois- ture to determine when to alert the kitchen staff that a chicken is fully cooked, for example. But all that innovation is useless if it doesn't boost an operators' output or lower their operating costs. Bartelt believes it is incumbent on manu- facturers such as Vollrath to demonstrate the usefulness of advanced controls systems and digital technology. "You can do it, but it has to help the operator make money," he says. "Technology for technology's sake will have a slow adaption cycle. Technology that has a real ad- vantage for operators will take off."

• Cover