As the COVID-19 pandemic winds down and restaurant owners struggle to fill an employment void left in its wake, sous vide offers a viable solution to labor shortages. Not only does the innovative cooking method provide benefits for inventory management, labor and sourcing, but the trending practice is also being recognized for benefits in food quality, flavor retention and the customer experience.
What is sous vide?
Sous vide is a French cooking method attributed to Dr. Bruno Goussault, a French biochemist and economist who, in 1971, pioneered a style of cooking that expanded low-temperature methods documented in the late 1700s.
Goussault developed the method in an effort to enhance the tenderness of roast beef. He discovered that if he sealed the meat in a food-grade plastic pouch and then slowly cooked it at a consistent, low temperature, he could enhance the flavor while creating an ideal texture and even color. Unlike traditional cooking methods such as broiling, grilling or roasting, which allow aromatics and moisture to escape from the food, sous vide contains them within the product. It didn’t take long for the precise-temperature technique to be adopted by top chefs throughout Europe.
By 1991, Dr. Goussault founded the Culinary Research & Education Academy (CREA), now the education, consulting and research arm of the world’s largest sous vide manufacturer, Cuisine Solutions. More than 80%of the world’s three-Michelin-starred chefs, including Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Yannick Alléno, Joël Robuchon and Anne-Sophie Pic, have trained at CREA. Today, Dr. Goussault and his team of food scientists work with clients across the globe to maximize their operational capacity and revolutionize the way they cook.
The benefits of sous vide
What initially began as a method to enhance food quality has been shown to offer bottom-line benefits as well—notably, when working with an expertsous vide supplier. Working with a well-prepared supplier allows a restaurant to purchase in advance, lock in prices while they are low and store product for later use. This allows restaurants to create a long-term plan and properly prepare for the future without dealing with the extra costs of inflation.
Entrusting the preparation of many core ingredients—most often, center-of-the-plate proteins—to a sous vide supplier reduces prep time and helps kitchens maximize their available labor. As sous vide products are sold ready-to-eat, restaurants can cut prep time to mere minutes. Using fully cooked products allows the staff to focus on other areas such as elevating the dish with creative finishing touches, marketing and creating a seamless guest experience.
Above all, sous vide helps a restaurant fulfill its most critical promise to the customer: offering consistently delicious and perfectly cooked food. An enhanced customer experience is sous vide's ultimate triumph.
For more information about prepared sous vide products and Cuisine Solutions, visit www.cuisinesolutions.com
This post is sponsored by Cuisine Solutions