When the microwave oven first came into wide use in the 1970s and 80s, it seemed like a miracle: meals that had taken as long as an hour to cook in a conventional oven emerged from the microwave piping hot in a matter of minutes. The future had arrived!
But the excitement quickly waned. Yes, it was now much easier for commercial chefs and home cooks alike to serve up hot meals in a hurry, but it didn’t take an expert to realize that microwaves tended to dry food out, or overcook the outside while leaving the inside completely raw. And because microwaves could only cook one sort of food at a time, they didn’t eliminate lines at fast-food restaurants.
Now, however, the microwave has finally evolved for the commercial kitchen. Last month, RATIONAL, a global leader in intelligent cooking systems, unveiled its latest creation at the NAFEM 2025 trade show: iHexagon.
“From every attendee we had in the NAFEM booth to the crowded aisles it is safe to say iHexagon has created quite a bit of excitement in the industry,” says RATIONAL’s corporate chef, David Johnivin.
Unlike microwaves of the past, the iHexagon doesn’t use microwave technology at all times. Instead, it combines it with convection and steam heat, using sensors and fans to adjust the cooking method to produce the best-tasting food in the shortest amount of time. Sometimes it uses the microwave. Sometimes it doesn’t need to, relying instead on convection and a burst of steam to keep food from drying out. It can grill, fry, steam, bake, and reheat food quickly, and it has a temperature probe that allows users to cook food items to a specific internal temperature.
The iHexagon cabinet has six racks, allowing cooks to prepare multiple dishes simultaneously. “This could be full loads of bakery items, chicken wings, or even hot dogs ready to serve in their container in a stadium setting,” says Johnivin. “iHexagon then can be utilized in high throughput environments where speed is needed, but again, without sacrificing quality.”
The iHexagon is ideal for multiple environments. For restaurants or banquets, it can cook large quantities in a short amount of time: 60 baked potatoes, for example, in 35 minutes, 48 rissoles in 12 minutes, 30 pounds of chicken wings in just 10 minutes. It makes it easier for buffet operators to replace items quickly: a tray of mac and cheese can be ready in as little as three minutes. And at busy lunch counters, it allows cooks to prepare multiple a la carte items, like wraps, pizza, and chicken wings, simultaneously.
Johnivin, who has been cooking with the iHexagon daily, says that the oven continues to impress him and everyone else who has tried it. It’s a noticeable improvement in speed over the iCombi Pro. The iHexagon is, on average, 30% faster, but sometimes double that.
It’s also easier to clean. The iHexagon comes standard with the iCareSystem AutoDose. “This allows users to load our cleaner and care cartridges directly into the cooking system, and allows automatic cleaning schedules to be programmed,” Johnivin explains. This means employees will have less interaction with chemicals, and employers will save money because the AutoDose only takes the optimal amount of chemicals, allowing for dozens of cleanings without chemical replacement.
“It’s a truly new product category for our industry!” he says.
The iHexagon is currently available for sale in the US, UK, and Germany. Visit rational-online.com for more information.
This post is sponsored by RATIONAL