The restaurant industry has never been known for its predictability. These days, the rising cost of groceries, supplies, and rents and the shortage of experienced cooks and servers has made it even more unpredictable than ever.
Human beings are also unpredictable — and irreplaceable. But there are ways to make their work easier and help reduce the natural chaos of a kitchen during service. That is where the new RATIONAL iVario Pro comes in.
The iVario Pro consolidates an entire kitchen into a single tilt skillet. It consists of one large pan or two smaller pans that cook independently at different temperatures; these can be further subdivided into four separate zones, each also at its own temperature. It’s height-adjustable so it can sit on a countertop or stand on its own.
It’s multi-functional: with the aid of different accessories, it can simmer, boil, braise, pan fry, deep fry, or pressure cook as needed. It replaces pots, pans, skillets, bains marie, and other kitchen equipment that needs washing and sterilization at the end of a shift. It also doesn’t require much experience to use: it can be programmed in advance using a touch screen. Even a new or inexperienced cook can prepare a meal to perfection, without over- or undercooking or, worse, burning or boiling over.
“You tell the unit what you want to cook,” says Stuart Schwadron, the Director of Product Management for the iVario platform. “Then you tell it how you want the product to be finished, and the unit decides on all the cooking parameters and how it's going to be prepared.”
The iVario cooks more quickly than a standard stovetop and doesn’t require extra monitoring from busy cooks. It can boil 10 liters of water in 5 minutes, as opposed to 20 minutes using more conventional cooking methods. The largest model, the iVario XL, holds 150 liters and can prepare 400 portions of vegetable soup in 35 minutes or 15 kg of pasta in 22 minutes.
“Because it heats differently than a conventional tilt skillet,” Schwadron explains, “it's going to operate about 30% faster.”
To prove it, RATIONAL asked two experienced chefs to prepare their mise en place for a typical dinner service of 100 portions of three starters, four mains, and three desserts. One chef used a standard six-burner gas stove. The other used a two-compartment iVario. This menu required the cooks to prepare 24 separate items: soups, sauces, meat, pasta, rice, stewed and roasted fruits and vegetables, poached eggs, custards, and choux pastry.
The chef using the iVario finished prep in just two hours and 12 minutes, an hour and 21 minutes ahead of the chef who was working on the stove. And that was before washing all the pots and pans. The iVario chef didn’t have a pile of dirty dishes at the end because he was able to clean out the iVario during production.
The iVario also consumed fewer resources. The chef working with the stove used 21 gallons of water for cooking and an additional 22 gallons for cleaning, while the chef on the iVario used just 10 gallons combined. The stove used 79 kWh of energy, while the iVario consumed just 23 kWh. The iVario required less wear and tear on the cook, too: the chef who used it lifted 473 pounds during prep. The chef who worked on the stove lifted 1500 pounds, more than 1000 additional pounds.
Cleaning the iVario is also easier and safer than a standard dishwashing arrangement. The unit has an integrated drain that goes straight out the back and eliminates the need for a floor trough. “It's easy to maintain safety in the environment without having a trip hazard or something else to clean on the floor,” says Schwadron. “It’s a great operator.”
For more information and to schedule a demonstration, visit the RATIONAL website.
This post is sponsored by RATIONAL