Snowbird, the ski resort perched on Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, gets 500 inches of snow and can serve up to 12,000 meals a day at its 20 dining locations.
As the senior executive chef at Snowbird, Ben Mogren is ultimately responsible for those meals, many of which are cooked at 11,000 feet above sea level. Even when Mogren and his team are juggling multiple meals and diners who want to relax après ski or race back to the slopes, they can deliver consistency and quality by working with RATIONAL equipment.
“Food and beverage play an integral role in guest experience here at Snowbird,” says Mogren, who launched his career ski racing and working in restaurants at night, but has now been working in professional kitchens for 20 years.
“We are really trying to push what we can do in this type of setting,” he says. “There are the challenges we have cooking at altitude, but also with the speed and efficiency that we need. Because of RATIONAL, we’re able to focus more on presentation, on tasting our food.”
Mogren estimates that 60% of the resort’s cooking is done on RATIONAL products. These products include the iVario, an intelligent, multifunctional tilt skillet; the iCombi, an adaptable and smart combi oven; and the newest RATIONAL product, the iHexagon, an intelligent combi that coordinates steam, hot air, and microwave.
“The iVario—it’s amazing for prep. The iCombi is our workhorse. It’s a lifesaver. And now with the iHexagon, it's like having a really fast line cook that can handle a thousand covers over lunch service without breaking a sweat, and I don't have to worry about it taking a day off,” he says. “It's just going to give me consistent results, no matter who's hitting my preprogrammed stuff on the screen.”
The height of great cooking
At higher elevations, water boils at a lower temperature, and moisture evaporates more quickly than at sea level. Elevation can affect how items like rice and pasta cook. But RATIONAL products help bring their cooking back down to sea level, at least in terms of moisture retention and cooking time, Mogren says.
“RATIONAL allows us to cook and have the same results that we would have been having at sea level, but in a much faster time,” Mogren says. “I can have that consistency that I really want while also getting my guests fed as fast as possible. In the time it took me to do two dishes, I can have six guests fed and on their way. It reduces the line and takes away a pain point for our guests.”
It’s not just the elevation that makes cooking at Snowbird challenging. The resort operates near the most avalanche-prone highway in North America. Avalanches and increased snowfall can impact the ability to get food and employees into and out of restaurants.
If Mogren can’t be onsite at a restaurant, he has peace of mind knowing he can trust RATIONAL technology. He can relay instructions to his team, and “I know how it's going to come out,” he says. “In an environment like Snowbird, where things can change on a dime. Having cooking equipment that I can trust allows me to be able to bounce between all 20 operations.”
Efficiency and consistency
Snowbird’s restaurants range from food courts to full-service, fine-dining restaurants. The focus is on quality across all dayparts and categories, says Dave Fields, the president and general manager at Snowbird.
“Whoever the customer, it's so critical to have an excellent food and beverage experience,” he says. “Whether they're having chicken tenders or chili or a burger or a steak, it needs to be the best that they've had.”
RATIONAL technology and equipment help Snowbird serve the best, even when business is unpredictable.
“Good kitchen technology creates efficiency and consistency.” Fields says. “When we're staffing up at the beginning of the season with new employees, we don't have a huge amount of time for training. Technology enables us to make it easier on the staff and make a better product for the guest.”
To learn more about the benefits of RATIONAL equipment and technology, visit the RATIONAL website.
This post is sponsored by RATIONAL