Oven ready
Ovens are the heart of any pub kitchen, but that heart has moved on in recent years. The traditional six-burner range with an oven underneath is no longer the only option available and is just one of several types of ovens suitable for commercial kitchens including microwave, combi and convection ovens
Some pubs make do with just one oven but busier food operations could have several on the go. Although they are all versatile, each has its own, key functions.
1 Under-range ovens
The traditional range oven can be either gas or electric but be advised that, from an engineering viewpoint, dual-fuel options can pose some problems. According to Trevor Burke of Exclusive Ranges, suppliers of Ambach cooking ranges, if your range has gas hobs and an electric oven underneath the heat from the hobs can eventually damage the electrical components in the oven.
And although many chefs like the instant heat and control of gas hobs, a gas oven underneath cannot incorporate a fan to spread the heat around the oven for even, quicker cooking in the way that most electric ovens can.
Cooking range oven tips
l Grease drips are inevitable, but you can ease the cleaning job on a gas oven by layering the bottom of the oven with aluminium foil at the start of each kitchen shift.
l Most cooking range ovens have a sealing gasket. This will be damaged by slamming doors instead of closing them. Train the kitchen team to know the difference between closing and slamming.
l Learn how the different shelf levels affect cooking performance, especially with bakery goods. Switching shelves during the cooking time can give evenness of cooking in an oven that does not have a convection fan to circulate the air evenly around the oven's cooking cavity.
2 Combi-ovens
Combi-ovens are the most versatile item of prime cooking equipment any pub kitchen can have. The only two functions they cannot perform are frying and char-grilling. The overwhelming advantage of a combi-oven is its combined use of steam and heat.
The addition of a slight amount of steam in the oven prevents joints of meat from drying out and tenderises the meat. Dry-roasting meat can mean up to a third of weight is lost through water and fat loss. The steam replaces the lost water and fat so maintaining joint weight, essential for good cost control.
The steam can poach delicate fish, such as cod and plaice, without breaking them up. Steam can also revive pre-cooked and chilled vegetables, such as carrot and broccoli, so they are piping hot but retain their colour, taste and texture.
One way to use a combi for vegetable regeneration is to have vegetables of the day cooked and chilled and when an order comes into the kitchen, reheat a table portion of veg according to the table size.
Combi-ovens come in all sizes and complexity of operation, but all use the same sizing system based on the number of shelves in the oven. These are referred to as grids or racks, so a 10-grid combi will have 10 shelf positions.
If you are thinking of buying a combi-oven, find out what the oven's cooking capacity is. A 10-grid combi will be described as "capable of cooking 24 chickens" at once or 40kg of beef joints, which will give you a better understanding of what the size means in practical terms.
Up to now combis' cost and output made them impractical for smaller food pubs. That changed this year when Falcon Foodservice Equipment unveiled the Eloma Compact at Hotelympia.
Described as "the smallest professional combi-oven available with a price to match", Falcon's development chef Neil Roseweir says the Eloma Compact was developed with pubs in mind to give them all the functions found in a big combi-oven but with the level of output that a small pub needs.
Combi-oven tips
l The combi-oven is connected to the mains water supply and must have a water treatment system added. This will eliminate damaging salts in the mains water that would cause the water pipes within the oven to fur up and lead to serious, costly damage.
l The door seals will gather a large amount of grease and food debris, which is both a food safety and a maintenance issue. Clean the seals carefully and regularly to avoid unnecessary repair bills.
l Wash out the combi at the end of every shift to avoid food debris being embedded in the oven cavity. Spray a specialist detergent around the cabinet and leave for a few minutes before using the programmed cleaning cycle or a manual one.
3 Convection ovens
Convection ovens are stand-alone devices with a fan, which spreads the heat evenly around the oven. That is particularly important in baking full loads where variations in temperature will result is some product being overcooked and some undercooked.
This type of oven can be either gas or electric and some have a facility to inject a small amount of steam into the oven to improve the finish on bread.
Keith Warren, director of the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA), says one area of food production where a convection oven is very useful for a pub is if there is a lot of cooking or reheating of bakery and patisserie food. "Pubs often do a lot of bake-off of part-cooked bakery goods," says Keith. "A combi-oven will do the reheating, but while a combi-oven is being used for a relatively simple task like frozen bread rolls, it's not able to do those other jobs that a convection oven can be used for."
Convection oven tips
l The door-seal gaskets might not be as robust as those on a combi-oven, so close it firmly and tightly but don't slam it, to avoid unnecessary replacement bills.
l Since convection ovens are used to cook a wide range of foods from sweet pastries to chickens, ensure that there is a cleaning routine in the kitchen, so that highly-flavoured foods do not taint delicate pastries.
Further information
CESA, the Equipment Suppliers Association www.cesa.org.uk
Exclusive Ranges 01707 361770
Falcon Foodservice Equipment
Rational 0800 3892944
Imperial Catering 01664 424100
Enodis 0845 370488
