Event Hospitality and Entertainment (EVT) is an Australian company with hotels, cinemas and resorts across Australia, New Zealand and Germany. Some of their brands include Rydges Hotels, Thredbo Ski Resort and Event Cinemas. They employ over 8000 staff and are the fourth largest owner of hotels in Australia.
We caught up with Adam Petta, Group Director of Culinary, Food and Beverage to uncover how technology is assist EVT with their food service operations.
“We’ve been working with Comcater for over 15 years to ensure we have the best and most advanced technology in our kitchens,” says Adam.
RATIONAL iCombi ovens provide the technology, innovation and reliability EVT depends upon. Every new or retrofitted establishment owned by EVT has an iCombi in its kitchen. EVT use the iCombi as an oven, for batching or as a regeneration oven due to its small size, less than 1m². The iCombi quickly and safely restores food to serving temperature that’s been prepared off-site. The iCombi retains the nutrients and taste EVT is after.
The iCombi monitors each shelf separately to cook the desired result. The oven can even delay the cooking so the product can be ready when you’re ready. EVT decided on RATIONAL because consistent, high-quality results can be reproduced in all of their establishments.
EVT also place the RATIONAL iVario into all of their new builds and retrofitted establishments.
“For us, the iVario coming onto the market was a game-changer. The chefs just seem to gravitate to it.”
The iVario replaces their Bratt pans and uses up to 40 percent less energy. The iVario also cooks four times as fast. A staff member no longer needs to constantly check and stir the food.
“They’re easy to use, they’re efficient on power and they’re just so consistently great.”
Like many establishments in the hospitality industry, EVT finds it difficult to employ skilled staff, especially after Covid, they identify this as not only a current problem, but one that will be present for some time to come.
“We’ve always worked with Comcater to come to the best solution; it’s always been with staff in mind.”
EVT’s Event Cinemas Gold Class offers movie go-ers tasty snacks all delivered to the seat during the movie. Food goes out hot and is consistent in cinemas from Noosa to Wollongong.
EVT rely on Lincoln conveyor belt ovens to deliver the Gold Class experience. Air Impingement technology cooks food 2 to 4 times faster than other ovens. The pizza crust comes out crispier, with no burning on the bottom and the middle is cooked through. The oven can be used by staff with minimal training, delivering high-quality meals, fast.
“The reason we chose Lincoln is the supreme heat. Nachos, pizza, burger patties, buns, chicken skewers, I think Lincoln will always lead the way in conveyor belt technology”.
Frymaster is another brand EVT fits in all new and retrofitted establishments.
“We tried other brands and they just didn’t stand up from a recovery perspective, product perspective and consistency.”
The Frymasters filtration system solved many of EVT’s OH&S issues with deep fryers. The risk of accidents from manually filtering oil, slip hazards and oil burns reduced significantly. Inexperienced staff no longer have to carry hot buckets of oil.
“Now they press a button, come back and it’s clean.”
EVT rely on innovation and technology for the success of its 196 hospitality venues. Comcater keeps them up to date with market-leading brands and what’s new.
“Whether it be pre-programming menus onto a USB and sending those out or the techs doing an adjustment on a steam chamber, we always ensure the technology is leading the way to innovate and equip our people with the right tools.”
The data EVT collect and analyse across Australia, New Zealand and Germany include how many plates were placed in the iCombi, the temperature, the cycle, when it was last cleaned and who the operator was.
“At EVT when we’re building or retrofitting sites, data and technology are at the forefront. The data we get out of Lincoln, Frymaster and RATIONAL is key to our success,” said Adam
When planning your next kitchen build or retrofit, speak to Comcater about how we can improve the efficiency of your kitchen while increasing consistency and using technology to your advantage.
Contact Comcater on 1300 309 262 or fill out the form for more information.
