With 1 in every 2 Australian aged care resident suffering from malnutrition*, it’s essential that your aged care cooks are capable of delivering a high-quality food service menu.
But in the midst of a nationwide chef shortage, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to entice trained chefs into aged care kitchens.
So how do aged care operators ensure food quality is high when prepared by cooks, not chefs? Thankfully, new innovative commercial kitchen equipment exists that makes preparing consistently good food as simple as pressing a button.
Your introduction to automated cooking
It may sound like something from a 1980’s space film, but automated cooking not only exists but is being used by aged care providers everywhere. Where your certified cook may not be able to serve up 100 perfectly cooked meals in twenty minutes, a RATIONAL iCombi Pro is certainly up for the challenge.
The science behind the iCombi Pro
iCombi Pro is a cooking unit with real intelligence. You can grill, roast, bake, steam, blanch or poach food, all within a space of less than about 1m² and all by using nothing but your fingertips. Pre-program your entire aged care menu and have cooks press the menu item, close the door, and leave the unit to cook the meal itself. Meat, fish, poultry, vegetable, baked goods, dessert – you can do it all, whether you’re cooking for 30 residents or for several thousand across several sites. Simply specify the results you want and the iCombi Pro will automatically set and adjust the temperature, moisture levels and air circulation speed. What’s more, it comes standard with automatic self-cleaning!
Check out the video below to see how many ways the iCombi Pro can help your aged care operation.
The iVario
Maybe you are already utilising combi ovens that whilst aren’t comparable to a iCombi Pro, get most of the job done for you. But what about larger batch cooking for soups, eggs and pasta? If you’re relying on Bratt pans or kettles, then you need to see what a iVario can do. This all in one unit can boil, pan fry and deep fry and is up to 4 times as fast and uses up to 40% less energy compared to traditional cooking equipment. It also can save up to 30% space in your kitchen by replacing traditional cooking appliances such as tilting pans, Bratt pans, kettles, boilers, ranges and commercial deep fryers. Cleaning time is also minimal as nothing sticks or overcooks, making it near impossible to ruin the batch! For more information from a iVario customer on exactly how the unit has changed their aged care operation, read our case study on Cronulla Pines Pathways Aged Care Residence here.
See it for yourself
With any new technologies, it has to be seen to be believed. So why not stop in for a free RATIONAL demonstration? RATIONAL offer many avenues for you to come to experience their product range. Either book in for a free iCombi Pro live or iVario live demonstration at one of Comcater’s nationwide demonstration kitchens, or fill in the form to find out what nearby dealerships are offering a free demonstration at their own demo kitchens. Better yet, Comcater can arrange site visits from current RATIONAL users so you can talk directly with other aged care operators and find out exactly what benefits they have experienced since utilising these automated kitchen technologies in their residence. Finally, you can get in touch with Comcater for an aged care specific demonstration where our specialists will run through everything from automated cooking to menu development, food transport and much, much more by filling out the form.
*source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1747-0080.12368
