Adapting to Change with Ventless Kitchen Equipment


The amount of change our industry has undergone the past few years has been head-spinning. With everything from the meteoric rise of delivery, display cooking, kitchen transparency, outdoor dining, increased physical space between people, and so on…the list keeps going and growing.

Adaptation is key to success and sometimes survival, but re-designing the entire kitchen, knocking down walls, and re-routing plumbing and ventilation every time the wind blows a different direction isn’t sustainable for any operation.

This is where ventless kitchen equipment rides in to be the hero. The walls can stay where they are; only the limitations get knocked down.

Ventless kitchen equipment can quickly adapt your kitchen operation and add value in the following ways and then some.

  • Faster, simpler installation can be done at a lower cost and with less disruption.
  • Add cooking capacity even if all existing hood space is in use.
  • Support front of house applications for service speed, transparency, and labor and space utilization.
  • Allow for physical distancing between employees when needed.
  • Move cookline to nontraditional locations or underutilized space to generate additional revenue.
  • Implement new cooking technology in older or multi-floor structures without costly retrofitting.
  • Replace multiple pieces of equipment with one user-friendly, multi-function model.      
  • Add food prep capability to an existing bar or lounge.

What kinds of ventless kitchen equipment are available?

There are too many to list in this article, but here are a few of some of the leading ventless kitchen equipment options now on the market.

Cooking and Baking


Merrychef High Speed Ovens

Convotherm mini easyTouch Combi Ovens

Lincoln Stackable Countertop Impinger Oven CTI 2500 Series

Hatco Rapide Cuisine and Boxer Countertop Induction Cooktops 


Retherm and Holding


FWE Retherm Ovens

Mercomax Visual Holding Cabinet

 


Warewashing


Champion DH-6000T Hood-type Dishwashing Machine






How does ventless technology work?

Many ventless oven models such as Welbilt's Merrychef, Convotherm, and Lincoln CTI have a built in catalytic converter, which ensures a smokeless cooking process. The catalytic converter reduces most of the organic gases and substances of cooking fumes by oxidizing them into carbon dioxide and water vapor. To learn more about Welbilt ventless equipment, click here.

The heat-recovery process in Champion’s ventless dish machines captures 100% of the exhaust heat and vapor, converting it into energy to heat the wash water and fresh rinse water. To achieve this, a fan pulls the steam through a heat recovery coil. The steam then works to preheat cold water to 120° and the heated water travels to the booster heater, which raises the temperature to 180°.

This process not only enables the machine to be ventless but is also an energy saving feature. And staff will be grateful too, since the air placed back into the dish room by the heat pump is cooled to under 70° and humidity is reduced by over 80%.

It’s important to note that local codes prevail, so please be sure to double check with your local code authority before you purchase ventless equipment. Also, plan ahead as much as you can since lead times for most equipment items (in foodservice and elsewhere) continue to be longer than usual.

If ventless is an option you’re considering, we’re here to help you identify equipment models that are the best fit for your menu and your business. Contact us.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo: Cool Products Preview

Image
Cocktails are so much more than just a drink; they’re a multisensory experience!  The upcoming Bar & Restaurant Expo in Las Vegas will bring the best minds in mixology together with the tools to help them elevate their craft profitably.  Commercial grade mixology tools and bartending equipment do everything from helping retain talent and increasing customer loyalty, to maximizing profitability of bar operations overall.  Whether your business is a restaurant with bar service, a lounge, pub, nightclub, tavern, catering operation, or country club, the Bar & Restaurant Expo is the perfect venue for discovering new trends, ideas, and products. We’ll be there, and we’re excited to share the highlights with you after the show. For now, we’ll start with a preview. New Tricks for the Coolest Cocktails Glastender (booth 1414) is known for tailor-made, easy to maintain, and long-term ROI solutions when it comes to bar fabrication, refrigeration, and beverage dispen...
Read more

Why Choose Aluminum Foodservice Equipment?

Image
Did you know that aluminum was once worth more than gold? It’s the most abundant metal on Earth, but early on in its history, it was difficult and expensive to extract from ore, refine, and process. Lucky for us, 19 th century physicists, chemists, and engineers paved the way for efficient processes that led to the development of the strong, lightweight, noncorrosive, recyclable material we know—and depend on more than we realize—today. This rare combination of properties makes aluminum a natural fit for foodservice equipment, and New Age Industrial has got it down to a science! 1. It’s lightweight and easy to push. Aluminum weighs 2.7 grams per cubic centimeter, which is less than half the weight of iron, (7.8 grams per cubic centimeter).  New Age Industrial Utility Carts , Dollies , Platform Trucks , Mixer and Slicer Stands and Dollies help your team transport heavy loads without adding to them. 2. It’s versatile. An important advantage of aluminum is its ease of fo...
Read more

Wooden Foodservice Shelving: Friend or Foe?

Image
Wooden shelving. If you have it, you may not think twice about it or even know how long it’s been there, especially if you're only using it in dry storage. It may seem harmless and sturdy, but even if it doesn’t seem to be causing any problems, it may not be helping either. The following four questions can help you assess how your wooden shelving is affecting your food storage and kitchen operations. 1.      Is your team able to keep your food storage areas clean and sanitary? Coated or painted wood tends to peel or chip over time, especially with heavy use, regular cleaning, and friction from items like #10 cans.  One employee may overzealously scrub the paint off in an attempt to keep shelves clean, while another may clean too gently so they don’t damage it. Others may skip it entirely because it’s too much work, and it looks the same whether they do it or not. Unfortunately, if the paint or coating is chipping or peeling, there's no telling where it will en...
Read more