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A look into fast-casual ovens

March 30, 2006

With more and more fast casuals toasting sandwiches, ovens are more important than ever. And there are more oven choices today than ever before. From convection to combi to microwave to conventional ovens, operators can buy new units for anywhere from $6,000 to $55,000.

For Penn Station East Coast Subs, oven types were carefully evaluated. But when it came time to make a purchase decision, the sandwich chain chose conveyor ovens for economic reasons.

"We tend to not make purchases based solely on price, because we consider cheaper-priced equipment to be made with cheaper parts," said Craig Dunaway, president of Penn Station. "On the other end, high-end equipment costs so much that it may make for a hard case when it comes to return on investment."

The oven used at Penn Station's 150 locations is the Lincoln Impinger conveyor. Quizno's uses Holman conveyor ovens, which have one of the smallest footprints on the market at just 36 inches of countertop space. Another popular conveyer oven with a small footprint is Q-Matic countertop ovens, available with cooking zones either 16 or 20 inches wide.

"Typically, operators run a sandwich through in about 45 seconds," said Frank Agnello, director of production and customer service for Gurnee, Ill.,-based Q-Matic Technologies, which produces an extensive line of conveyor ovens. "There is an on-and-off cycle, where the elements may be on for 20 seconds, off for 10 seconds, and continue the cycle on and off during the time that the product is going through the cooking chamber."

Ventless and compact TurboChef ovens are found on countertops at Subway, Sushi Yo and Chicago Rock Café. TurboChef hails its Tornado as the fastest oven in the business. According to the company, Tornado boasts a 92-percent gain in cooking speed, finishing a 12-inch sub sandwich from refrigeration in 30 seconds, compared to five minutes in conventional ovens.

Combi ovens

The use of "combi ovens" is coming on strong in the fast-casual segment, a fact due to the integrated versatility of different cooking technologies such as steam and circulated hot air. Daniel Barash, Atlanta-based Raving Brands' director of new product development, touts combi ovens as "essential for allowing us to prepare high-level menu items" at concepts including Moe's Southwest Grill and Mama Fu's Asian House.

Blodgett Corporate Chef Todd Belanger said his company's combi oven is one of the most important pieces of cooking equipment in the kitchen. "Combi ovens cook 30 to 50 percent faster than conventional ovens," Belanger said.

Using both steam and circulating hot air, combi ovens are used to re-heat foods and to roast, bake and "oven fry." Steam alone is ideal for rapid cooking of vegetables and shellfish. The hot-air mode operates as a normal convection oven for baking cookies, cakes and pastries.

"The hot air mode is perfect for browning and crispness," Belanger said. "The steam mode preserves nutrients without washing out flavor. Using steam for bread products creates thick, shiny crusts. And cooking in the 'combi mode' reduces shrinkage and food cost by 20 to 30 percent, yielding a juicier product; in this mode you can melt the cheese on a sandwich without drying out the meat, all the while producing a crisp bun. "

Belanger is quick to point out that, because of its initial cost and footprint, combi ovens are rarely used in sandwich-only venues. For concepts where sandwich is king, Blodgett offers a single-deck conveyor oven, which, according to Belanger, also offers operators cooking versatility.

"Many of those using our conveyors use them to re-heat or finish off products on Chinese menus," Belanger said. "Any products that simply need reheating can be run through a conveyor, including items on Mexican menus."

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A look into fast-casual ovens

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