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    Combi Oven – the Most Versatile Piece of Equipment for a Commercial Kitchen

    By on Last modified: May 29, 2018

    Just walk into the back of an Italian restaurant and then go into a sandwich shop – no doubt their kitchens will have different set-ups and different equipment. Without a doubt, there are as many different commercial kitchens as there are food joints. Nevertheless, certain pieces of equipment are considered a staple in the food business and can be found in all commercial kitchens, no matter their speciality. One such piece is the commercial oven.

    Ovens are the workhorse in every commercial kitchen. Since they are needed for most methods of cooking – from roasting to baking, broiling, or grilling, it’s common to find a variety of ovens within the same kitchen. While having a variety of appliances on disposal is certainly useful, in a busy and cramped commercial kitchen they can take up a significant amount of floor space and hinder the flow of work. Luckily, this problem can be easily solved with a commercial combi oven.

    combi-ovens

    The functionality that comes with a commercial combi oven can be compared to that of a Swiss army knife. And the name says it all – a combi oven combines an impressive array of cooking functions conveniently in a single appliance. It can be used for cooking, roasting, streaming, smoking, grilling, baking, braising, dehydration, retherming, and oven frying. A combi oven is also ideal for more sophisticated cooking methods, such as sous vide, as the cooking environment within the oven can be precisely controlled.

    Considering how most commercial kitchens are packed with people, pots and pans, boxes, and other stuff, you need to make compromises on what major appliances you’ll squeeze in. But due to the fact that they combine several pieces of equipment into a single unit, combi ovens are the most helpful solution for maximising floorspace.

    Needless to say, with a combi oven not only will you manage to save space, but you’ll also end up saving lots of money as you won’t need to buy any additional appliances. And thanks to the unlimited range of dishes that can be cooked in them and the amount of time they save you, combi ovens can help businesses expand their menu and speed up the entire service. All of this may lead to significant savings and an increase in revenue.

    When shopping for a combi, you need to consider some technical details. Like for instance, is a gas or an electric model better suited for your needs? Electric is considered better for high-elevation operations, but gas ovens are known to heat up quickly and thus save you time. You also need to consider how many trays the oven consists of. Usually a single tray equals 10 servings. So, if you run a large business you should consider a combi oven with at least 10 trays, to ensure that every guest is served on time.