UNIFYING DEVICES

MINA WILLIAMS

Rotisserie ovens can do more than roast chickens -- and they are.

In fact, some retailers are using them, and other cooking equipment, to put a new spin on their food-service image.

Supermarket food-service executives are waking up to the opportunities for increased flexibility and animation in production offered by rotisseries, hearth ovens, grills and other cooking tools.

It could be as simple as cooking other meats or vegetables on the spit; or installing other multipurpose equipment to allow menu expansion and more efficient operation at the same time.

And on another level, it could mean finding ways to exploit the built-in theater of front-of-the-house equipment; to sell the products while they cook them.

Deli/food-service executives, consultants and equipment suppliers told SN that its grocers' attempts to think and act more like restaurant operators that are leading them to the pool of multipurpose and exhibition cooking equipment.

Some also cautioned that they'd better look closely at the costs and paybacks before they dive in.

"As retailers commit to a more restaurant type of production kitchen, the equipment needs will shift to more of that style of equipment," said James Riesenburger, formerly with Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, N.Y. "In addition to the combi ovens and chopping, slicing and dicing machines, retailers will be needing ice makers and additional packaging machines."

"Ultimately, we need more sophisticated equipment," said a western retailer. "We need equipment the restaurant industry has used for years because different products require different equipment. The key to home-meal replacement is restaurant quality."

"Look at fast-food operators," he said. "They take care of customers in a very short period of time. How? They are using very sophisticated equipment."

"As an industry, we have definitely gotten away from kettles on stoves," said Howard Nep, director of deli operations, Andronico's Market, Albany, Calif.

"Retailers now have bigger production. What used to be two gallons of soup is now 25 or 50 gallons. Customers are using supermarkets more for convenient cuisine. As a result, equipment is getting bigger. I am seeing more steam-jacket kettles and food processors with increased capacity."

West Point Market in Akron, Ohio, has specifically shifted its production methods to make more use of steam, said Mike Vernon, kitchen coordinator. He made the move to keep up to date with food-preference trends.

"Nobody likes soggy veggies," Vernon said. "We use a lot more steam now with steam jackets and steam kettles. Customers want fresh, not preserved or day-old food," said Vernon.

V. Richard's Market, Brookfield, Wis., recently remodeled its single unit to add more space to the kitchen, increase production capacity and streamline the production calendar for prepared food items.

"The kitchen is 30% more efficient, according to Elizabeth Little, co-owner. "We can now keep up with demand."

Andronico's and Treasure Island Foods, Chicago, are both long-time users of rotisseries. Both started by doing chickens; now both are using the rotisserie for other applications, and other operators reported similar expansion to other meats and vegetables.

"This should help increase the production volume so that we can reach a payoff on the equipment purchase sooner," said a midwestern retail food-service executive.

In a payoff of a different sort, the retailers said exhibition-style equipment is making a strong food-service statement in the department, and at the same time, serving as a living menu.

"Customers want to see different things to get an idea of what they have to choose from," said the retailer from the West.

"If your customer sees a rotisserie, they will get the idea you are in the rotisserie chicken business. If you take advantage of the added flexibility of merchandising the product while you are preparing it, then you are that much ahead. It is appetizing. It gives you a dual purpose. Anytime you get a two-for-one merchandiser, you're that much ahead of the game."

One stone-hearth-oven maker told SN that equipment is integral to animation.

"Customers want really down-to-earth food and they don't want to see a robot making it," said Keith Carpenter, president, Wood Stone Corp., Sumas, Wash. "That is why cooking with woks in view of the customer remains popular."

The pressure to add flexibility to operations is on not only rotisseries, but also all front-of-the-house equipment.

"Equipment must have multipurposes, so that it pays its own way on the retail floor," said Carpenter. "With a stone-hearth oven, the intense heat gives the benefit of holding moisture into food, searing all four sides at once. Pizza, focaccia and lasagna are only the beginning. Three-pound chickens can roast in 40 to 50 minutes, bread can be baked and vegetables can be roasted."

Quality Food Centers, Bellevue, Wash., has a stone-hearth oven in their Issaquah Plateau unit as part of an 800 square-foot installation. The installation is called Cucina Presto and reflects offerings from Cucina! Cucina!, a local Italian-style restaurant.

The Cucina Presto oven is used to cook pizza, calzones and focaccia bread, in addition to rethermalizing chicken. The installation, within the QFC food-service department, is supported and operated by the restaurant.

West Point Market has expanded the use of its grill equipment from center-of-the-plate chicken, vegetables and seafood to ingredients for other dishes, such as grilled vegetables used in salads, grilled peppers in sauces and grilled breads like brochetta.

One of the most popular items is a medley of grilled vegetables. "We prepare about 10 pounds of grilled vegetables every day and it just sells out," said Vernon.

The grill is also used for pizza and pasta dishes. It is located within in the store's kitchen, which is situated behind a 10-foot-by-20-foot picture window. Customers sitting in the store's cafe can sit and watch the action on the grill.

Andronico's grill turns out chicken breasts for the chain's Caesar salads.

This penchant for multiple uses, both in front and at the back of the house, dovetails nicely with restrictions on space and budgets.

"We have gone into the multiuse pieces of equipment mainly because of space," said Lee Zaras, deli buyer, Treasure Island.

Andronico's Nep said he evaluates equipment based on the clear, simple value of efficiency.

"Particularly with cutting tools, I am looking for efficiency -- doing anything faster," he said. "We have a tool for chopping tomatoes for salsa that I would never get rid of. It is quick, easy to use and relatively safer than a knife. The more you can get away from hand chopping, the safer the staff is."

Andronico's uses combination ovens for reheating and rejuvenating product at store level. Putting the moisture into the product is particularly good for production facilities that send product out to units, according to Nep.

"It keeps humidity in the product," he explained.

Another piece of valuable multiple-purpose equipment is the steamer/convection oven, said Nep. He noted that potato salad is one particularly good product resulting from using this piece of equipment. He said he'd add a quick chilling unit to that "must have" list. West Point Market uses its steam kettles to produce not only vegetables, but soups and sauces as well.

"Multipurpose pieces of equipment give retailers flexibility for production methods," said Howard Solganik, president of Solganik & Associates, Dayton, Ohio.

Choosing food-service equipment, and then living with those choices, can also give retailers nightmares.

"Food service is not easy," said Little of V. Richards. "Basically, supermarket food-service operators can't do the exact same things as a restaurant. Supermarket operators can get into trouble.

"Equipment can make or break the business. If you are cooking on premises, equipment costs can be staggering," she said.

When V. Richard's oven had a short, the repair bill was $5,000. A good large stock pot costs $200. Good knives are costly and tips break off even with careful usage. "It all adds up," said Little.

"If I added up the cost of the equipment that we have bought, sold and bought again, I would be astounded." she said. "A few years back we had to have a griddle, then the food trends shifted to grilling, and we got rid of the griddle. Now homestyle cooking is the trend and we want to offer grilled cheese sandwiches. I need that griddle."

The expense of updating, retrofitting or expanding a production kitchen of any kind must be based upon sound business principles, and not just reflect the food trends of the day, retailers said. And the commitment to equipment must come from upper-level management.

"Put in a steam kettle, a griddle or grill, and that adds thousands of dollars to the loss side of a P&L," said a western retailer. "Look at your operation from start to finish and don't buy each new contraption that comes along. By the time you get a return on your investment in the equipment, the trend is over."

"Equipment manufacturers reap the harvest of the industry's blunders," said a deli executive from the East. "Before you buy anything, you want to know that the program works and if it is worth expanding into. There are a lot of yogurt machines in warehouses."

At West Point Market, Vernon is finding that his equipment needs are lessening because of the store's increased reliance on the hand work that renders signature items.

"We are doing more cutting and chopping by hand," said Vernon. "It takes more time, but we are getting good results. We used to use more prepared items, but now the trend is fresh and our customers are demanding it.

"The liability of an in-store chef should be carefully weighed before embarking on a store-made program," said the eastern retailer.

"To spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on equipment is not justified, in tonnage. Not with 60% shrinkage."