At the National Restaurant Association Show this past May, one of the most common cook-chill questions our staff received was, “I just have a small restaurant. Why would I need to do cook-chill?” While the cook-chill process does work great in large kitchens and commissaries, you don’t need to cook huge quantities of food to reap the benefits of a cook-chill system.
The cook-chill process is actually very simple. Food is cooked in batches, then bagged into smaller quantities. The sealed bags are quickly cooled to safe temperatures, and transferred to the cooler for storage. Large kitchens and commissaries perform this using 100 gallon (or larger) kettles for cooking, but the process works great for smaller kitchens too – think of the sauces or soups that are made every day.
But the question remains – why would a smaller kitchen want to do cook-chill? So here we are:
Flavorseal’s Top 5 Reasons to do Cook-Chill in Any Kitchen
1. Safety Reason #1– Bagged food reaches the safe temperature zone more quickly than tubs of food in the cooler.
2. Safety Reason #2 – Less risk of cross contamination. Sealed bags keep contaminants out.
3. Consistency – Making food in larger batches ensures it all tastes the same, no matter who is cooking.
4. Ease in Reheating – Cook-Chill bags can be reheated in a pot or retherm unit when you need them.
5. Improved Flavors – Food stored in bags allows the flavors to truly blend, for a richer and more complex taste.
How Flavorseal cook-chill products accommodates your business:
Flavorseal provides a single-source cook-chill system to accommodate your business needs. We offer cook-chill equipment and accessories including kettles, cook-chill bags, impulse heat sealers and chillers. Contact us for additional information, and one of our experienced cook-chill reps will work with your business to create a customized system for you.