Combi ovens are one of the most versatile pieces of foodservice equipment you’ll find in a K-12 school kitchen. They can be used for baking, grilling, roasting, steaming, proofing, rethermalization, low-temp cooking, blanching and finishing. You’d think something as versatile as the combi oven would be complicated to operate. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. A new, optional Bluetooth®-enabled barcode scanner and software kit make Hobart’s Combi® Oven easier to use, saves time and ensures consistent cooking results.
The barcode scanner makes cooking in a combi oven a snap. Normally, food directors or managers would scroll through a list of food items stored on the combi’s control panel and select the appropriate recipe. Now they just scan a barcode, press Start and walk away. The scanner automatically loads the recipe settings and starts the oven in preheat mode for that particular product.
“If you can aim a barcode scanner and press a button, you can cook anything to perfection, every time,” says David Sager, product line manager for Hobart. “It’s great for K-12 foodservice operations because they often do a lot of reheating, and each food item may have different time and temperature requirements. Additionally, K-12 foodservice staff rarely has time to learn all of the operational details of the oven, so ease of use is a big concern.”
One of the most significant benefits of the barcode scanner is that kitchen staff don’t have to be gourmet chefs to cook like one.
“It doesn’t matter if they’ve never been trained on—or even seen—a combi oven before,” continues Sager. “Every operator can scan a barcode and get consistent cooking results regardless of their skill level.”
Creating the Perfect Recipe
With Hobart’s scanner software, K-12 foodservice managers can turn any recipe into a two-dimensional barcode.
“The scanner software guides users through several steps in order to create the perfect recipe,” explains Sager. “At each phase, they can stipulate the mode of cooking—whether convection, steam or combination—as well as temperature, cook time, humidity level and fan speed. Programmed recipes can be linked to an existing barcode on a food package or box, or the software can create a unique barcode for an unlimited number of recipes.”
Recipes based on manufacturer suggestions or the operation’s custom-cooking specification can be stored in folders for easy access and identification. Operators then simply scan the barcode using the provided hand-held scanner, which automatically loads the recipe settings and starts the oven in preheat mode for that particular product.
A custom recipe sheet can be printed with menu item name, recipe program cooking phases and barcode. The generated barcode can also be copied directly to other documents to provide operators with the recipe and full preparation instructions in one document. Foodservice managers can also upload recipes to the oven via any Bluetooth-enabled device, such as a computer, cell phone or PDA.
Upload Recipes to Single or Multiple Ovens
The scanners allow foodservice staff to upload recipes to single or multiple ovens, which is beneficial for larger K-12 foodservice programs.
Typically, if a school district were to change chicken nugget suppliers mid-year, they would have to reprogram all of their combi ovens to accommodate the new recipe. Using the scanner, the foodservice director can send an e-mail with the new recipe already embedded in the barcode so all the foodservice staff has to do is scan the new barcode and the recipe is automatically recalled.
“This process opens the door to future improvements and control capabilities for the end-user, manufacturer and servicer of the Hobart Combi,” says Sager. “The added Bluetooth technology and simplification of using a barcode scanner bridge the gap between operator and cooking equipment.”
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