Ask an employee or family member…

“What do you put into a toaster?” and nine times out of ten, their gut reaction is going to be to say “Toast.” Unfortunately, the truth is that you have to put bread into a toaster, and somewhere in the internals of the machine, the bread has to dry out, absorb heat, and get some nice toasty color. Because toasters take money, time, energy, and space to do their job, choosing the most efficient toaster for your operation that takes all of these areas into account can be difficult.

There isn’t a cure-all, but the process can be broken down. There are three basic types of toasters used in foodservice operations; pop-ups, contact toasters, and conveyor toasters. Each is fundamentally different, and none are perfect for every operation. Proper application is the single-most important thing to consider when purchasing a toaster.

So, if how you use your toaster determines which you should buy…how do you use your toaster? Pop-up toasters are great for smaller breakfast operations that get the occasional toast or bagel order, or for full-service operations where toasted items aren’t a main attraction. If you are running a larger operation, especially one that experiences a substantial rush, conveyor-type toasters may be right for you.

Thankfully, there is more choice within each of those categories – pop-up toasters generally come in 2 and 4 slot configurations (like Hatco’s TPT series), and typical conveyor toasters can range from 300 to 1,800 pieces of toast an hour (like Hatco’s conveyor toasters). Generally speaking, you want to overestimate your operations needs if you plan on expanding in the future.

So, what about contact toasters? Whereas the heating elements on radiant toasters (as both conveyor and pop-up toasters are) do not touch the product, on a contact toaster, it is all about convection heat. This is generally beneficial when toasting buns and other products that cook equally well on the griddle.

Once you choose a toaster that fits your needs, turning bread into toast becomes a piece of cake. Or, toast.

Ok, so I admit it…

We’re a little late to the game. The Orlando Food Truck craze has been going on for quite some time now and we’re just starting to notice. As the member of REW’s web-development team who keeps us connected with social media and local trends, I hope REW didn’t miss the boat on this one.

I’ve been following the Food Truck phenomena for a little while now on Twitter and have been reading everything there is on the subject at EatLocalOrlando and TheDailyCity. I’ve got to say that both sites are great resources for anyone who wants to know more about the food-truck craze that’s sweeping over Orlando. Yes, I was one one of those ignorant people that thought food-trucks were reserved for larger cities like D.C., New York, or Los Angeles. I was wrong, and have come to realize that Orlando has just as much-if not more- to offer in terms of delicious street fare.

Last Friday…

I decided stop by and visit a food-truck on my way home from work. You know, just to see what all the fuss was about. I checked twitter to see who would be the most convenient and saw that the Korean BBQ Taco Box (@koreanbbq_2011) was just up the street. All I can say is holy crap it was delicious. Just check out the pic above. The price was right and the food was cooked to order and amazing. I’m now a true believer in Food Trucks.

While I haven’t been yet, I fully plan on attending the next event on TheDailyCity.com’s Food Truck Bazaar Summer Series schedule as well as the weekly Food pod at Lake Lily in Maitland. I’m on a mission to eat at every food truck in the city.

If you own or operate a food truck in Orlando and you’re reading this, get with me on twitter (@REWonline). In the very near future, I would love to come out and talk to you about your food truck operation. We can make a quick video and upload it to youtube, or I can write up an article about your food/story for our blog. No sales pitches, I promise.

Carving stations are often the focal point of buffets of all shapes and sizes, and they often are required to be functional behind the scenes as well. Whatever your operation’s needs, Hatco is making great strides in improving the functionality and design of carving stations.

As noted in the video above, traditional carving stations come with flexible gooseneck designs that, although work well on desk lamps, leave some room for improvement in a foodservice environment. Hatco decided to address these issues. Besides improving the neck of the design to eliminate issues with cleanliness, they have also improved the look of the carving station, as well.

Some models feature a heated base to compliment the power of the 250 watt carving station bulb. They come with a removable Swanstone decorative carving boards and base, perfect for operations that switch between lunch appetizers and dinner entrees. Their flexible, functional, and eye-pleasing design could compliment any operation.

When choosing a heat lamp for your quick-serve or to-go operation, there is much to consider. Here’s one more to add to the list: how you wrap or contain what you put under the lamp can make a huge difference on hold times, as well. Should you use paper wrappers, aluminum foil, or boxes? If your desired hold time is only a few minutes, you can decide on looks or cost. However, if there is a possibility of holding your food under a heat lamp for more than that, the wrapping material makes a huge difference.

As it turns out, paper is the reigning champion of wrapping material – that is, if you are using a heat lamp (like Hatco’s decorative heat lamps,) and if it is practical for your restaurant’s fare (I’ve never seen paper-wrapped soup in a successful operation.)

So what were the other contender’s downfalls? Foil reflects radiant heat, so putting the food under a heat lamp is much less effective. Boxes contain heat and moisture, which is great, but a heat lamp will not contribute to this very much. If your food requires a box or aluminum foil, convection heating is the best method to keep it warm.

In short, if you use a heat lamp, try wrapping your food in paper whenever possible.

June 2011 Hatco Training in Sturgeon Bay, WI

Ok, so the weather in Green Bay isn’t that great right now. I guess that’s just our sense of “weather superiority” as Floridians coming through a little. This image of the sacred ground that is know as Lambeau Field was sent to us by a REW employee that was lucky enough to get away from the office for a little while and attend some great training sessions in Sturgeon Bay, WI put on by our friends at Hatco.

Keep checking back with us for more photos of the excursion and some great information on the extensive line of Hatco products.

Last night, members of the REW team went to Hard Knocks Laser Tag in Oviedo, FL to blow off a little steam and celebrate their hard work as they recently reached some company goals.

We would like to extend a very special thank you to the management and staff of Hard Knocks as well as our very own Vice President, Patty Nuzzo for setting up the event.

This is absolutely amazing. While I can see this having more successful application in a research lab where mixtures need to be moved from one surface to another in the pursuit of science, it is cool to think of equipping your busboy with one of these in the pursuit of clean tables. I know that a wet rag is more user friendly- and probably more effective- but the wow factor of scooping up a ketchup spill without disturbing its shape is enough for me to consider the more high-tech option.

A side note: if your restaurant is serving processed meat that looks like a pink folded towel (in the production line portion of the video) you may have bigger problems than ketchup spills that need to be cleaned in a fancy, technological way.

If you weren’t able to go to the NRA show this year in Chicago to see all the new products and services that were unveiled to the foodservice industry, we’ve got the skinny on a great new piece of equipment from Frymaster that you almost have to see to believe.

Quoted from Frymaster’s website:

The 1814 large capacity fryers have a 63-lb (31 liter) frypot oil capacity with an 18” x 14” cooking area that can be combined in a two frypot battery or additionally with an HD50G, which has a 50-lb (25 liter) frypot oil capacity. The ability to cook three baskets of food in an 18” x 14” cooking area allows for footprint, oil use, and energy use reductions over standard 50-lb fryers. Two 1814 Fryers can do the work of three standard fryers and two 1814 fryers combined with an HD50 fryer allows three fryers to do the work of four standard fryers. The savings adds up quickly using 11-14% less space and 12-16% less oil while using upwards of 50% less energy.

Frymaster’s Thermo-Tube heat transfer system with 6” vs. 4” diameter tubes provides superior heat-to-oil transfer that saves energy and extends oil life. The tubes have high-heat, stainless steel alloy flow baffles that efficiently transfer the fryers’ energy input to the surrounding oil. The durable baffles and reliable, built-to-last, high-efficiency burners keep maintenance to a minimum.

Additionally, the Thermo-Tube heating system provides for rapid and controlled attainment of the desired cooking temperatures, which minimizes oil breakdown, reduces idle costs, and lowers gas consumption per pound of product cooked.

The fryers’ 3000 controller has 20 programmable cook buttons and features that monitor and help control food and oil quality, oil life, and equipment performance.

Crumbs/sediment from the frying area are trapped in the wide cold zone where they do not carbonize and contaminate the oil or cling to fried foods. The bottom of the frypots are sloped toward the front and are equipped with a large drain line so crew members can quickly flush out sediment and remove old oil.

Built-in filtration for battery models makes it easy to preserve oil life and maintain food quality. The built-in filter utilizes an 8 GPM (30 LPM) pump and is equipped with a 1-1/4” (3.175 cm) drain valve and a 3” (7.61 cm) drain line, making filtering fast, safe, and easy. The “built-in” feature puts filtration within the fryer battery where it’s most convenient to use.

For even MORE information about Frymaster’s 1814 Fryer, follow the link

Customers learning about the benifits of the 1814

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