Running a restaurant with portable induction cookers?

Hey guys,

I'm opening a restaurant near April and to be honest the kitchen budget the owners allowed for the kitchen construction is very limited. This leads to finding creative ways to try to save money so I can get everything I need for the kitchen.

My big question is:

Can the portable induction hold? I won't be using them all that much to be honest... only to finishing proteins and heating vegetables etc. I'm sure they will be good enough for that... but can they really hold like a 50kg pot of stock boiling for 24hr?

If anyone has any experience or input please let me know.

Much appreciated,

Carlos.

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tshewman

The induction cooktops are great, but inexpensive ones do not have 24 hr times (most are limited to ~3). If doing stocks, why not a few induction with pressure cookers (both inexpensive, efficient and space savers). If looking at huge stocks, I was at Juniper and Ivory this evening where they showed me what they do in the huge vats (also see 11 maddison park), but they are not on induction.

Lou_34544

you might want to look at what alinea did with their hotel pop up. No ventilation hoods, so they used all induction...I don't even think the space they opened in was even built out as a kitchen. Obviously, you don't need to get so fancy with your cooking but if there is a will there is a way.

It will also depend on where you are opening and your health regulations. Here in NYC, you could get away with sous vide and induction but it's a pain in the ass. Where you are, maybe less so...

robmcquarrie

Check out the new polyscience/breville control freak. It's a portable induction unit built for maintaining temp for long periods. I don't think it would support a 50kg pot though and it's expensive.

Robert_Conn_II_123023

After 30 years in the industry I will give you the best advice I can give. Since you are interested in modern cooking I encourage you to embrace it for all the value it offers. Precooking (sous vide) foods and retherming/finishing them IS the future. Most modern chains don't know how to adapt to the modern business model but I see it clearly. Precooking foods, under controlled and consistent variables, retherming and finishing them just before service offers the most cost effective, best tasting, least wasteful ways of going about it. What is lacking in mainstream food service is the inability to connect the dots. You have small business kitchens who cling to the old ways (very wasteful with small profit margins) and progressive (so-called fine dining) restaurants who think they need to reinvent the wheel every month. But what the vast majority of customers want is good food, consistently. Inductions burners are an important component in this model. They heat faster than gas burners, can be more regulated in their temps and more energy efficient (cost-effective).

So, to get back to your specific needs......

If you are looking to hold a pot of stock for 24 hours, an induction burner is not the answer... A PID controlled water bath is. I say a PID controlled water bath over a sous vide rig because sous vide rigs are not designed for high capacity. I began cooking sous vide about 7 years ago and I went with a PID controller and commercial rice cooker because I could cook/hold more food than with a plug and play commercial sous vide rig. You can plug a whole steam tables into a PID controller while an immersion circulator will only hold a fraction of that.

Full disclosure...if you are opening a restaurant in two months and you don't already have these things worked out, you have bigger fish to fry than an induction burner.

It is best you stick to what you know at this point. Learning the ins and outs of new equipment is not what you need while trying to open a new restaurant. I feel for you. I was once in a situation like this and it was impossible. Owners have their own ideas without knowing what really goes into a fully functioning kitchen.

The very best advice I can give you is to go with what you already know, simplify (you can always grow and expand later) and pre-think about the day to day service and what will be required to make that happen. For everything you think about there will be 10 things you didn't. So, the more simplified the better. Any more questions and I would be more than willing to share what I know. Best of luck to you. Just remember, the most important thing (above fanciness, modern techniques, etc) is that you can produce delicious food, every day, for every customer.

david.davenport

Rob, Thanks for the mention. Yes the Control °Freak can take the weight. We have chef's using this size stock pots. In fact we have tested by jumping up and down on the unit to test impact strength. 100kgs easy! Thanks, David.

david.davenport

Carlos, The Control °Freak can hold 50kgs easily. Perfect for doing stocks over very long periods. We are at the NRA show in Chicago in May if you are at all able to come and have a demo we'd be happy to see you. Cheers, David.

robmcquarrie

Good to know. Now to decide if I want to spend that much for home use. I heard Breville might be working on a cheaper home version. Any details on this yet?

david.davenport

Well I can say if you would like to check the Breville.com. website or look out at Breville on facebook, we soon may have the need for early adopter beta testers if you are interested...We will come back and post on chefsteps too...