Creativity and reliability in a single gesture

Here is a preview of what developments from around the world we can expect to see at HostMilano2015 in the field of ovens and cooking technologies in general. Because never before has kitchen technologybeen so clearly at the centre of catering procedures – communal or otherwise – and there is just one aim: to simplify the lives of chefs and their assistants by automating the most repetitive operations with equipment that is more ergonomic and functionally efficient, thereby offering them more time to focus on the side of their work. As Claudia Bussmann, marketing director EMEA of Manitowoc Foodservice, points out: “We are seeing a growing interest in ergonomic efficiency and aesthetic appeal and we are making considerable efforts to develop products with a design that responds to such demands. Ease of use also matters hugely to our clients, who are often large franchising chains with a large number of general staff that need to be able to manage the machinery without too many complex operations: our ultimate aim is to achieve one-button control on most of our machines.”

Another great foreign multinational with a huge presence at Host is Middleby. According to “Fortune” magazine, this corporation, which is based in Elgin, Illinois, is one of the year’s fastest growing US concerns. That is thanks among other things to a series of recent takeovers that have further strengthened what was already a well-established aspect of the firm: it manufactures hi-tech products that range from ovens for bakeries to other combined and convection cooking appliances, and also grills.

All this machinery is there to simplify life but above all it must be high quality and provide an efficient service. “Demand is starting to prefer product quality and services offered over price,” says Riccardo Ferri, CEO of Rational Italia. “New eating habits have led to a shift in the market towards less conventional, more informal catering models, in the take-away and other ready-meal areas, and in fast lunchtime solutions. So we have seen a burgeoning of fast-food and themed catering outlets, along with ever more lavishly stocked delicatessen and bakery sections in supermarkets and numerous new collective catering formats.”

A trend that is also being applied to other rapidly growing segments such as chilled units. “Current trends,” adds Valentina Soliani, of Tecfrigo’s export department, “are increasingly confirming the need to provide solutions guaranteeing that users will get reliability and simplicity of use and make a real financial saving while also meeting environmentally friendly standards. We are committed to providing more in the way of design and performance features, with solutions aimed at the world of interior furnishings with built-in solutions for all design requirements.”

And in the world of pastry-making, machines are now doing hitherto unthinkable things on their own. Selmi, a firm that produces equipmentfor the pastry sector, will be bringing Choco Labo Selmi Bean to Bar to HostMilano2015, where cocoa beans will be turned into 30-gram chocolate bars before the very eyes of visitors. It will, in other words, be a fully-fledged “chocolate factory” in which it will be possible to observe the entire life cycle of cocoa, from the cultivated bean to that first bite into a chocolate bar, with a special mention made of single-origin cocoa and the production chain whereby hazel nuts end up in chocolate bars.