Do I Need A Combi Oven?

Ah, yes the Combi dilemma. I hear this every time I have an equipment requirement discussion with a Foodservice Director on a new project. The Combi has become the (I- phone and the Facebook) to the Foodservice Industry. Everybody wants one but is it right for your operation? What factors do I need to consider. This is the major question!!

Combi ovens are technology we have incorporated into the USA from Europe. European kitchens are very different than what we have in the USA. The footprints are much smaller with little means for expansion. As the menus diversified and needs for more equipment arose, it became very evident that something had to give and a multi-functional piece of equipment would be the answer THE COMBI. This piece of equipment is an oven, a steamer, and a unit that does both operations at once. Leave it to the Germans to come up with one of the first and one of the best-engineered units on the market. Rational (a German manufacturer) boasts of having approximately 80% of the European market. There are many others manufacturers that are very good as well. Having traveled to Europe and seen these kitchens, what you find is Combi’s in every kitchen followed by pressurized braising pans and very little else. Yes there are fryers, ranges, broilers, etc but they are mostly for display cooking. I am sure the USA range manufacturers are not happy to hear this evolution.

So enough with history! What do we need to think about before purchasing a Combi Oven? One of the more important considerations is your menu, and how you are currently purchasing your food from your purveyors (fresh or frozen, processed or whole). I find rural and independent systems still cooking from scratch and inner city systems using processed foods. You should try to project how your purchasing will change in the future and whether your employee and customer counts will increase or decrease. This will define your equipment requirements.

Contrary to popular belief, Combi ovens are not suitable for every operation. However, they are ideal for restaurants, limited footprint kitchens, commissaries, hospitals, banquet kitchens, casinos, and B&I operations. All those operations have diversified menus, irregular operating hours, high volume and trained employees. They are not suited for small operations with limited menu offerings, operations with marginally trained employees with high turnover, and operations with limited capital expenditures for equipment and maintenance. Combi’s take the place of steamers, fryers, broilers, convention ovens, griddles and sometimes even steam kettles. So if you’re not ready to do without this equipment, then a Combi is just a luxury item and mostly redundant and not for you.

Combi’s also require continual maintenance, which is an operating cost factor that affects the bottom line. Many manufacturers provide ovens with and without boilers. It all depends on your water quality and your volume requirements. Since we are dealing with water, boilers will require regular maintenance particularly deliming. The frequency and costs of this procedure will depend on your water hardness. The cost of a central building water treatment application may become a consideration. Also some manufacturers have proprietary cleaning agents, which are profit centers for them and ones for which you may be paying a premium price. Check to see if cleaning agents from Eco Labs or other sources can be used. This may save you some money.

Combi’s are complex pieces of equipment that will do almost everything. They are operated by a digital microprocessor that resembles a computer. The appearance of the controls can be terrifying to the first time operator. Time and temperature are not the only cooking considerations anymore. Many manufacturers have simplified the controls and made them easier to use by providing pre-set menu item buttons and controls that resemble the I-phone. When these ovens are sold, a factory trained certified chef comes to the installation and sets up the oven for your menu, and trains the operators. I have found that one training session is not enough and that multiple training sessions are required at additional cost. This can be expensive in high turnover kitchens. When you change a menu item, the chef will have to reprogram the oven. Instead of a visit from the chef, this can also be done with video conferencing where you can do it yourself or by the use of a USB port to upload the item change.

You may think that by eliminating all this extra equipment that the hood size will shrink and you will be saving a ton of construction money. This may not be exactly so! Combi’s are wider and deeper than ordinary ovens and require additional space (as much as 2ft) for service access on the side of the oven. So unless you can put this oven on the end of the cooking lineup, where you have service access, or if you require additional combi’s you might not be saving any space. The exhaust hood also needs to be deeper to capture the steam from these ovens. Another consideration is the sticker shock. The cost of a ten-pan combi can be from $24,000 on up.

I have found that the oven does perform exceptionally well on; banquet steaks, grilled cheese, baked potatoes, French fries, and fish. Most everything can be cooked in the combi mode, which reduces dryness and gives greater percent yield. Also the self- cleaning oven feature is one I particularly like.