Cooking Equipment

Consultant Orlando Espinosa, principal at Orlando Espinosa & Associates LLC, Glen Mills, Pa., offers a few factors to weigh when purchasing a steamer.

Christopher B. Warren, director of operations for Joe Warren & Sons, a Norwood, Mass.-based service agent, shares a few ideas that can help extend the service life of a deck oven.

Although griddles are a basic piece of equipment, failure to regularly clean and maintain these units will compromise their performance and service life. For both electrical and gas types, proper installation plays a key role in mitigating grease buildup, which is a fire hazard and will compromise a griddle’s service life.

A deck oven is a crucial piece of baking equipment for pizza operations as well as restaurants needing quick baking. While these ovens tend to take up more real estate in a kitchen or bakery and require skilled bakers to operate, a deck oven’s ability to produce many baked products around the clock makes it an invaluable addition to many commercial kitchens.

 Consultant Steve Waltz, senior associate/project manager at Cini-Little International, Inc., Washington, D.C., offers some insight to help operators and their supply chain partners specify the right griddle.

Deck ovens are ubiquitous to pizza operations, but foodservice operators can use this versatile piece of cooking equipment to prepare a variety of other menu items, including chicken, fish and casseroles.