Epicurean pizza peels can go right from the kitchen to the table as attractive serving pieces.Operators who are looking for high-quality, long-lasting, NSF-certified front- and back-of-house products are turning to products by Epicurean, a brand of Victorinox. With a wide range of cutting surfaces and serving products available, these unique, American-made paper composite products are finding favor with operators who demand performance and durability.
While the usage of paper composite products in foodservice goes back decades, the Epicurean story begins about 25 years ago, as an offshoot of a company that produced surfaces for outdoor skateboard parks. “As we had excess material, we made cutting boards and gave them away to friends and family,” says Dave Benson, Chief Financial Officer of Epicurean. “People loved them. We did a little market research and [found] it was very underutilized in the foodservice market. So we put our brand and product line together.”
Why Epicurean?
There are many advantages to Epicurean products, not the least of which is that they are NSF-certified. They’re dishwasher- and heat-safe, and can stand up to the toughest knives without damaging their edges. With a limited lifetime warranty, they’re guaranteed to give years of service.
Beyond that, Epicurean products are environmentally friendly. The paper composite, made in Washington state, uses paper from sustainably managed forests. The Epicurean manufacturing facility uses energy-efficient technology at every step in the process. An emphasis on using domestic products and processes helps lower the overall carbon footprint of Epicurean products. “We try to source as local as possible,” says Benson. “We’re trying to support U.S.-made products.”
Best for Bars or Pizza Restaurants
For pizza restaurants and bars, Epicurean has a variety of products for both front and back of house. Epicurean’s commercial-grade pizza peels are perfect for pizza and sandwich prep, and can double as cutting boards. Available in natural or slate, they look great on the table, and have a handle hole to make storage easy. Round pizza boards are a handsome, durable alternative to easily dented aluminum pizza pans, and they make striking presentations for buffet or breakfast items.
Epicurean’s flight servers are designed to attractively showcase flights of beer or other spirits. In three-, four- and five-glass designs, they’re lightweight, tough and come with a set of four-ounce glasses.
Flight servers are a convenient way to offer flights of beer or other beverages.
Customization Made Easy
Another advantage that Epicurean has over other brands is its ability to easily customize its items, says Benson. “If you came to me and said, ‘We’re going to serve a hamburger and fries. We want it on an octagon-shaped board, we want it 15 inches, and we want a ramekin notch to put in a french fry cup’ — we can do that.” What’s more, Epicurean products are well suited for every size operation because “we have a very low minimum quantity for a custom item,” he adds. And if a logo or other design is desired, they can be easily laser-engraved into the piece, giving it, as Benson says, “nice design detail. It adds a nice presentation.”
