ISNA ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH COMMITTEE
OP E R AT I ONA L R E VO L U T I ON W I T H Total Kitchen Efficiencies paper… do you cook on wet paper towel at home? These may seem like little meaningless things, but the little things mean so much. By Christie White Owner, What’s 4 Lunch, LLC
Still undecided if your team needs kitchen efficiency intervention? Here are some basic points that you won’t find in an equipment manual:
I absolutely enjoy working side by side each day with school nutrition employees everywhere, especially in Indiana (home #1 and near to my heart), teaching proper processes, how to be comfortable with ALL of your equipment, and HOW TO BE EFFICIENT. With all of this work to become more educated on the equipment you are using and improved efficiency, the quality of the food you serve, therefore, improves. I was asked to explain exactly what I do? I wanted to be able to teach in a way that relates to most kitchens everywhere, so I go into kitchens and work with the employees, literally preparing the menu for the day. I bring the menu and equipment together. It is during this time that what I am teaching becomes relatable and can be retained for everyday new habits. I help create the consistency, efficiency and know how to bring the kitchen together. I teach the proper processes of Convection, Steam, Combi Mode, and Holding. I train employees not only about how to work the equipment, but also when to use certain equipment. I can show a cook how to cut 10 minutes off of the French fries cooking time...AND they will be crispy! I help you trouble shoot your equipment, and use it properly. Suddenly an oven that is 10 yrs. old is “brand new!” I also work to improve your serving line efficiency and customer service. My goal is to help you feedmore students efficiently, while also improving the food quality. Even better yet, I help your staff love being in their kitchen again and I make it fun! Training the Trainer for Directors and New Employee Kitchen Onboarding is offered as well. It is so important to hit the ground running with new employees being comfortable with the equipment that they use. The time for new habits, the right habits, is now.
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT OR TOOL
PURPOSE
Let’s see if any of this sounds familiar… Shortages, items being replaced with something you have never prepared, short staffed, participation up, menu changing at a moment’s notice (as in 1 hr. before students walk through the line)? You are likely able to relate to a few, if not all, of the above situations...now let’s try these. I have no idea how to work that combi, that oven cooks uneven, I have to turn everything, my pizza dries out during holding, it takes my fries 20 minutes plus to cook…I DON’T HAVE TIME! No one ever showed me how to use this oven! What!? It has fans!? WHY?! I cook everything with parchment paper, I cover my food pans with lids...steam is wet! Do these situations sound even more familiar than the first? Challenges you faced even before a pandemic hit? Are you looking for consistency across all of your kitchens?Howmanyof your recipes includethecooking process outside of instructions touseparchment paper and a specified cooking temperature? Reduction of waste and increased participation sound good? Then read on! All of the frustrations mentioned above are causing less efficiency in your school kitchens on a daily basis, only to compound the growing list of challenges that are not within your control. Feeding the future becomes a different challenge each day. So, let me just shout this from the rooftops, “THERE IS NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT IN YOUR OPERATIONS!”
As a previous Equipment Representative for 5 yrs. with a focus on K12 in 3 states, I saw the need for in-depth training on new and old equipment as an extreme need in school kitchens. Also, one nutrition program can contain multiple kitchens, but rarely are the kitchens in that one district the same. This makes it even more difficult for recipe consistency and training without the proper know how of the processes and equipment. As I started spending more time in the kitchens learning the world of school nutrition, I began seeing the disconnect between the food and the equipment available to prepare that food. You can’t have one without the other, however, to no fault of your own, they are treated separately. I began to collaborate with some of the best of the best in K12 child nutrition, getting into the kitchens to learn more about this specific challenge that many of you face. That is how What’s 4 Lunch came to be! Because of the lack of training that many employees in school nutrition programs have in this area, they do their very best by using kitchen skills from home within their school kitchens. This, unfortunately, is incredibly inefficient. Commercial equipment does not cook like the newest Samsung at home. The food prepared at home doesn’t contain the whole grains and “special” ingredients that your menu items at school contain. So, in not using the equipment and PROPER PROCESSES to your advantage, it works to your disadvantage. Which means you are giving away time that you don’t have! Yes, there are right ways to cook with convection, steam and combi mode. No, not everything should be cooked for 8 minutes at 350°. Yes, the tilt skillet can be more than an extra prep table. No, fries should not take 20 minutes to cook. Oh, and that parchment
Parchment Paper on Baking Sheets
- Decreases cleanup time for pans - Retains moisture in the product - Prevents crisping of items - Decreases browning Air cooks what it can touch to pull out moisture and crisp - Decreases cleanup time for pans - Encourages browning - Decreases moisture, allowing product to crisp
Cooking with a Convection Oven
Pan Spray on Baking Sheets
TAKE HOME MESSAGE: Now is the time to phone a friend and outsource your training needs for kitchen efficiencies. Identify areas of growth for your program. Join me in revolutionizing K12 foodservice operations, one kitchen at a time.
30
31
Powered by FlippingBook