Slow to happen, but we jump by leaps and bounds when it does. COOKING TECH
Food Services Program Specialist at San Diego Unified School District Chef Juan Zamorano
I’ve been in the foodservice industry for over 30 years and have become well aware of the “slow as molasses” pace innovation crawls at within the realm of kitchen equipment. Could this lack of innovation be justified since the laws of physics and thermodynamics are not flexible and do not allow at least one real breakthrough per decade? Or could it be that our industry is not “sexy enough” for research and development resources to be at the disposal of bright and enthusiastic engineers and scientists? Imagine if they let their creative minds go to create the next combo oven that can cook with different temperature zones within the same cabinet. Or maybe develop a mystical apparatus that can cook crispy, oil free french fries that would erase from our memories how good deep fat fries really taste.
I know I’m full of questions and not answers. Let’s put my wishful thinking aside for a minute and scoot over and make room for discussion about what I see happening in our industry regarding kitchen equipment and training innovation, and its implementation in our production kitchens. We are still making more powerful work horses with little technological innovation. The words of Henry Ford ring true now as they did in 1936 when he said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Maybe we have been asking for faster horses and not better equipment. Equipment that can give us more control over the whole cooking process and information in real time. Equipment that can give us control over fire and energy is what we desired to harness all
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