Practical Purchase Advice From A Leading Manufacturer of Combi Ovens

Last week we had a candid conversation with Giacomo Paccione, Regional Category Manager (North America) Cook & Chill and High Speed at Electrolux Professional. In Part 1 we explored the pragmatics of researching a Combi Oven for purchase. In Part 2 , we asked Giacomo to take out his crystal ball and look into the what the future of Combi Ovens will bring. Below are excerpts from our conversation which have been edited for length, grammar, spelling, continuity, and clarity.

In his current role as Category Manager, Giacomo is responsible of growing sales for combis, blast chillers, and high-speed cooking equipment in the Americas Markets. Previously he was the Global Product Manager for the same category based in Pordenone, Italy overseeing Product Development, Innovation and Training for Asia, LATAM, Europe, and North America.

ChefWorthy (CW): Welcome Giacomo. Thanks so much for taking the time to join in and talk about the world of Combi Ovens. The First Part of our conversation focuses on what we’re calling “Purchasing Considerations”. Giacomo, let’s say a chef is in the market for a combi oven, what are their first considerations?

Giacomo Paccione (GP): The first question should always be is what is going to be the cooking application. A Combi Oven is a versatile tool with many features and options. Touch Panel vs. no Touch Panel. Multiple Sensor Probes vs. No Sensor Probes. Boiler vs. No Boiler. Multiple cooking modes: standard convection, steam, or both.

For example, if I am steaming food for 1,000 People in my restaurant, I’m going to be looking for more of a boiler model because it allows me to maintain consistent high quality and high productivity. On the other hand, if I’m a baker then the best option would probably be boiler-less combi oven because the combi oven technology will have all of this airflow uniformity in the cavity. It’s going to guarantee me a better airflow within the cavity than a convection oven just because of the technology behind it.

Understanding your environment is important too. For example, chefs and cooks in the K-12 Segment will tell you that they’re interested in combi ovens because of their benefits like easy operation, standardization, and the versatility of the unit. So then they decide, do I need a touch panel or digital panel? In the majority of case, for this segment, operators tend to go with digital panel because they like to just have something that’s simple to operate.

CW: Are there, in your experience, things chefs might overlook when comparing makes and models?

GP: Absolutely. For example, how much power does the oven have in regards of how much power does the chef need? How fast does it preheat? What is the airflow management of the unit? Does it have a bifunctional fan that goes one direction and then turns to the other? Do they have different fan speeds? Do they have multi-sensor probe? Are you able to modify the humidity within the cavity in real time and in precise increments? It is one thing is to have a combi oven that lets you set the humidity in rates of 10%-20%-30%-40%-50% and it is much different to have a combi oven measuring the humidity in real time (60 times per minute) and being able to set humidity precisely, say for example @ 56% if that’s what you want.

Other things that chefs sometimes overlook is what type of power do I need for the unit? How much power do I have in my kitchen? Where are the kitchen drains? What type of water is coming in in the to the unit? Too hard? Too corrosive?

CW: Combi Ovens use water to create humidity, cook & steam. From experience, when water is involved, that can be a equipment maintenance can be a challenge. In a past life, I was responsible for the Dispensed Coffee Program for a large Convenience Store Distributor. Water quality was always a bugaboo at the c-store level. “Bad Water” made for bad coffee and damaged brewers. Ice Machines were similarly impacted. Are there things that chefs need to know and should do when it comes to maintenance, water, and their Combi Oven?

GP: Two of the most important things about combi ovens are installation and maintenance. As an analogy, if I’m buying a Ferrari, I want to make sure that the Ferrari has the right tires, that I have the right maintenance for the Ferrari, and I’m changing the oil on that car, as per my use. Likewise with a with a combi oven, if a combi oven is using water to improve the cooking process; to accelerate the cooking process, you definitely are going to need to take care of your investment and what a better way than having a water treatment system.

Untreated, unfiltered water creates two problems. The first is scaling and the second is corrosiveness. Sediments in the water are going to generate scale which will damage the unit’s heating elements over time, causing the unit to fail. Chlorides in the water will eat at the steel in the oven.

Because even if the place has good water, it’s just making sure that your investment is going to be taken care of. Because the most you have to do when you have a water treatment system is just replace filters. A Combi Oven is an investment that really takes a lot of money. It’s something that is very important in a kitchen. So why invest $20,000 and then ruin it because you didn’t buy $1,000 Water Treatment System to take care of your investment. So that’s something that is very important.

CW: How much training is required to get the most out of a combi oven? Can it be done in-house, or should 3rd party experts be involved?

GP: That’s a very good question. We are members of an industry where the turnover in kitchens is very high. Imagine two different scenarios. In one, you have chef that owns the restaurant and has the unit and will work with the unit. In the other, the chef that has two cooks that work with him that probably will last six months, one year, if not less. So if we just talk about the first case, you give the chef one day training, and they will understand the basics of the unit. Maybe another follow-up training 2 to 3 months later and he will be able to understand much better on how the unit operates and will have questions of how to use it. Each training session builds upon the other. In the second case, you need to have a champion, someone that will train your cooks/chefs constantly.The learning and training process is virtually endless.

When people first get a Combi Oven, they tend to treat it like their iPhone. Most people master how to do a few basic things right off the bat. With an iPhone, it’s send a text message, take a picture, make a call, or set an alarm. With a Combi Oven, people will press “Combi” and press “Start”. But, again like their iPhone, with training and experience they learn to do more and more with the unit. It just takes time to understand.