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 2nd Part of our conversation focuses on what we’re calling “The Future of Combi Ovens”. I’m going to ask you to get out your crystal ball and tell our readers what you see in the future for Combi Ovens

Giacomo Paccione (GP): Three themes come to mind: simplicity, connectivity/integration, and sustainability. Remember; how many chefs and cooks stay in the same kitchen? They’re just moving around to different kitchens during their career. So how do we make the operation a simple process where there are less hands involved, rather than more? As manufacturers we’re seeing more and more automation requests not only by the operators but also from managers because they are the ones that are feeling this issue as well.

We’re starting to see combi ovens that that are integrating systems and reducing steps.. So just like with your phone, there’s more and more the need of “I want to be able to set it from my from my couch, send the recipe to the oven, change recipes, and do everything wirelessly.” Operators want to see what’s happening with the unit. This is what combi oven cloud platforms are providing. Also, looking into the future of a combi technology, and specifically in cooking, we are seeing demand for reducing steps. We are starting to see technologies where current combi ovens or combi ovens in development, are reducing steps. For example: placing a piece of food in the cavity, the combi analyzes the piece of food and tells you; “you’re cooking chicken.,” and starts the cooking process. Another example of integrated systems is when a combi oven is integrated to a blast chiller, creating an automated process. So, then the blast chiller or combi oven starts a process the while the other unit is placed in the queue, to later start automatically. Making the opening and closing of doors and starting cycles a completely automated process.

Finally, another big trend is how can combi ovens be better engineered for greater sustainability? How do we heat up faster using less energy? How are we able to waste less water? How are we able to use less electricity to manage the airflow within the cavity without less fan speed?

CW: It wouldn’t be fair if we didn’t give you an opportunity toot your own horn. Without giving away secrets what are some of the exciting innovations that the mad scientists at Electrolux Professional are coming up with?

GP: A key pillar at Electrolux Professional is our commitment to continuous innovation. We will be introducing new technologies in the accelerated cooking segment, cooking multiple trays at the same time with the same unit or cavity at the same time, providing data analytics in visual graphs in front of the operators’ eyes, and developing technologies for faster cooking results in less time. A great example of these innovations is our combi oven software, which we are very proud, because it is written as Open Source. Just like with an iPhone, you constantly get updates that introduce new functionalities; we use the same logic to continuously improve your combi oven. Electrolux Professional uses different innovation platforms to be always in the edge of innovation for the food service industry. We want potential customers to look at Electrolux Professional, to look at our Skyline combi oven; and say “wow, this is a fantastic combi oven does because of all theirfeatures like OptiFlow, SkyDuo, and SkyHub which you cannot find in any other combi oven.

CW: Where does the inspiration for Electrolux Professional’s innovation come from? Customer feedback? Competitor research?

GP: We have our own Market Research team who deploy several methods: including focus groups, trend research and competitor intelligence. Our goal is to identify what is most important feature for our customers. We also partner with universities, innovation centers, and companies that are in different industries to try to find innovative solutions. This type of partnerships has led to the development of our Low temperature Cooking patented system that reduces shrinkage to 5% when cooking meat overnight.

We’ve partnered with an ergonomics institute to develop the first ergonomic combi oven in the foodservice industry. As operators sometimes we forget the importance of Ergonomics because ergonomic equipment design makes combi oven operation easy by eliminating unnecessary steps. For example, the ability to open the door with your elbow or your shoulder when your hands are full. That is an example of our ergonomic design. Simple details mean a lot when you are in a very busy environment.

CW: Last question. And this one is just for entertainment value. Because any who have spend any time in a commercial kitchen have seen really weird things. Any good stories about like you can share?

GP: Let me tell you two examples. The first is a UK based biologic technologies company which was working on getting COVID-19 Vaccine Kits ready for use. They were using Electrolux Professional Combi ovens to heat up the vaccine samples for 10 minutes as part of the development process. They were using at combi oven for a medical application.

The second story is really a cautionary tale. All our combi ovens come with an automatic cleaning system. During one of my travels I was visiting a casino in Singapore, and they had 20 full sized combi ovens. When I walked to the kitchen I saw three people, and each one of them was inside an oven cleaning them manually with a scrub and soap. They tell me that they’re doing this from three o’clock in the afternoon to six o’clock in the evening every day. I approached one of the cleaners and said to them, “Excuse me. Do you know these Combi Ovens have an automatic cleaning system?” The look on his face…he was shocked. He realized he had been doing an activity 3 hours every day for a whole year that was unnecessary. That’s why training is so important, even the most basic things like cleaning, need to be trained.