Chefs are looking for electric, tech-forward, flexible equipment
What first impressed Chef James Haberstroh about the iVario Pro from RATIONAL was the speed and consistency it delivered in the kitchen. At the country club where he worked, he used to make complicated, time-consuming dishes like risotto himself, he recalls.
“Anybody could make these dishes because they were prompted by the iVario Pro on exactly how to make the dish and guided through the cooking test.”
“We were able to empower our banquet staff,” Haberstroh says. “Anybody could make these dishes because they were prompted by the iVario Pro on exactly how to make the dish and guided through the cooking test.”
Today, Haberstroh takes his excitement for the iVario Pro on the road as a national corporate chef for RATIONAL. He’s not alone in his enthusiasm for the product, which replaces and improves upon multiple conventional kitchen appliances. It can boil, sear, poach, pan-fry, braise, and fry within a single cooking system. The iVario Pro has seen tremendous sales growth as chefs and operators look for multipurpose equipment that offers speed, consistency, and efficiency.
A growing need for electric and tech-forward equipment
Haberstroh believes a more tech-savvy labor force and a greater need for electric equipment like the iVario Pro have been the most significant drivers of the product’s growth in popularity over the past few years.
“A lot of buildings are leaning more towards electric utility versus gas, so that definitely gives us a competitive edge,” he says, noting that many local jurisdictions are considering or implementing electrification requirements in new construction.
As for a more tech-savvy labor force, just look at smartphones, Haberstroh says.
“The touchscreen on an iVario Pro is very familiar to the touchscreens that are in their pockets,” he says. This familiarity makes for a seamless introduction to the iVario Pro when younger chefs enter the kitchen. It makes onboarding new employees significantly less time-consuming.
“The iVario Pro is going to walk them through the cooking process, whether they're trained or untrained,” he notes.
A workhorse that works harder
In kitchens across the country, Haberstroh likes to start iVario Pro demonstrations by asking, “‘Who has ever boiled water?’ Then we talk about the war stories of boiling water.”
The most common complaints about this seemingly simple task are the endless wait times for a giant kettle to boil and how hard it is to lift that heavy stockpot onto the stove.
Boiling water doesn’t need to be that hard. The iVario Pro can boil 30 gallons of water in 18 minutes. “When you can start saving chefs valuable time and effort in their day, even with basic tasks like boiling water, it makes a difference,” Haberstroh says.
With the iVario Pro AutoLift baskets, chefs can even automatically lift and strain ingredients like pasta without scooping or lifting heavy pots, reducing manual labor and minimizing the risk of repetitive stress injuries.
Smart, energy-efficient technology
The iVario Pro also boosts productivity while cutting cooking costs, using about 40% less energy than a traditional tilt skillet. iVarioBoost in the iVario Pro uses sensors in the pan base to detect load size and food condition, continually adjusting the temperature even with large loads of cold product.
Intelligent cooking paths in ConnectedCooking, RATIONAL’s digital kitchen management solution, guide staff step by step so they avoid over- or undercooking.
“Before the [iVario] Pro there hadn’t been many changes to a conventional tilt skillet in a long time,” Haberstroh explains. “A tilt skillet was one of those old workhorses in the kitchen, but now with the speed, consistency, and efficiency that we’re able to offer with the iVario Pro, it’s something that all chefs definitely want to have in their kitchen.”
To find out how the iVario Pro can bring more speed, consistency, and efficiency to your kitchen, visit RATIONAL’s website.
