Magnetic attraction
A display of pyrotechnics along the metal rims of early induction cooker models was just one of the stories that led to slow take-up of this cooking method.
Induction cooking uses a small electric current to generate a magnetic field in a cooking surface. Where the field comes into contact with a ferric metal - such as an iron or steel pan - it excites the molecules of the metal, generating enough heat to cook whatever is in the saucepan. Those areas of the cooking surface not touching the pan stay cool enough to touch, which leads to a generally much cooler and safer kitchen.
Objections to induction cooking, apart from the early sparks, include the claim that it is unreliable; the perception that the equipment is expensive; and the accusation that it burns everything to a crisp
The first objection, unreliability, has been largely overcome, says Mick Ainge, sales and marketing director of Masters & Andren, UK supplier of Cidelcem induction cookers.
"The equipment is now reliable. The majority of problems we get today are ‘user problems'," Ainge says. "When we install an induction hob, we do train people how to use it."
But kitchen staff always rise admirably to the challenge of finding ways to make a new item of equipment misbehave. The example Ainge cites concerns the fans that cool the generator. If the filters that blow air through the fan are not cleaned regularly, performance will be affected.
The second issue, that of cost, is not as clear-cut. There is no doubt that induction cooking, which uses a low electric current, is far more energy-efficient than conventional electric or gas cooking - at least 50% more effective, Ainge says. The same figure is quoted by Frialator.
Even so, users need to save a lot of energy to justify an outlay of anything from £1,750 - the price quoted by Masters & Andren for its least-expensive model - to upwards of £6,000.
"Prices have come down considerably, and will continue to do so. Even so, cost savings and payback are difficult to quantify. Conservatively, I would say 18 months to three years. However, that's not taking into account the fact that on conventional ovens many chefs turn the burners on first thing in the morning to warm up the kitchen and leave them running all day," Ainge says.
Frialator says the savings on the cost of extraction systems also have to be included, because induction cooking virtually eliminates the escape of unused heat into the atmosphere. Also, there are savings from the faster cooking times that can be achieved with induction. The company offers a two-ring hob from its Cuisine Induction range at £3,538 and a four-ring model at £6,537.
But there is still the third objection - overcooking. Chefs have to learn to adjust cooking times, claims one who has made the switch to induction. It does a three-minute egg in two minutes, says Jim Wright, senior chef at RAF Finningley, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
"Even with a pan that is bigger than the ring, you can boil a gallon of water in eight minutes."
The ingrained chefs' technique of cooking everything on full power just doesn't work with induction cooking. Learning to use the precise temperature control and quick response offered by induction is time well spent, say the converts.
Case study: Aubergine,Park Walk, Chelsea, London
Gordon Ramsay, Newcomer of the Year in the Caterer & Hotelkeeper Awards 1995, has turned the Aubergine restaurant into one of the most fashionable in London.
Two months is the current waiting time for a Saturday night table at Aubergine, which opened two years ago.
Ramsay first saw induction cooking in action while learning his craft in Paris, and included a portable induction hob from Masters & Andren in the specification for the kitchen at his restaurant. "It's a very fast, efficient way of cooking. It's a flexible piece of kit that doesn't take up a great deal of space," he says.
Overcooking on induction equipment has not been a problem at Aubergine. "It's very easy to use. It's certainly powerful, so you would rarely have to turn it up all the way. I'd say any problems would be down to the skill of the user rather than the equipment," he adds.
One frequent use for the hob in Ramsay's kitchen is as a fast way of reducing purées and concentrates. "Something that could take all day on a conventional stove can be done very quickly indeed."
He has also found it useful when cooking away from the restaurant. "I wanted to prepare a special family meal at home. It was useful to be able to fold the hob down to briefcase size and take it away.
"It's also an elegant piece of machinery - and how many pieces of kitchen equipment are actually pleasant to look at? I'm certainly planning to buy more induction cooking equipment when funds permit."
Case study: Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road, London
Ricci Lee, catering manager at Moorfields Eye Hospital would recommend induction cooking, without hesitation.
Five years ago, after seeing a demonstration of induction cooking, Lane convinced the hospital to clear all the conventional cookers and to install four Stangard induction cookers, two four-hob and two two-hob models.
"The outlay was colossal, between £12,000 and £14,000. But we're saving at least 40% on our fuel bills, saving substantially on extraction costs, and saving on the cost of cleaning materials because you don't get the residues you do with gas. If they haven't paid for themselves already, they're well on the way," he says.
Moorfields is an in-house catering contract, serving up to 1,000 meals a day in the hospital restaurant. Although Lane was an immediate convert, it took his kitchen staff a little longer to get used to the new equipment.
"At first, the chefs were a bit anti. They couldn't see the heat, they couldn't feel the heat, and so they didn't think it was working. Now, although they wouldn't admit it to me, I don't think they would want to work on anything else."
More recently, a smaller Masters & Andren induction cooker has been installed in the restaurant's Call Order Bar, cooking omelettes and other meals to order over the busy lunch period.
Stangard has pulled out of the induction cooking market, and from the end of last month no longer offers servicing.
"That caused me a few headaches but I've now found a company that tells me it can service the equipment," says Lee.
