WHAT FOOD PREPARATION EQUIPMENT TO BUY?

What to look for

FRESHNESS has become a significant competitive weapon for a good many caterers, with the ability to prepare dishes directly in the kitchen from raw ingredients conferring considerable customer appeal. This is becoming apparent not just in quality restaurants and the wave of "new Asian" eateries but also at stylish quick service outlets dedicated to sandwiches, soups, juices and healthy eating.

The ability to prepare ingredients quickly on site - directly to order in the case of fresh juice bars and some sandwich outlets - not only permits the use of virgin ingredients but can also contribute to operational flexibility, minimum wastage and opportunistic buying. However, preparation equipment needs to be carefully selected and backed up by thorough training, safety and hygiene procedures. The tables here cover multi-purpose units which can take a variety of interchangeable attachments.

Bowl mixers

For pizza and bread dough, batter, dessert mixes and other combinations of liquids and dry materials, mixers are based on a geared planetary drive providing one or more fixed speeds, or belt drive giving variable speed control. Stainless steel bowl, beater, whisk and dough hook are usually included in the price. Some machines also enable other tasks to be carried out by plugging extra equipment into the main power drive.

Bowl mixer capacity partly relates to bowl size but also to the available power, which determines the maximum batch of material which can be worked. On larger mixers, power lift can help handle the bowl.

Turret-style veg prep units

For chopping, grating, shredding, crumbing, julienne cutting and other jobs involving vegetables and fruit in bulk, turret-loaded veg prep machines combine compactness, high output and versatility, thanks to the many interchangeable cutting discs available for use in their processing chambers.

Food processors

This covers a wide range of ingenious machines. The typical format is a removable bowl which fits onto a powered unit. The base of the bowl is fitted with a flat bladed knife to enable shredding, grating, slicing and crumbing. Food is fed into the bowl via the top (with appropriate lid safety interlocks) or a feed chute. The processed product is removed by emptying out the bowl (or via an output chute on some models).

Vertical cutter-mixer

VCM comprises a a drum - typically swivel-mounted to facilitate discharge - into which the food is sealed. A central shaft fitted with knives rotates at much higher speed than a conventional mixer, enabling very rapid cutting and mixing. Machines are made in a wide range of sizes up to 60 litres capacity.

Blenders

Blenders take two distinct forms: jug-type and stick blenders. Jug-type units or liquidisers are small table-top mixers able to produce purees, juices, iced cocktail ingredients and other small-batch prep jobs quickly. Units comprise a base unit with powered drive and a removable goblet with built-in rotating blade. Where units are employed in front-of-house situations (as in cocktail mixing) it may worth enquiring about sound-proofing enclosures or jackets.

Various kinds of juicing can also be carried out in a blender but for the popular citrus-based drinks, the usual answer is a small hand-fed machines designed to squeeze juice from fresh oranges one at a time. For higher volumes, large hopper-fed machines make the juicing process highly visible, with whole oranges held in a hopper on top of the machine fed through a series of squeezing gates.

Stick blenders are hand-held power units which take a range of attachments for whisking, beating, liquidising, blending or mashing ingredients directly in the cooking pan or other vessel. The smallest models are powered by re-chargeable batteries while larger models required mains connection. Instant stop mechanisms are essential in view of extra safety hazard posed by the unguarded attachment.

Slicers

Machines for slicing cooked meats, bacon and cheese combine a large circular revolving blade with a presettable thickness adjustment and come in manual and powered versions in a wide range of blade sizes from 200 to 400mm diameter. A blade diameter of less than 250mm (10 inches) is unlikely to be suitable for commercial kitchen work. If slicing a lot of cheese, a 350mm diameter blade is advisable.

Potato processing

Despite the inroads made by processed potatoes, dedicated appliances for peeling and chipping potatoes are still popular in some branches of catering, ranging from table-top units for small batches to large floor mounted machines with outputs of several hundred kg/hour.

Manual cutting tools

Not all jobs benefit from being powered. High water content salad-stuff like lettuces, capsicums and tomatoes - and most soft fruits - are quickly damaged in a powered machine. With heavy duty hand-operated cutting machines, each item of food is placed in position and manual lever action does the rest, in many cases achieving more consistent results than would be possible with a knife. Other widely used manual tools available in professional versions from the specialist suppliers listed include peelers and corers for apples, cheese graters and mandolins (which must be used with pushers)for jobs like julienne cutting.

For many other tasks, there is no alternative to a good quality sharp knife on a chopping board. Both items are now widely available in colour-coded versions to ensure minimal cross-contamination by matching equipment to task.

What to buy

Bowl mixers

Up to 60 litres. Planetary action, supplied with bowl.

SUPPLIER MODEL POWER BOWL LIST

SIZE PRICE from

Angelo Po A30 0.75kW 32ltr 1490

CAD/Kitchenaid K5 325watts 4.8ltr 395

CAD/Kitchenaid K50 325watts 4.8ltr 445

Caterbake FAGE 0.75hp 25ltr 973

Caterbake FAGE 0.75hp 32ltr 1100

Caterbake FAGE 1.5hp 45ltr 1475

Electrolux EL10 370W 10ltr -

Electrolux EL12 750W 12ltr -

Electrolux EM20 750W 20ltr -

Electrolux EM40 1100W 40ltr -

Hobart N50 1/6hp 5qts 1690

Hobart NCM10 13amp 8qts 1780

Hobart NCM20 0.37kW 20qts 3195

Hobart NCM30/40 1.1kW 30/40qts 5500/6050

Hobart H600 1.1kW 60qts 9690

Metcalfe SP100 1ph/2.3amp 10ltr 1295

Derek Wright VB-R 2hp 10ltr 1800

Zanussi 5LM 330watts 5ltrs 1014

Zanussi 10LM 370watts 10ltrs 2436

Zanussi 12LM 750watts 12trs 3255

Zanussi 20LM 750watts 20ltrs 3420

Zanussi 30LM 750watts 30ltrs 4638

Zanussi 40LM 1100watts 40ltrs 5606

Zanussi 60LM 1500watts 60ltrs 8764

Food processors (with cutter disc)

SUPPLIER MODEL POWER BATCH LIST DISKS

kW SIZE PRICE INCL.

Angelo Po TV1M 0.3kW 5kg 831 3

CAD/Ital Service TM1 0.5kW - 895 4

Hobart CC34 1kW 80portions 1280 6

Metcalfe CJ24 1ph/4amp N/A 1318 6

Robot Coupe R201 Bistro 2 1/3hp 2 litrs 505 2

(11 models)

Derek Wright Master 0.6hp - 1040 31

Zanussi Multi Green 350watts 1 kg 946 3

Zanussi TVO2 370watts 300kg/hr 1386 -

Turret-type veg prep machines

SUPPLIER MODEL POWER MAX. LIST NO.OF

kW OUTPUT PRICE from ATTs

Angelo Po Q3M 0.7kW 3ltrs 512 inc

Electrolux TO FOLLOW

Hobart VPU6 0.25kW - 1798 6

Hobart VPU206 0.37kW - 2590 6

Metcalfe CJ24 1ph/4amp N/A 1318 6

Robot Coupe CL30(6 models) 1/2 hp 70kg 918 23

Zanussi 25KC chopper 250watts 25kg/min 2187 7

Other prep machines

VERT C-M=vertical cutter-mixer)

SUPPLIER SLICER PEELER BLENDERS VERT MANUAL

juicers stick C-M CUTTER

Angelo Po l l l l

M.Gilbert l l l

Hanrow l l l l

Hobart l l l

IMC l

Magrini l

Metcalfe l l l l l

Mitchell & Cooper l l

Parry l

R.V.Rutland l

Robot Coupe l l l l

Sammic l l l l

Derek Wright l l l l l

Welbilt l

Zanussi l l l