In the case of Panasonic’s NE-SCV2 speed convection oven, it can replace the need for several items of equipment as it will grill, toast, bake, re-heat, fry, etc., and doesn’t need extraction, so can be located anywhere, in the smallest of spaces, enabling the traditional café choices of warm pastries with a crisp finish. And it’s stackable too, where others in its class are not!
Julian Urrutia and his team cater for mainly 25-35 year olds from The Skylobby Café. They serve around 320 breakfasts and lunches every day, the majority during the morning.
Julian says his main objectives are to ensure a smooth service for customers, making sure the standard of food is always high, while being innovative and on-trend. “One of our biggest challenges is keeping up to date with the latest concepts on the high street and ensuring our entire offer is competitive, from speed of service to style of food served. This is not without its obstacles; we have limited space, we are in an open plan area with no extraction, and queues can build quickly on busy days. Our most popular items are hot, freshly prepared grab & go items such as the ubiquitous Panini and toasties but our homemade chicken fajita and taco beef wraps, are among the top sellers.”
Prior to using the Panasonic SCV2 Julian had been coping with a Panini contact grill which was not only slow, but it also created smoke and a lot of smells, and the food was always presented squashed flat. He describes how the Panasonic SCV2 has helped improved service; “Since we’ve installed the SCV2, the benefits have been noted, one of those being how fast it cooks and with the internal grill, it also browns and produces a crisp finish, so customers are served quicker and the quality of the food is much better – nothing is squashed anymore! Thanks to the built-in catalytic converter, the SCV2 has no need for external ventilation, there is no smoke and no strong smells either. This was important as we are in an open atrium.”
So, has the Speed Convection Oven been a success? “Most certainly; we have been able to improve our service and enhance our menu,” says Julian. “Panasonic’s sales development chef, worked with us on developing the menu offer and as a result, we’ve been able to include items on the menu that we couldn’t previously! I would recommend this oven to others, its performance has exceeded expectations, our customers have commented on the improvements and our client has noticed the reduction in queue time during busy periods.”
To find out more about the range of Panasonic microwave ovens, call 01344 862444 or go to www.panasonic.co.uk/pro-cooking
