After a long day, all you might want to do is unwind and have a good dinner in the comforts of home but cooking is pretty much inconceivable. Fortunately, the modern man has been saved from this predicament by the microwave oven! Whether pre-cooked and chilled food or storebought ready-to-eat items, the microwave oven has become one of the most important electical appliance at home. It heats food fast and if using the right type of container, you will only need to wash one item (assuming you’re only one and have packed everything into a single tub) and in a matter of minutes, you have a hot meal. We have one Percy Spencer to thank when he invented the first microwave oven after World War II from radar technology during the war. By inducing the polar molecules in food to rotate and produce thermal energy in a process called dielectric heating, food can be heated up without you having to watch over a stove.
Isn’t that what a commercial kitchen can benefit from? Indeed, that was the thoughts of entrepreneur Christopher E. Tibbs when he introduced the world’s first commercial pure microwave oven in the 1960s. It became a prominent piece of equipment in cafes and bars of that era. Although weighing around 500 pounds and 5ft 8in tall, requiring two days for installation and start up, the Artica was commissioned by the Royal Navy for its battleships and British Rail for its trains – places that needed to serve quick meals to a sizeable crowd. Promising to provide “a meal in a moment”, the Artica was also employed in the London Trustee Savings Bank. More than 50 years for ward, Merrychef continues to improve on the technology and pursue perfection in providing accelerated cooking solutions to the market, accomplishing numerous breakthroughs as seen in the timeline:
EMBRACING THE MICROWAVE
The 500 pounder Attica has come a long way through Merrychef’s halls of research and development. Now fitting perfectly on a counter top, the rapid cooking oven combines cooking innovations such as convection heat, impingement air and microwave technology to cook up to 15 times faster. If you ever find that dough products reheated in a home microwave tend to get hard or dry out quickly, this is where the convection heating comes in. Together with air impingement that relies on small jets of hot air under pressure being forced around the food, the oven heats food 2-4 times faster than a conventional oven which means less evaporation and moisture loss for better browning and crisp without drying out.
The speed of its operations plays well with the quick-serve restaurant sector as it offers operators the equipment to prepare a wider menu for its customers without the need for a wider workspace. Think big breakfasts, a complete Western meal, a variety of sandwiches and many more. One can take pride in their culinary creations and with the right standard operating procedure (SOP); a Merrychef will be able to help you serve up the way the dish was meant to be. With consistency so important particularly in chain or franchise operations, its MenuKey® which is designed akin a “smart” automobile ignition key can be fitted into any of its current models and is able to immediately transfer up to 99, three-stage cooking programs into its memory.
Its eikon®series enables smaller establishments like kiosks, snack bars and cafes to offer a selection of grab-and-go hot food products to match its beveragecentric menu. The first manufacturer to use an icon driven touchscreen, it was very well received by operators who usually worry about employing untrained or unskilled personnel as the ease of use means anyone can work with it without compromising food’s quality.
The pioneer in express cooking has also improved its equipment by enabling light cooking to be done and its patented Planar Plume Airflow, a winner in 2012’s Kitchen Innovation Award, is combined with the microwave to cook up to 10 times faster. Planar Plume makes provisions for kitchens to prepare a range of fresh, chilled and frozen products with minimal footprint by sending hot air from the corners of the oven at a 45 degree angle towards the food. Compared to the regular circulation of hot air in a traditional convection system, the rapid flow of hot air surrounds the product and finishes the product evenly. A small machine like Merrychef can be operated almost anywhere because of its “ventless cooking” abilities that uses catalytic converter technology, eliminating the need for a ventilation hood while the heating pattern within reduces the build-up of grease which makes way for crisp, golden finish of food items.
PEOPLE FIRST, PRODUCT FOLLOWS
It is said that a smile is a universal language that initiates conversation and potentially invites the beginning of a platonic relationship where personnel listen intently and go all lengths to help customers optimise productivity, flexibility, skills and operational costs “to bring a smile on our partners’ faces”. It looks at customer benefits from three points – to lead, create and support. The triangle is in tandem with 12 characteristics and when embodied by its people will be infectious amongst customers as well.
• Partnership – We’re committed to teamwork to make great things happen.
• Empathy – We’re earnest about looking at things from our partners’ perspective.
• Dedication – We guarantee to go that extra mile to achieve common goals.
• Quality – We take our responsibility seriously, to deliver the very best. Full stop.
• Authenticity – We don’t pretend: we’re your calm, relaxed and genuine companion.
• Excitement – We bring the enthusiasm for fresh hot food on demand to the industry.
• Enjoyable – We’re fun to work with and promise to put a smile on your face.
• Enthusiastic – We achieve our goals with fresh motivation and true dedication.
• Collaborative – We act in a considered throughtful and approachable manner.
• Passionate – We love what we do – from the first flash of wit to the very last bit.
• Knowledgeable – We have the insights to meet your needs thanks to decades of experience.
• Resourceful – We deal promptly, skillfully and unconventionally with new challenges.
What are its tenets of ‘leading’? Experience that dates back to the 1950s means a long history of consumer analysis and a dynamism that is able to quickly identify changing needs of the market and work on providing solutions to customers resulting in the brand garnering respect from partners who say that they experience friendship rather than a commercial relationship with the brand. ‘Creating’ is interpreted through for ward thinking and challenging the regular in helping customers tell a unique story and deliver its promise to their end user. Naturally, it will be an exciting process for the company, clients and the end user to eventually experience results with a wow factor; warranting Merrychef to be described as ingenious. In the company’s eye, ‘support’ encompasses caring as a partner who is always willing to help by providing effective solutions. It also means being open and honest because trust from customers are paramount to its success and encourages its team to become more dependable.
FITTING INTO THE BUSINESS
The high speed oven has found favour amongst the foodservice community that operates on speed and quick customer turnover whereby food requires minimal preparation. Amongst Merrychef’s happy customers include:
Little Chef
Founded in 1958 , it ser ved food in little shops by Britain’s roadsides and as the motor way network expanded in the country, Little Chef grew in numbers as well and evolved to become lodges, it dabbled in catering business and eventually entered shopping centres and airport terminals. It continued to move with current times and worked with celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal to change customers’ thought of roadside restaurants. Recipes were tweaked and executed using the touchscreen eikonTMe3 with a two-touch pre-programmable easyToUCHTM screen, enabling consistent results in delivering over 100 food items across the country. Both reworked concept and implementation of the suitable equipment contributed to Little Chef’s induction into the Good Food Guide in 2010 and 2011. Said Caroline Wright, restaurant manager at Little Chef, Popham; “Merrychef supply a complete service, not just a piece of equipment. The new e3 is a dream, just press the pictoral icon and that’s it. Perfect quality food that’s fast but not fast food”.
Subway
Many of us (and the world) choose Subway for its wide range of sandwich combinations, quick service that still gives us a warm bun to savour. It is made possible with Merrychef’s speed ovens which are used to toast hot sandwiches like the popular Subway Melt®and the new eikonTM e4 is a big hit with Subway®. Echoing the sentiment, its Director of European Operations, Andrew McCulloch said; “Merrychef’s touchscreen, pictoral menu is great, the images are aligned with food images on our tills, it’s easy to update and the transition is seamless” and “the e4 helps us achieve our customer pledge to deliver sandwiches within two and a half minutes from order, whatever time of day”.
Topaz
Ireland’s largest fuel and convenience brand has over 330 stations across the country and with a ethos of “that’s better”, it is committed to increase the value of service, convenience and quality for its customer. And in expanding its offerings, Topaz Restore opened a deli-concept programme and engaged Merrychef because the oven is central to its food where quality and speed is emphasised. Its Retail Trading Manager, Patrice Reid added that “the ventless e4 has significantly reduced our costs. The easyTOUCHTM technology has drastically cut staff training requirements and the standby feature has reduced energy use by 25%”.
In conclusion, Merrychef has successfully taken the idea of this ubiquitous equipment that many of us have at home and innovated it to be on par with the rigours of the competitive and fast paced foodservice industry. Since the Attica, businesses across various segments in the industry have been able to enjoy an added dimension to their operations with the revolutionary accelerated cooking technology thanks to the foresight of Christopher E. Tibbs.
