The winners of the 2023 Kitchen Innovation Awards were revealed by the National Restaurant Association Show last month, with twenty pieces of cutting-edge equipment receiving the award.
The awards were chosen by a panel of eight industry experts. We followed up with two of the veteran judges to determine the most prominent tendencies they observed in this year’s crop.
Dan Bendall, the principal of Food Strategy Inc., a foodservice design consulting firm, stated that reducing labor costs was the most important factor. The bulk of successful products have labor-saving features, with robotics and AI at the forefront of the trend.
Bendall stated that a winner such as the French fry robot from Atosa tackles both the manpower scarcity problem in fast food outlets and the issue of uniformity.
“You do not need to consider if a high school student would overcook or undercook the fries,” he stated. In addition to a dispenser and dump station, the equipment is an all-in-one solution.
Richard Eisenbarth, retired president of the consulting firm Cini-Little International, categorized 16 of the 20 winners as labor-saving and 12 as using artificial intelligence.
“AI has received more consideration than ever before,” stated Eisenbarth. “Last year, at the conclusion of COVID, several firms took a break from technological development. But, technology is once again a focus.”
Bendall concurred that technological innovation is more serious and sophisticated. Some years ago, it was much more graphic. He referenced a combi oven with a chicken picture next to a button as an illustration. To cook the chicken, a kitchen staff need only press this button. Now, the equipment is configured to do duties autonomously.
The winning combination oven of this year, the ConvoSense, identifies the food as it is loaded and executes the appropriate cooking program automatically.
But, there were also a few low-tech submissions that received the judges’ admiration. Bendall and Eisenbarth are supporters of T&S Brass and Bronze Works’ UltraRinse. It is a spray nozzle that connects to a faucet and dispenses water from many apertures along its length. The outcome is a simpler and more comprehensive method for rinsing fruit and thawing meats.
Bendall stated, “This product is accessible and inexpensive even for mom-and-pop businesses that cannot invest in robots, yet it saves time and encourages cleanliness.”
Eisenbarth identified seven awards that addressed sanitation and safety, a pattern that has acquired significance post-pandemic. His favorite shampoo was Taylor Hydra Rinse. It fits on soft-serve or shake equipment and cleans it in a single step without requiring disassembly. Eisenbarth stated, “It’s a game-changer.”
Two items that maintain food safety through temperature management were also selected overall. ImmersaFlex, a gadget that generates water convection for rapid thawing, and a new saute station from Kwick Cool with dual temperature settings to retain food at a safe temperature in the pan until it is ready to cook.
Eisenbarth stated that this year’s advancements in safety and sanitary equipment were more than evolutionary; they were really revolutionary. “And when you consider the ROI, each has the potential for a speedy return on investment.”
Space conservation was another prevalent theme among the twenty winners. Eisenbarth and Bendall were particularly impressed with Hobart’s two-tier undercounter dish machine. It is the first time that a two-rack variant has been designed to have a modest footprint.
Sustainability was not as prominent in this year’s submissions as it had been in the past, while labor, time, and space savings gained prominence. Waste reduction and other eco-conscious considerations may now be the implicit goal of every new piece of equipment, but it’s a safe bet that manufacturers will investigate technology and AI in the future to better solve these difficulties.
Bendall stated, “Manufacturers are not pulling down on innovation.” “We were happy to see so many recipients, as we evaluated three times as many as the twenty winners. These companies seek actual innovation, not only refinements.”
Network Hype Team