RATIONAL Technology, Explained

RATIONAL continues to grow its intelligent product offerings. Here, RATIONAL’s Executive Vice President for North America Simon Lohse takes a deep dive into what sets apart its products, from iCombi Classic and iCombi Pro to iHexagon and iVario Pro.

Q: How do the iCombi Classic and iCombi Pro differ, and how does each benefit operators?

A: Our iCombi Classic combines steam and convection heat into one machine. The steam comes from a steam generator—and it’s clean steam, which means there’s no flavor transfer when we’re using that steam function and combining that with convection heat. It’s a really good option for you if you currently have a steamer in your kitchen that you’d like to replace—then you basically get a convection oven for free. It offers that combination. With the iCombi Classic, it has manual settings, so the intelligence in the unit is limited. With the iCombi Pro, on the other hand, we’ve taken that combi technology from the iCombi Classic and we’ve added a lot of intelligence to it. With that intelligence, now we can create cooking paths, we can create recipes and we can use the intelligence to get really consistent results, time after time.

Q: How about the iHexagon? What sets it apart from the iCombi Pro?

A: With the iHexagon, we take the intelligent processes of the iCombi Pro and add adaptive microwave. So now we’ve got steam, we’ve got convection heat and we’ve got adaptive microwave. This is the only product in the world that has adaptive microwave on all six levels of the unit. This means we can cook between 30%-70% faster than an iCombi Pro, which is already around 40% faster than conventional cooking. So if you have particular customer requirements for a lot of food in a short period of time, then this is the product for you.

Q: What problems does the iHexagon solve for operators?

A: Traditionally in operations where food is precooked and then stored in a hot holding cabinet, not only does that degrade the quality of the food, but you also end up with a lot of food waste. That happens because you don’t know exactly what quantities you’ll be serving, and you essentially have to guess what your customers are going to be ordering. With the iHexagon, you’re cooking smaller batches much closer to the time of serving, so the reduction in food waste is really a major benefit to operators and that reduces costs considerably. This unit is also really good at air frying, so when it comes to chicken wings, fries and things like that, you can eliminate oil. That’s a big cost savings for operators, and of course, it’s much healthier in terms of the product that people are eating.

Q: Why would an operator want to opt for the iVario Pro over a traditional tilt skillet?

A: There are definitely advantages when it comes to both efficiency and energy usage, because the iVario Pro uses up to 40% less energy than a traditional tilt skillet. It also heats up to four times faster using ceramic heating elements that are made to uniformly distribute the heat. The iVario is not just meant to replace a tilt skillet, but also your deep fryer and other equipment, because it is a workhouse that’s capable of so many functions—not just boiling and pressure cooking but also deep-frying and pan-frying, and sous-vide, too.

Q: What should operators know about ConnectedCooking and now, Digital Service Manager, available on these products?

A: ConnectedCooking is our digital kitchen management solution. Multisite operators are able to use it on their mobile device to see what the units are doing across all their sites, and they can flash new menus and new cooking paths out across sites. That’s a big benefit, because you don’t have to visit each location and train each chef at each location. And linked to ConnectedCooking, Digital Service Manager revolutionizes the world of service. It allows you to monitor what’s going on in the unit. We can tell if a component is nearing the end of its life, or if the door seal, for example, needs replacing just by what’s going on in the unit. If there is a component failure, a service partner or the technician can dial in remotely through Digital Service Manager and ConnectedCooking and see exactly what they need to do, what parts they might need to bring, or often they can fix the problem by making an adjustment to the program or the software without even visiting the site. Uptime is really improved for the operator.