Necessary Steps
- Food components are cold stored in central or conventional kitchens.
- Cook Cold manufacturing takes place in their cooled kitchen spaces.
- Standardized recipes tested to apply for this type of manufacturing are to be followed.
- Cold and pre-processed raw materials are carefully weighed in accordance with the standardized recipes into GN containers.
- If the food is transported to the satellite kitchens, it can be stored there, and the necessary liquid is added to the food only before the food is cooked.
- The food is cooked just before serving, entailing the in-house temperature controls.
More Issues To Consider
Benefits:
- There is no manufacturing waste in the central kitchen, as pre-processed raw materials are used in cold cooking.
- Food waste is reduced when food is sent to the satellite kitchen based on an order, and it is possible to cook it in batches according to the number of customers.
- The food is of uniform quality because all GN containers have the same amount of ingredients based on weighing.
- The food is fresh and fragrant as cooking takes place in (satellite) kitchens. This increases customers’ appetite and appreciation of food cooked on site.
- The work of service kitchen staff is more meaningful when they can participate in the food preparation process and finishing.
- Cook Cold-prepared food does not need to be transported to the satellite kitchen daily, as the food can be well cold stored for 1 to 3 days (reduction in transport times).
- The use of labour, equipment and transport is efficient and planned due to the continuous manufacturing process and reduced transport times.
- Production process is smooth, of high quality, cost effective and environmentally friendly in many ways.
Challenges:
- Different recipes than other types of manufacturing are needed by Cook Cold method.
- Dishes that need to be stewed for a long time and the so-called piece goods (e.g. spinach pancakes, meatballs, fish sticks) are not suitable for the Cook Cold method. This can cause the menu to become one-sided, which means that other cooking methods or industrially produced piece goods are needed in parallel.
- Sufficiently low temperatures for manufacturing, storage, and transports.
- Cooling of the tap water to suit for Cook Cold method.
Requirements:
- Testing of standard recipes suitable for the Cook Cold method, proper space solutions and equipment, scheduled processes and training for the personnel.
- Well managed start of the Cook Cold method and its gradual expansion.
- Uninterrupted cold chain (food temperature remains the same throughout ≤ +3°C until the cooking takes place).
- There must be sufficient GN containers in the central kitchen due to reduced food distribution times and respective slower recovery of the containers.
- Informing employees, customers, and stakeholders in good time about the introduction of the new production method to ensure trust in the Cook Cold method and the organization of labour the method needs to operate. The same cloths can be used in hygienically descending order during the same cleaning route, such as food counter > table surface > chair surface.
