Thinking outside the box!

Taylor UK offers a range of options for caterers to avoid contamination when grilling and frying

Recent media reports have highlighted the issue around cross contamination when cooking meats and vegan and vegetarian food together. The big question concentrates on the dilemma for caterers’ kitchens who are constantly squeezed for space, how can they avoid cross contamination when cooking? Should there be a separate appliance for each food type? With budgets continually tight, Taylor UK believe they have a range of viable options for caterers looking to solve this predicament.

In terms of grilling, Taylor UK’s L-Series range of clamshell grills can prevent cross contamination. With a choice of three widths and a modular design, the L-Series can offer a combination of options in the same footprint as a larger single flat top. The independently controlled cooking zones not only offer superior grilling versatility, but importantly can provide caterers with the capacity to grill meat, vegetarian and vegan food in the same footprint, without fear of cross contamination.

For example, the L810 has 3 separate grill zones and as each zone works independently from the other ones it can allow caterers to cook meat products without having to heat grills that are on standby for vegetarian and vegan products and vice versa. Each grill has its own user-friendly touch-screen, which has been paired with programmable, intuitive software allowing 78 menu items per cooking zone. This not only avoids the issue of cross contamination but also reduces heat costs by only heating the zones required for cooking.

When it comes to fried food, Taylor UK’s Fast Chef Elite+ can be used as a secondary fryer for specialist food types such as vegan or vegetarian offerings. This fryer is small enough to be located on a counter top and, as it is ventless, fully automatic and self-contained, it can be placed almost anywhere without the need for expensive extraction. This makes it very versatile. The Fast Chef Elite, made by Quality Fry in Spain, is also very simple to use.

The operator simply places the food into the hopper at the top of the machine, pushes the relevant programme on the control pad, and then takes the fried product out of the hopper at the bottom once it’s cooked. The individual mode allows two separate 300g portions to be cooked at the same time, while a third one waits in the hopper at the top of the machine.

By using separate fryers, chefs can be confident that their vegan or vegetarian fried food has not been contaminated by meat products. Operating this way also minimises the risk of flavour transfer between batches of different foods and further extends the oil’s lifespan.  The results are crispy, golden fried foods, batch after batch.

David Rees, marketing manager of Taylor UK comments, “Cross contamination and allergen awareness are of increasing importance for caterers. It’s not just the preparing and ingredients that need to be monitored but also how items may be contaminated during the cooking process. Equipment like the Taylor L-Series and the Fast Chef Elite+ provide real alternatives for chefs working in busy kitchens.”

For further information on our entire range call free on 0800 838 896 to arrange a visit by one of our Area Sales Managers or send an e-mail at sales@taylor-company.co.uk

Contact us to arrange a FREE consultation with your local expert >>>