Frozen Food, Microwave Ovens and Computers Are Changing Modern Restaurants

When I was a kid , growing up in the 1960’s and’70’s, frozen food, to me, meant TV dinners, tasteless cardboard pizzas and pot- pies. Back then, take- out, or fast food was limited mostly to burger joints. But like society itself, people’s tastes and lifestyles change. Accordingly, the restaurant business has, sometimes stubbornly, changed to suit the needs of busier, more food- sophisticated customers. With the vast array of prepared- food outlets confronting the hungry consumer today, the restaurant business is facing stiffer competition than ever. Meals that in the past, were reserved for special occasions, can be readily found, hot, fresh and packaged ‘to go’ at almost any supermarket today. With the abundance of single- person households and ever- harried work schedules, supermarkets across America have installed fully- equipped commercial kitchens and regularly hire Culinary school- graduate chefs to operate the highly profitable take- out food departments. Strolling through the prepared- foods sections of grocery stores virtually anywhere today provides a mouth- watering tour of culinary delights. Beef burgundy, chicken marsala, Vegetable lasagna, Sole almondine and even prime rib bask in almost- elegant black entree containers and reusable, sturdy plastic bowls.

Because of an increasingly competitive market, restaurant kitchens have adopted practices that years ago, would have been unheard of. With the dramatic increase in quality of many frozen foods over the years and the expanded services of several nationwide food- service/ distribution companies such as SYSCO and US Foodservice,chances are good that the steak, shrimp, or chicken being served at many popular and higher- end restaurants is indeed, a frozen item. High quality standards and proper handling ensure that the frozen item on your plate is as good as, if not better than the ‘fresh’ alternative. Having spent most of my adult life cooking in restaurant kitchens and using both fresh and frozen equivalents, I have more confidence in the freshness of many packaged frozen items over their fresh counterparts. The reality is that, with ‘flash’, or instant freezing, these items are fresh. they are just in a state of suspended animation , as it were. The use of portioned frozen products means less waste. With many fresh products, the shelf (or refrigerator ) life is very short. If the product does not sell, the restaurant takes a loss and has to dispose of it. With the use of frozen products, the waste factor is virtually eliminated. No matter if the kitchen needs two T- bone steaks or four dozen stuffed shrimp, the portioned frozen items provide consistency and quality and help to keep food costs lower, which helps keep menu prices from rising. Of course, frozen food needs to be thawed. According to the USDA, there are only three safe and acceptable means of thawing food. A) In cold water 40* or less . B) In the refrigerator. or C) In the microwave oven.

In today’s restaurant kitchens, microwaves’ are an indispensable apparatus. Not to say that microwaves are usually used for cooking, but, they certainly come in handy when some butter needs to melted in a hurry, or a blueberry muffin needs a little warming. In fact, at the upscale bistro where I recently line- cooked, even the luxurious $ 10.00 creme brulee’s were heated in the microwave before serving. While it is likely that the waitperson taking your order still uses a pen or pencil to write it down, many times, if not usually, the orders are typed onto a computer keyboard, which relays them to small printers located at strategic stations in the kitchen. Clean, legible food- orders replace poor penmanship and inconsistency, leading to more efficiency. For years, I have maintained that the restaurant busines is one of the only ones left, where you can knock on the back door to inquire about employment and find yourself wearing a chef’s- coat 20 minutes later, manning the fryalator. While this remains true, to some extent, like all businesses today, the restaurant industry is both welcoming and adapting to technology in many different forms. Regardless of scientific advances, however, the ultimate goal of restaurateur and patron alike is to be served a high quality, fresh and delicious meal. ENJOY !