A VOTE OF THANKS

“We are huge fans of Eastern Food Equipment and use them almost exclusively for all of our equipment needs. Tom Hamberis is probably the most knowledgeable and insightful person that I have met in this field. He has the ability to understand the complex set of needs for our businesses, and find the best equipment for us. Additionally, he will tell us if less expensive equipment is actually a better fit for us. This is not true for his competitors.”

Frank Scibelli

Mama Ricotta's and Cantina 1511

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BRAISING PANS

Braising pans continue to be one of the most versatile pieces of equipment in commercial kitchens today, handling grilling, and sautéing, steaming, frying, braising, poaching and simmering of a wide variety of menu items with ease. Sauces, soups, meats, pasta and rice dishes, fish and seafood, vegetables—all can be prepared to perfection in a braising pan, one versatile piece of cooking equipment claiming only a small portion of valuable kitchen counter space. The Cleveland SET-15 braising pan unique round design enables chefs to create sauces, grill meats or offer stir-fried dishes quickly to meet a la carte or batch demands, and then move on quickly to the next preparation with fast recovery. This braising pan is truly a workhorse in the kitchen, cooking an almost endless variety of dishes.

ROTISSERIE OVENS

What goes around comes around, they say, and nowhere is that more true than with rotisseries.  We humans have been roasting meat on rotating spits since we learned how to make fire.  

Widely used in Europe for roasting birds, rotisseries gained notice here 20 years ago when the Boston Market chain was founded. With the advent on home meal replacement in foodservice, supermarkets were next to invest in rotisserie cooking. 

Nowadays, you can see spit-roasters in operations ranging from cruise ships and corporate cafeterias to mom-and-pop restarants.

Rotisseries continue to gain ground for a couple of key reasons.  Customers perceive them as a healthier way to cook.  And they're a great way to show off an operation's cooking, at least some of it.

Versatility's a good reason to look at them, as well.  In addition to whole chickens, turkeys and roasts, some operators are using these machines for roasting fish and even vegetables.

Rotisserie-style cooking even has specialty niches.  A recent trend has been the growth of churrasco barbecuing, the Brazilian method of grilling meats on spits.  And more traditional barbecue uses rotisserie smokers to slow-cook brisket, pork, turkey and a host of other cuts for true barbecue.

More common rotisserie ovens range from small countertop units capable of roasting one to three whole chickens to gigantic units that can hold up to 80 3-lb. birds.  Typical full-size rotisseries hold around 30 to 40 birds.  They come in all sorts of configurations and are available in electric, gas, solid-fuel and combination units.

As reported by Mike Sherer in Foodservice Equipment Reports July 2006.