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WHY and HOW COME
Some ten years ago, I was in an R & D Kitchen of one of the major chains in our country. The Food Application Manager presented a problem they were having and would like to solve. As it went, they wanted to be able to serve a side order of pasta with their seafood dinners. They wanted to prep plates of pasta and sauce ahead of time and have them refrigerated and rethermalize the order when the seafood was ready to be served. They had 1400 watt Litton Microwave ovens. With this method, the plating preparation could be done by entry level people, thus saving on labor and making the entire operation more efficient. The problem was, that starches heat faster in the microwave than oil or water, and by the time the pasta sauce got up to 160 degrees, the pasta heated beyond it’s palatability and would be ruined. To solve this problem "The Souper 1 Step" was designed to utilize the cooking patterns of the microwave more to our advantage and thus reversing the activity on the starch and sauce. With the "Souper 1 Step" the sauce heats faster than the Pasta, thus allowing the operator to stay in control and maintain the integrity of the Pasta. The " Souper 1 Step" allows the dinner to be reheated simultaneously, yet both the Pasta and the sauce are still separate, allowing for the dinner to be presented in the traditional manner.
Traditionally, sauces are extensions of "Mother Sauces". As
you’ll see in our demonstration, we show an offering
of a Marinara sauce. This satisfies the vegetarian and also serves as the
"Mother Sauce". Next, we offer a pepperoni, sausage, bacon, chicken and seafood.
Each made available by just adding the protein to the Mother sauce.
The flavors permeate through the sauce...
...and it becomes it’s own signature sauce!
Now, when the "Souper 1 Step" is filled with sauce (8, or 10oz portions), part B is fitted and voids out the cold center, pushing the sauce up the side. The area that’s voided is then filled with the 8-10oz of starch and then the lid is placed over the entire container. An area in Part B looks like a pouring spout, but instead is a vent that allows steam created by the sauce to vent back over to the top of the pasta. For pasta I have found that most restaurants serve equal parts of pasta and sauce, 8oz of sauce and 8oz of pasta. Now, if you add 2oz of pepperoni to the sauce the result is an 18oz dinner. Garnish with cheese and fresh herbs.
Microwaves are absorbed into the food about an inch to an inch and a quarter. The sauce is three quarters of an inch, thus defusing the activity on the pasta. Now the sauce heats first and the pasta second thus putting the operator in control. If the pasta is el dente, it is served the same, as no additional water is absorbed.
The units may be filled and placed under refrigeration. The "Souper 1 Step" will fit four deep in the cooler and stack two high allowing for, say, eight units of each sauce you want to offer. If one is offering an Alfredo sauce it is good to alternate rows to create a color code to distinguish between offerings. See our example here. Maybe add bacon to Alfredo or chicken or both. Now the reheating becomes entry level and the Chef can go about creating other great entrée’s. Once the Souper 1 Step’s are filled you have six days to sell them. With that, there is very little loss.
With being in the restaurant business for thirty years, I also experience the hassles that come with soup offerings. I would have the soup pot filled to handle lunch and by the time it was closing time the soup had reduced to a point that it would have to be discarded or taken home. I used to give my left over soup to my laundry man the next morning. When he couldn’t eat that much soup, I started to give it to the fire hall. Then, they couldn’t eat that much soup. Now, with the "Souper 1 Step I can offer four or five different soups or as many as I would like, just by using this great tool and keep each of the soups refrigerated until needed and then microwave them. With the cold center voided out it takes half the time to heat and it’s done in a 1 Step operation. The soups also have a six day self life and will be served as fresh as when first placed in the frig. If you offer five or six soups, they too are color coded and take the serving of soups, along with the serving of pasta, to a level of non confusion.
In using the "Souper 1 Step" for pasta and for soups, right away you get two burners back and can eliminate the power keeping the soup pot going all day. I never had a Chef that was behind that didn’t say "if I had two more burners I wouldn’t be behind."
I found that any equipment I purchased to increase our
efficiency cost thousands of dollars. Our Souper 1 Step system is a very
cost-effective means to increase not only your efficiency, but also your
productivity
and your bottom line!
The "Souper 1 Step" is made to last, of a space age resin that can handle 460 degrees. Food can be frozen and placed directly into the microwave if desired. It is dishwasher safe and stays crystal clear. The photos on our website clearly illustrate what has been mentioned.
Check our Gordon Foodservice Demonstration and see many complimenting products that make things even easier to develop a great pasta and soup menu.
To more fully understand how the ‘Souper 1 Step" works, may I recall, each time we would heat a bowl of soup or chili we could see the chili boiling all around the outside edge of the bowl. We would stop after a couple minutes and stir the hot chili from the edge into the cold center to equalize the heat and then give it a couple more minutes. We would continue that process as many times as required. When part B is inserted, it voids that cold center out and forces the chili up the side. Now, the outer edge is the only place where there is chili. When heated, it only needs to be heated once because there isn’t any cold center to stir. Thus, saving those couple extra stirring steps. The "Souper 1 Step" is marked on it’s side for levels of soup or sauce of 8, 10 and 12oz portions. All that’s needed is a ladle 8, 10, 12 oz’s. Part B holds up to 10oz.’s of Angel hair pasta, a little less with the heavier pasta’s like Fettuccini, 8oz’s.
The "Souper 1 Step" is built to last quite a long time. It’s not a toy; it is a viable commercial product, meant to withstand commercial use.
One more thought, most microwaves will hold four "Souper 1 Step’s" at once. It takes about eight minutes to heat four complete dinners, all with different sauces for a four top table.
No Waste!
-Bob Green
inventor of the Souper 1 Step
bob@kreativekoncepts.com
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See Gordon's Foods for more info on their products! |
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