Critical Mass

Cook-chill can improve workplace cleanliness and reduce employee stress

By Margaret Sheridan, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 8/15/2004

Savings from a cook-chill system are not limited to dollars and time. Other benefits include reduced stress for employees and greater flexibility in scheduling staff. Cook-chill promotes “synchronicity of people, product and machinery,” according to William Schaefer, director of the Bureau of Nutrition Services for the State of New York Office of Mental Health in Albany.

Cook-chill allows New York state to schedule production according to food deliveries.

The cook-chill facility at Orangeburg, N.Y., produces 30,000 pounds of food daily on a five-day schedule. Managers can rewrite schedules to accommodate deliveries and employee requests for time off. Product and crews are interchanged to produce any of the 150 items prepared at the plant. “You cook to inventory, not demand,’’ he explains.

Most critical in hiring is finding a production manager with expertise in scheduling, says Schaefer. Minimal training is needed for batch cooking because there are fewer complicated steps to master than when cooking from scratch. A production team of 24 operates Orangeburg in one shift, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. “The appeal of five-day work weeks and batch cooking help attract employees,’’ he says.

Uniform Quality
More-efficient production and increased savings were the goals nine years ago when management at Montgomery County (Md.) Public Schools agreed to spend $7 million on a new cook-chill operation. A bonus was happier students and foodservice staff. Kids praised the improved taste of favorites such as macaroni and cheese, marinara sauce and broccoli-Cheddar soup. Though recipes were basic, the cook-chill process ensures uniform quality through standardized preparation, says Kathy Lazar, director of food and nutrition services. The facility produces 33,000 preplated meals for 191 schools.

“The food has integrity,’’ she says. “No freezer burn. No ice crystals. It’s easier to change menus at the last minute. Just grab a bag of mac and cheese. There’s no thawing.’’

Batch cooking helps New York state’s kitchen schedule regular shifts.

Keeping It Clean
John Benke values cook-chill as a management tool. “It’s a solution to rising food costs and the decline in skilled labor,’’ says the vice president of operations for Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexho Defense Services, East Coast U.S. Marine Corps. He oversees the State of Tennessee Cook/Chill Production Center in Nashville, a $20 million facility where a five-day shift can produce 21 million meals a year. “Cook-chill allows operators to manage business centrally, to control food and labor costs,’’ he says.

Benke also sees staffing benefits. “It’s easier to manage employees because they’re not under deadline pressure,” he explains. “Batch cooking lacks the peaks and valleys of conventional preparation. In addition, hiring is less difficult. Most positions do not require a high level of skills.”

Another benefit: more orderly kitchen and production sites. “Using cook-chill, you have less litter from cartons and fewer water spills. In a from-scratch kitchen, you’re constantly cleaning up a mess.”

Smart Buy
Cook-chill excels in volume production of high-liquid foods (soups, gravy, stews and casseroles) or “any product you can stir or pump,’’ says Eugene A. Jacobs, a food facility consultant/engineer from Baltimore. “It’s not intended for fried foods or items that require crispness.’’ Daily production of 3,000 meals is the breakpoint for a cook-chill candidate, says Jacobs. Estimated time for return on investment—one to five years.