The Culinary Institute of America relies on blast chillers in the pastry kitchen, where they safely cool custards.

Blast chillers—and indeed, all components of cook-chill systems—are seen more typically in high-volume operations that churn out massive quantities of food. Upon the advent of cook-chill, schools, hotels, institutions and central-processing kitchens found they could use the fail-safe systems to prepare large batches of cooked foods and then cool them quickly to safe temperatures inside airtight or vacuum-sealed containers.

In addition to reducing microbial growth and controlling costs via labor reduction, waste minimization and shelf-life extension, blast chillers can boost product consistency and preserve flavor and texture. These benefits are part of what led Osteria Via Stato to add a blast chiller to its kitchen-equipment lineup.

It’s a key back-of-the-house component, says Brandon Wolff, chef de cuisine for Osteria Via Stato, whose menu includes diver scallops with charred onions and arugula, and short ribs in red-wine sauce served with melted leeks and organic carrots. “We use the blast chiller primarily to cool sauces, soups and other recipes to proper temperature,” Wolff says.

The system’s flavor-preserving properties are invaluable, he notes, but the blast chiller also boasts another operational advantage: “It does save a little on labor because we don’t have to take the time to fill sinks with ice water and constantly stir to bring the temperature down,” he says. Wolff finds the blast chiller especially effective—and safe—for rapid cooling. “It brings the temperature down and out of the danger zone very quickly once the product is put inside.”

Medium-size facilities also find a lot to gain from cook-chill setups. “We use it as much as any oven, grill or proofing box,” says Francisco Migoya, assistant professor at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Migoya adds that the blast chiller is employed most often in pastry applications. “For example, it cools down ice-cream bases in a fraction of the time a traditional ice bath would,” he says. “When we make cakes, the inserts or internal components need to be rock-hard for assembling ... so that when the cake is finished and thawed, all the layers are tight and clearly defined.”

The University of Texas at Austin uses cook-chill for grab-and-go production.

Despite his reliance on the blast chiller, there are some applications for which Migoya finds the item’s use less than convenient. “I don’t really like to use it to cool down baked goods,” he says. “Some pastry chefs do, but it is important for baked goods to cool down naturally and at room temperature to fully develop their texture and flavor.”

The Miami-based Royal Caribbean cruise-ship line has a staggering 24 on-board cook-chill systems, employing two types of units from two manufacturers. “We have no commissary—everything is all done on ship—and you cook for the whole day since people are eating for 24 hours,” says Fritz Halbedl, Royal Caribbean’s consultant for food and beverage quality assurance and equipment.

Halbedl, who helps oversee preparation of about 25,000 meals per day, says that cook chillers are among the most important pieces of equipment in the kitchens. “We use cook-chill mostly for anything with a liquid base—stews, sauces, soups and cream- or other liquid-based products—because those things are so difficult to get cooled down,” says Halbedl, adding the systems also cool whole pieces of meat. “We’re able to [quickly] chill large amounts of product down to 38F,” he says. “With an internal probe, the units can chill a cooked prime rib [for example] automatically to the set, required temperature.” (Hazard-analysis and critical-control-point, or HACCP, procedures dictate how quickly hot foods must be cooled.)

Although the Royal Caribbean team acknowledges that cook-chill systems have a labor-saving upside, that’s not the main reason the team relies on them. “It simplifies procedures for the workers, but it’s not really a labor saver [for us]—you have to use some kind of [quick-chilling] procedure anyway—but it is a food-safety device,” Halbedl says. “You can reach and be within the guidelines of safe temperature and pH. We use it for our HACCP program, since anything cooled down must be regularly monitored from the item’s highest temperature point to the lowest.”

Scott Meyer, associate director for food service at the University of Texas at Austin, plans to bring in a cook-chill system as part of his department’s expansion. When he joined the staff at UT-Austin, one of the largest universities in the world at more than 50,000 students, the Housing and Food Service division was bringing in only about $160,000 in revenue a year. He helped the operation grow exponentially, and it now yields around $4 million annually. Meyer helps oversee the production of approximately 1.2 million meals served annually in three dining areas, as well as 3.8 million served in two residence halls and four retail areas—one of which is a 15-restaurant food court. He also guides purchasing for campus three c-stores.

Meyer realizes that improving those numbers won’t be possible without adding a cook-chill operation to the production facility. A big investment, he is intent on making the best decision for his facility. “I’m going to manufacturers’ demonstrations and have made local manufacturer reps aware that we are looking,” he says. “They line up demonstrations for us.”

What Meyer wants from his system is high quality, low energy use and the quickest chill. “It has to be able to bulk-cook for multiple locations, of course,” he adds. He expects that having a cook-chill system in place will help “in terms of time-saving, labor-saving and HACCP, and [that] when [items] are reheated, they’ll be a better-quality product.” Meyer anticipates that the new cook-chiller will allow him to hold products for five days instead of three, save labor by allowing kitchen staff to cook in bulk and improve and preserve taste while providing consistent product across multiple locations.

Contact writer at riedit@reedbusiness.com