Thanks to advanced technologies, cooking systems are making the work of kitchen staff easier, including through remote solutions, but always with special attention to sustainability and to reducing consumption.
 
The foodservice industry is changing and so are consumers, who are taking an ever greater interest in learning new things, seeking out places where they can find wholesome food that is prepared in a sustainable way, reducing the environmental impact to a minimum. “The challenge now, as I see it, is to prepare great dishes, using healthy ingredients, using as little energy as possible,” says Mario Moretti, CEO of Moretti Forni. “Environmental sustainability is extremely important to us. We have been researching into ways of achieving it since 2011, and now our products consume between 30% and 40% less than those of our competitors. Our oven offers versatile baking of everything from croissants to pizzas, and the establishments where they are installed can work efficiently, without interruption, from breakfast to after dinner. This makes it possible to see higher and quicker returns on investments with a single appliance that meets all needs.”
Moretti sees the future of the foodservice as sustainable, hi-tech and innovative.
 
Sustainability, environmental protection, a reduction in waste, a shorter supply chain, but also the technological development of kitchen equipment to aid chefs, who find themselves managing increasingly “hybrid” locales offering a range of different things to cater to the needs of customers are the directions in which the foodservice sector is heading, according to Enrico Ferri, CEO of RATIONAL Italia. He has his own idea about how the future will be: “Opening hours will become more and more flexible to adapt to new lifestyles and family patterns that are starting to call into question the rigid traditional structure of three meals a day. Customers are looking for quick solutions, but ones that are varied, healthy and high quality, to eat in or to take away. So the catering industry will be appearing in more and more supermarkets and particularly in delicatessen sections, where spaces for customers to enjoy a quick ready meal are becoming increasingly prevalent.”

It is also interesting to note how smart cooking systems now offer a higher level of productivity and flexibility in the kitchen. “They can boil, stew and bake, but also roast, grill or fry. They can prepare ragouts or roast meat overnight, enabling chefs and restaurateurs to optimise their time and resources. Our web-based solution is proving particularly popular with young chefs, because it enables them to start and remotely monitor the cooking process from a smartphone, regardless of where they themselves actually are.”

Ferri believes that the future of the food service industry will be all about smart equipment, energy saving and sustainability.