The verb to “pacotize” might not have found its way into the dictionary yet, but when it does it will be yet another case of a brand name coming into everyday usage. The term was coined by the Swiss firm Pacojet, and the activity it refers to is now taking up its rightful place among the big trends of recent months, and appearing in various parts of the kitchens of gourmet restaurants everywhere. When it was first introduced, it referred essentially to the possibility to pulverise and homogenise food or create perfect desserts from frozen ingredients, now there is a new more hi-tech version. Through a new app, Pacojet offers various creative inspirations, suggestions and advice for recipes, which can also be shared with the team. It also offers an overview to efficiently monitor the pacotizing beaker inventory in the contents.

Another “virtuous” example of the opportunities that can arise out of a crisis comes to us – again from north of the Alps – courtesy of the Louis Tellier group, a French concern that specialises in the production of small items of equipment for catering professionals. The mission has been a reality in particular for the plant in Joué-lès-Tours, which makes pastry moulds for the Gobel brand, but which in the last few months has branched out into the manufacture of a pedal-operated stainless steel dispenser for hydro-alcoholic gel. Originally developed to ensure the safety of those working in the plant, the Louis Tellier “hygiene station” has now become a product in its own right that even appears in the brand’s catalogue. “I had been toying with the idea of a dispenser of this kind for a while, but put to a use that serves the community,” the industrial manager of the Louis Tellier group told French media. And then came the light-bulb moment: why not use the same device to satisfy the specific needs of the company’s traditional professional clientele, starting with the catering industry? And that is how it came about, production is proceeding at full tilt, and since last June we have delivered thousands of items.