Cook-chill processing/packaging 'hotter' than ever

By Donna Hood Crecca

Bill Doyle recalls filling and heat sealing bags by hand, then chilling them in a converted egg washing vat filled with ice water at a New Jersey soup manufacturing plant he ran briefly in the early ‘90s. Not very efficient, but it got the job done.

Ah, those were the days, when small operators had to devise their own systems for rapidly cooling product. Today, Doyle oversees production of 3,000 meals daily at New York-Presbyterian Medical Center using a mammoth cook-chill system. He also consults for some equipment companies and bears witness to the growing number of compact cook-chill and blast-chill systems now available to foodservice operators producing smaller quantities than he does.

"Anyone who is looking to operate with a minimum of skilled employees, is concerned about product consistency and of course, food safety, can get into cook-chill," he says.

Safety measures
Food safety is indeed the primary driver behind this trend, and small-volume operators are pushing manufacturers to develop equipment that meets HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) requirements as well as their own product capacity and physical space specs.

FDA recommendations and HACCP guidelines dictate that hot food be cooled to 70 degrees within two hours and reach 40 degrees within the next four hours to adequately retard the microbial action that causes food borne illnesses (FBI). Hot food placed in refrigeration units such as walk-in coolers, which are actually designed to store cold foods, not pull heat out of hot foods, can take as long as eight to 18 hours to reach acceptable temperatures—presenting an unacceptable risk.

"When a food-borne illness incident occurs, the press knows it immediately and then the whole world knows it," says Dr. Peter Healy, Ph.D., food safety expert and consultant. "Everyone wants to avoid causing illness and being hit with lawsuits, no matter how large or small their operation. For a small, mom-and-pop restaurant or deli, a lawsuit like that can ruin them."

Cook-chill systems involve cooking food to a just-done or just-underdone state, immediately and quickly cooling to below 40 degrees, storing between 34 and 38 degrees, typically in sealed film pouches. This approach is ideal for soups, sauces, stews, gravies, batters, Jell-O and other semi-liquid items with small solid particles. Blast-chill equipment circulates cold air around conventionally prepared food to rapidly reduce the core temperature. A range of items can be blast-chilled, and the units are particularly effective for reducing the risk of FBI in cold salads and produce dishes.

A key feature of both types of chill systems is the ability to document temperature progression. Most systems digitally track temperature, and many store the data and/or are able to print a report. This provides necessary documentation, not only to reassure staff they're offering safe product, but as proof of due diligence in the face of a lawsuit.

Debunking the myths
For the smaller operator to make the leap into cook-chill and blast-chill production, some misconceptions must be dispelled.

• It's heated leftovers. "Clearly it's not," says Healy, "But that's how cook-chilled food is sometimes perceived because it involves a partial cook and pasteurization, then rapid chill and finish cook phase. In reality, cook-chill product is fresh food because it's small batches, rapidly cooled at the peak of flavor and stored properly."
  
• It's for large-volume only. With a ring stand for filling sealable plastic bags and an ice bath, operators of any size can achieve rapid chill, but today's leading equipment manufacturers offer blast-chill systems starting at 35-pound capacities that take a few as five trays.
  
• It's expensive. At first glance, yes. A complete cook-chill system can warrant a six-figure investment, but a simple system can cost under $1,000. Smaller blast-chillers range from $6,500 for 45-pound model to $20,000 for the 120-pound units. Users and manufacturers alike cite labor savings and waste reduction as major ROI centers, in addition to improved product quality and food safety.

"The resistance and misconceptions about cook- and blast-chilling are dissipating as operators are coming to understand HACCP," says J. Rick Hart, business development manager for Traulsen & Co., the Fort Worth, Texas-based equipment manufacturer. "For a lot of operators, implementing HACCP is expensive and difficult. Once they realize the documentation chill systems provide, the simplicity of operation and the efficiency benefits in terms of reducing waste, they see the value."

"Everyone is cooking and chilling, they're just not all doing it safely," says Susan Barnett, director of national accounts for Cres Cor, based in Mentor, Ohio. "If they're doing it correctly with ice baths, it's a labor issue. If they're doing it incorrectly in the cooler, it's a safety issue. These units are appealing on so many levels."

Soup's on
The cook-chill system on display at Hale & Hearty Soups in lower Manhattan's Chelsea Markets has attracted attention since 1996, driving guests into the 25-seat soup, salad and sandwich eatery. But owner and executive chef Jonathan Schnipper says that's just the tip of the benefit iceberg for his eight-unit chain:

• Product consistency. "As we expanded, we considered preparing the soups at each location, but quickly realized we'd have eight different versions. With this system, our customers get the same great soup no matter which restaurant they're in," he says.
  
• Product quality. The soup is immediately chilled in a manual ice bath at the peak of ingredient flavor.
  
• Food safety. Hale & Hearty produces from 700 to 1,200 gallons daily at the Chelsea Market location and transports bagged product to the other seven restaurants around New York City. "It's in sealed, sturdy bags, which is convenient, and we know it was chilled properly," says Schnipper. "In our six years of operation, we've never been called with a food-borne illness complaint. It gets there safely."
  
• Shelf life. While Hale & Hearty sells everything it makes within one to two days, knowing product shelf life could be extended to seven to 12 days thanks to the cook-chill system may come in handy as the company expands into other cities in the next few years.

South Washington County Schools in Cottage Grove, Minn. are also enjoying operating efficiencies, safe transportation and the reassurance of offering safe product to the district's 15,500 students. In 1998, director of food and nutrition services Barbara Osthus oversaw the implementation of cook-chill systems at the district's two central kitchens.

"We serve six elementary schools and three schools will be added this year," says Osthus. "The cook-chill equipment enables us to produce spaghetti sauce, taco meat and other items in one location and ensure food safety as the product is shipped to the schools. We had been using freezers and coolers—going in and constantly stirring it until it cooled—but the risk to the employee of repetitive motion and heavy lifting was too much. Not to mention the risk of food borne illness for the students."

Coming into the cold
Single-location restaurants can also enjoy the benefits of cook- and blast-chill systems. "Say a small restaurant wants to make Osso Buco as a special," offers New York-Presbyterian's Doyle. "They can make it once, blast-chill five pans and use it within the week. There's no need for the chef to prepare it daily."

One Traulsen account offering high-end meat products found its blast-chiller reduced waste, according to Hart. "They offer pastramis and the like on a hot food line, and knew they couldn't put the day's leftovers in the walk-in and expect to sell them safely. Their waste was tremendous. With the installation of a blast-chiller, they save the product and realize a profit, not a loss," he says.

More and more hotels, such as Trump's Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, are using cook-chill systems to prepare signature sauces, and supermarkets are even entering the Arctic zone. Eleven-store Heinen's Supermarkets of Cleveland, Ohio, for example, uses compact blast-chillers for its prepared food operations.

As cook- and blast-chill equipment sizes and price tags come into line with the needs of smaller-volume operations and the movement to comply with food safety recommendations grows, this equipment will undoubtedly find a place in more types of foodservice venues. Doyle predicts, "you'll see a blast chiller in every kitchen within five years."

Cres Cor's Barnett agrees. "As state regulators are increasingly requiring HACCP compliance, you will see more blast chillers. Soon U.S. kitchens will look like their European counterparts, where blast-chill and often the cook-chill system is the cost of entry because of government mandates."

"Cook-chill is an old-fashioned idea that looks new because of the equipment now available," notes Hale & Hearty's Schnipper. "But it's all about offering a safe product."