Manual or programmable? Rational’s SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency® ‘Cooking Processes’ offer a third way – and it’s better. 
With manual combi steamers, chefs can control every aspect of cooking. The problem is, they have to select the right cooking parameters and then check and monitor the whole process. Programmable models mean the chef simply pushes abutton and the combi takes over, following predefined cooking steps. But it all goes wrong if something outside the programme happens – such as the door being opened, a batch of vegetables that contain more moisture than usual, or the load being bigger than the programme assumes.
Now Rational offers a third way – the ‘Intelligent Cooking Process’. Like a programme, kitchen staff simply push a button, so it’s very simple. But unlike a programme, it intelligently monitors the food, adjusting the process for any change in circumstances.
It also adjusts the cooking parameters for the size of the load. With a programmable unit, kitchen staff have to hope it has the right programme for, say, the weight and number of chickens being roasted. No such worries with the Rational SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency. The Process adapts to whatever size load the unit is cooking.
So the cooking processes in the SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency combine the best of both worlds – they’re easy like a programme, but intelligent, too. In fact, they are even better than manual because, unlike a chef, a process can monitor the cooking all the time, every split second, and will continuously adjust the parameters to ensure results are perfect.
“Programme vs. Process is a bit like a car SatNav,” says Lee Norton, managing director of Rational UK. “With a standard version, you punch in the address and the programme takes you there. With a Traffic SatNav, it monitors your route and adjusts it to avoid problems such as congestion. Similarly, the SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency process monitors the food and adjusts cooking as required.”
The SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency has nine different cooking modes each with a whole range of processes. For example, under the ‘Grill/Pan Fries’ cooking mode there are processes for pan fried meat, grill, breaded, minute grills and finger food. The ‘Joints’ cooking mode includes processes for roast, braise, roast with crackling, soft roasting, overnight roasting and moist cooking. There are separate modes for poultry, fish, side dishes (vegetables etc), potato products, egg and desserts and baking. There is also a tenth cooking mode, ‘Finishing’, with Processes for, for example, plated banquets and bake off products.
“The SelfCookingCenter whitefficiency is the only combi oven on the market that offers intelligent Cooking Processes,” says Lee Norton. “It’s like having an extra chef in the kitchen.”
For information and brochures, or to arrange to come to a free SelfCookingCenter® whitefficiency® ‘Rational CookingLive’ seminar, contact your dealer, freephone Rational UK on 0800 389 2944 or call +44 800 389 2944. For product information and contact details see www.rational-UK.com. For information about Club Rational, including recipes and combi cooking tips, visit www.club-rational.com/gb.