What is blast chilling?

Jan 2

Blast chillers are different to regular freezers because they minimize the size of ice crystals that form in the freezing process. This minimizes potential damage to the food that can be caused by the presence of large ice crystals with safe consistency.

This not only provides market-best food safety but massively improves time and cost efficiencies in commercial kitchens of all sizes.

The bigger the kitchen the bigger the potential efficiency gains, which is why blast chillers are found in many hotels, patisseries, and a certain tech firm with a higher GDP than Switzerland.

But did you know that blast chilling is actually a requirement for all restaurants within the EU? So blast chilling isn't just for the big boys - it's for any establishment that cares about quality and food safety.

If you don't believe us, listen to these chefs from Chicago - the home of "mom and pop" restaurants where everyone has to have a different flavour.

Who are Firex?

A world of continuously-evolving solutions able to respond quickly to the new requirements of a market in continuous development: we are attentive to the technological innovations of the sector and the needs of a highly qualified and demanding clientele, offering state-of-the-art cooking systems that are efficient and high-performing.

Selling Point #1: Minimize food waste

To run a commercial kitchen is to continuously race against time. You estimate the volume of food you need to produce to meet demand by service time.

This situation is a recipe for food waste as it's safer to over-produce rather than risk not being able to put food on the table.

However, by preserving ingredients and dishes to pristine levels for a long time, food service businesses gain a number of cost-cutting opportunities.

Buy more in-season produce

Keep food stored freshly for much longer so you can use them in a later service with no drop in freshness

Cool ingredients faster so you can respond to changes in demand and not miss opportunities

Selling Point #2: Maximise food safety

Australia has some of the strictest food safety rules in the world, but for good reason. These rules protect the reputation of the local hospitality industry and contribute to the domestic and international demand for the Australian culinary scene.

But in this environment food service operators need to create dishes to a tightly consistent level of quality. And consistency is the keyword here.

Selling Point #3: Optimise staff costs

Producing food in bulk dramatically cuts the cost of labour. But it's only possible to do this with watertight safety by using a blast chiller.

With a blast chiller, food service managers can optimise the production line to produce and store food during slow periods so the food is on-hand during peak periods.

This breaks up the production line, easing pressure and freeing up staff for when you need them most.

While bulk food prep is possible without a blast chiller, the operator can't ensure a consistent level of food quality without one
Producing the same quantities in half the time can see restaurants revolutionize their staffing operations
For optimal efficiency, restaurants can combine a blast chiller with a combi-oven

How to help customers calculate ROI

Few food service operators can reel off vital financial figures at the drop of a hat. This is why walking them through a simple return on investment calculation can be really powerful.

You typically calculate ROI as a percentage by dividing net income by the cost of the asset.

But with a blast chiller you also have to account for potential operational savings from being able to bulk prep and store food.

So the better calculation is:

Net income + Operational Savings / Cost

Estimates for net income and operational savings will be very speculative, so try to be conservative by asking the customer to work on a 10% net income increase (from producing more) and a 10% operational saving (by optimising staff).

For example, a restaurant might have $1 million in revenue but $900,000 in expenses, leaving a net income of $100,000.

$110,000 + $90,000 / $15,000

ROI = 13%

In this scenario, even if you half the gains to 5%, once the operator gets into the rhythm of using the blast chiller the payback period could be a matter of months.