Q&A: The Value of an Intentionally Simple Control

Alto-Shaam's latest Vector® H Series Multi-Cook Ovens feature its most advanced control yet. These ventless ovens provide up to four independent ovens in one and feature an enhanced user-friendly interface.

Jeff McMahon, Alto-Shaam’s senior director of product management, shares why intuitive cooking equipment is critical for foodservice businesses and how it plays a role in Alto-Shaam’s latest design.

Q.  Why does simplicity matter for foodservice operators when it comes to primary cooking equipment? 

Jeff McMahon:

With more than 9 million job openings, the competition to find skilled labor is a major challenge that operators face today. Luckily, more intuitive to use equipment can help solve the pain points of being short staffed with a higher turnover. The ability to train employees quickly is key. The simpler the equipment is to use, the less time and money operators need to spend training new employees.

Q.  What makes a piece of equipment easy to use?    

Jeff McMahon:

Equipment that is easy to navigate and very visual in nature is important. You want the cooking process to be as seamless as possible. The new Vector H Series are designed so that employees of all experience levels are able to navigate the cooking process through visual and audible notifications, as well as very intuitive icons.

Q. What are the features that make Vector® H Series Multi-Cook Ovens so easy to use?

Jeff McMahon:

It only takes a matter of minutes to learn how to cook with the newest Vector H Series Ovens. Operators are able to create multi-step recipes with their own photos and organize their recipe book in the most intuitive way for their employees.

Menu consistency in between shift changes has never been easier to achieve. The multi-step recipes guide employees through the cooking process. For example, if the dish needs something added to it—say, a slice of cheese—an icon will pop up and tell the employee to add cheese. Operators can build in an unlimited amount of steps in their recipes, which takes the stress and second-guessing out of cooking for new employees.

Q.  How can simple foodservice equipment help operators improve consistency?

Jeff McMahon:

When you eliminate the guesswork for employees, cooking consistency improves. With Vector, the cooking process is guided, but also very hands-off. Structured Air Technology® eliminates cold spots and uneven cooking. So, employees no longer have to sit by the oven to watch food and rotate pans like you would with a convection oven. That frees up labor for other valuable tasks, while delivering more evenly cooked food at the highest quality.

To learn more about Vector H Series Ovens, visit our product page.