Bruce Convention Center Elevates Events with Cook-Chill System

The Bruce Convention Center in Hopkinsville, Kentucky needed a foodservice equipment solution that would allow them to take events to the next level.

While benchmarking other convention centers, General Manager Petra Piffko saw the Alto-Shaam cook-chill-retherm system in action and knew immediately that it was the answer to their challenges.

“I was impressed with the versatility and simplicity,” Piffko said. “We have eliminated so many steps thanks to this system.”

The Bruce is now able to serve up to 1,400 people per event—a 40 percent increase since adopting the fully integrated plated system. With the increased capacity, the Bruce has not needed to hire additional kitchen staff.

“We have three employees who work in our kitchen,” Piffko said. “The convenience of the roll-in racks has streamlined our kitchen and improved safety.”

Alto-Shaam offers the industry’s only fully integrated rack management solution that includes all of the necessary components to support cooking production, chilling, rethermalization, staging and service.

Prior to using the cook-chill-retherm system, Chef Joan Vargas and her team prepared food using single-use equipment, such as convection ovens and steamers.

“It was really stressful,” Chef Vargas said. “I had to cook in 10 different ovens. It was a long process, and we were always running into problems with quality and consistency. Meat temperatures were especially difficult to nail.”

Now, Chef Vargas and her culinary team are able to put more energy into evolving their menu. With two Combitherm® combi ovens and one Cook & Hold oven, the Bruce has been able to produce more food at a higher quality. 

Effortless Execution

Chef Vargas executes her menu seamlessly at the highest quality—beginning the process two days before the big event. Her team cooks all dish components, including proteins, starches and vegetables, using Alto-Shaam Combitherm ovens and Cook & Hold ovens. Immediately after cooking, the food is effortlessly rolled into Alto-Shaam Quickchiller™ to be rapidly chilled down well within HACCP and FDA requirements. Then, on the day of the event, Chef Vargas rethermalizes the dishes and holds them to perfection in mobile CombiMate® heated holding cabinets with exclusive Halo Heat® technology.

“I don’t stress on the day of the event anymore,” Chef Vargas said. “The last thing we have to do is sauce the plate. It is so easy that no one believes it until they see it.”

To learn more about Alto-Shaam’s full line of equipment, register for a free A Taste of Alto-Shaam demonstration near you.