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What industrial oven do I need for my restaurant?

Industrial ovens are essential cooking equipment for any restaurant or business related to the hotel and catering industry. The need to cook and heat food before serving it, as well as to perform various cooking techniques, makes it vital to have an oven capable of guaranteeing the highest quality, precision and efficiency possible.

If you are looking for an industrial oven for your restaurant, you will find that there is a wide variety of these professional equipment on the market with different features. To help you choose the one that best suits your needs, we explain what industrial ovens are like and how they differ from the best-selling ones. Will you join us?

Classification of industrial ovens

Before deciding on the purchase of an industrial oven for your restaurant, you need to know how these equipment are classified. Industrial furnaces can be organized into different families based on specific criteria such as, for example, their power source. In this case, you will find industrial ovens that run on electricity, gas ovens, charcoal ovens … It is also possible to cater to their specific use, so then we will talk about pizza ovens, bakery and pastry ovens…

As you can see, the classifications are numerous. For this reason and so that your choice is the best, we recommend that when choosing an industrial oven you do so according to the type of cooking you do in your restaurant. If your cuisine is varied and also includes food cooked with steam, vacuum or at low temperature cooking; or if on the contrary, your cooking is simple and you only need to bake, toast or heat the food before serving it, the perfect industrial oven for you will be one or the other.

There are two very popular types of industrial ovens that do their job perfectly and have great versatility: the combi ovens and the convection ovens. Do you want to know what they are like and what is each of them for? We explain it to you below!

1. What is a combi oven and how is it used?

The combi ovens are a type of industrial oven widely used in restoration because of its great versatility. Thanks to their steam generation system and homogeneous air distribution, these units can perform totally perfect cooking in three modes:

  • convection: for dry heat cooking
  • mixed: steam and convection mode at the same time
  • steam: to cook with a humidity level of 100%

What kind of cooking can you do with an industrial combi oven? Its applications in the kitchen of a restaurant are diverse. This equipment is capable of roasting, frying, boiling, baking, stewing or cooking on the grill or the griddle, among other options, all types of meat, fish, vegetables, legumes… Likewise, with them you can carry out regeneration or dehydration, use accessories such as probes or smokers and even perform simultaneous cooking. With all this, the combi steamer provides great savings in equipment. Furthermore, its wide temperature range enhances its outstanding versatility. 

Another great point in favour of combi ovens is that they are ideal for vacuum and low temperature cooking. Their resistance and reliability make them ideal for enjoying long cooking times that achieve dishes with great taste and pleasant texture. Therefore, if your business is a restaurant, a gastrobar or a hotel with haute cuisine, an industrial combi oven will be the right one for you and the best investment you can make.

2. What is a convection oven and how is it used?

If we are talking about a type of traditional industrial oven for restaurants or other businesses, we have to name convection ovens. These equipments are designed to quickly execute the essential cookings of a professional kitchen. Its operation is based on the hot air that a fan distributes through the cooking chamber. Thus homogeneity is achieved in the cooking of all foods. Likewise, the most advanced industrial convection ovens can have an adjustable direct humidity injection system that prevents food from being dry inside.

What kind of dishes can you cook with an industrial convection oven? These units are specially recommended for toasting, grating, heating, dehydrating or cooking frozen foods. Another feature is that they heat up very quickly, so they are ideal for cooking with simple parameters and for immediate services. If you are looking for an easy to use equipment that can be adapted to bars, cafeterias, bakery coffees or frontcooking services, industrial convection ovens are the most recommended for you. 

Fundamental aspects when choosing an industrial oven

Now you have been able to learn more about what industrial combi ovens and convection ovens are and how they work. However, you probably still have doubts about what might be the best option for you. Here are some other fundamental aspects to consider when choosing your industrial oven. Take note! 

  • Technological performance: the technological performance of a furnace is important and a great differential value. Beyond the cooking systems they have, when choosing an equipment for your restaurant you must know what the needs of your business are and how these innovations can respond to them. There are a number of combi and convection ovens on the market that have a Wi-Fi connection, Cloud system or even voice control, advantages that will allow you to enjoy greater peace of mind when monitoring your activity from a distance. 
  • Cooking modes: the main difference between combi ovens and convection ovens is that with the former it is possible to cook in convection, combi and steam modes, while the latter does so only in convection mode and, in the most innovative cases, with adjustable humidity. Your menu may be very elaborate, and may even include vacuum and low temperature recipes, for which we recommend a combi oven. On the other hand, you may only need to heat snacks or frozen foods, grill or toast, which you can do perfectly with a convection oven.
  • Electric power: the type of installation and electric power you have in your restaurant is important to determine the industrial oven to choose and calculate its consumption. If you are looking for a small and easy-to-install oven, there are both combi and convection oven models that can use single-phase electric current. However, whether a combi or convection oven has 6 or more trays, the electrical connection required for your establishment will usually be three-phase. 
  • Cleaning system: cleaning your industrial oven requires dedication and is very important for the best cooking results. That is why you should take into account the cleaning system they use. In this respect, the most advanced combi ovens usually have an automatic self-cleaning system that helps to optimise the time of professional kitchens. 
  • Type of tray: depending on the type of food you cook in your business, you can choose an industrial oven or another one based on the type of tray they use. Nowadays, both mixed ovens and convection ovens can be adapted as standard to cook with Gastronorm (GN) trays, the most commonly used in restaurants, hotels or communities and ideal for all types of food, or to do so with pastry trays 60×40 cm, recommended for workrooms, bakeries or cafeteriases that need to cook large-volume foods such as bread, cakes, biscuits… You decide! 

We hope that throughout this article you have been able to learn more about the differences between industrial mixed and convection ovens and we have helped you choose the right one for your restaurant. Remember that if you have any questions about this, we will be happy to assist you and offer the most effective solutions for your business. Contact us and we will advise you!