Combi ovens are quickly becoming an essential piece of equipment thanks to their ability to cook multiple items at once, making it easier than ever for shops to expand their menus with minimal effort
The traditional fish and chip shop is no longer just about cod, chips and mushy peas. Today’s menus are bursting with choice, including burgers, pizza, chicken, pies, kebabs, as well as vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. To keep pace with evolving customer expectations and high demand service periods, operators are increasingly turning to one piece of equipment that can handle it all: the combi oven.
By using steam, convection, or a combination of both, combi ovens offer fast, precise and consistent cooking of a range of items simultaneously. This not only enables chip shops to expand their menu with very little effort but with limited space and labour too.
“Looking at the menu board of a fish and chip shop shows a vast array of choices in addition to the traditional battered cod and chips,” says Mark Conron, group head of customer communications at Nisbets UK. “Now, with burgers, chicken, kebabs, sausages, pies, etc on the menu, an operator needs to have an additional means to cook lots of different types of food quickly, to a high quality and in quantity, to keep up with those busy lunch and dinnertime demands.”
Versatility
At The Cod’s Scallops on Mansfield Road, Nottingham, owner John Molnar uses a Rational combi oven over a standard convection oven because of its versatility and consistency.
“You can cook so many more things,” he explains. “We do a lot of baked fish, and the combi oven gives us consistent results. Baked fish can dry out easily if you don’t know what you’re doing, but with this oven, we can bake a piece of fish in the same time it takes to fry one, and it steams and bakes it beautifully.”
John also uses the oven for other dishes. “We use it to cook our pies because we get a better finish on the pastry. We also run the tandoori chicken for our kebabs back through the oven to crisp it up. They’re just a better bit of kit than a normal convection oven.”
A second Rational combi oven is used at its development kitchen, where its fishcakes and other items are made in bulk for distribution to its three additional sites.
“All the fish for fishcakes goes through there, and all the potatoes are steamed before we mash them,” says John. “It’s in use every single day in the prep kitchen. It’s a brilliant bit of kit.”
One of the key advantages of a combi oven is its ability to replace multiple pieces of equipment, saving valuable space behind the frying range. The Buffalo Smart Touchscreen Combi Oven range, available from Nisbets, is designed with this in mind. These compact ovens come in three sizes (fitting six to eleven gastronorm trays), with the smallest still said to deliver all the high performance features of its larger counterpart. Each oven comes pre-set with 40 classic menu items, and operators can add up to 99 more. A touchscreen interface simplifies use, especially in kitchens with high staff turnover, where training needs to be fast and intuitive. Cleaning is straightforward, too, thanks to an automatic one-touch washing mode.
Fish and chip shop owners are facing challenges on multiple fronts: rising food costs, labour shortages, and a need to stand out with a diverse menu. For Alistair Farquhar, national key account director UK & Ireland at kitchen solutions company Welbilt, flexibility and ease of use are critical.
“Rising food costs, tight budgets and a shortage of labour call for equipment with incredible flexibility to help fish and chip shops to maximise sales and profit,” says Alistair. “The Convotherm maxx combi oven can produce over 80% of the items found on an average menu and uses convection, steam and a combination of both to deliver a range of perfectly cooked food from a single unit, perfect for fish and chip shops with an extensive menu.”
User-friendliness is front and centre in the Convotherm maxx, thanks to a high-resolution glass touchscreen, icon-based controls, and a Press&Go function that allows for fully automated cooking. Its built-in cookbook holds up to 399 programmable cooking profiles. Mixed loads are also easily managed with TrayView, which shows what’s cooking on each shelf, how long it has to go, and alerts staff when each product is ready.
Cleaning, again, is simple and safe. The Convotherm maxx offers fully automated cleaning with no manual scrubbing or harsh chemicals required, freeing staff to focus on service and preparation.
Go-to investment
While still considered a luxury, combi ovens are rapidly becoming a go-to investment for shops aiming to keep up with demand, improve efficiency and expand their offerings.
“For many operators, a combi oven is right at the top of the wish list, and for good reason in a trade where speed, consistency and menu variety are all critical, often with minimal staff,” says Scott Duncan, managing director of Unox UK, which has developed the X-Generation range to cater for these challenges.
The ChefTop-X, for example, offers a solution for busy shops looking to reduce the number of appliances in the kitchen. Its AIR.Tornado function circulates heat evenly throughout the oven chamber, delivering consistent cooking across every tray without the need for oil. “No hot spots, no uneven cooking, just reliable results on every tray. For operators, that means no need to rotate trays or constantly check progress, freeing staff up to focus on serving customers,” explains Scott.
The Multi.Time feature allows operators to cook different products simultaneously, with separate timers and alerts for each tray. This enables true menu flexibility – pies, sausages, battered cod, scampi, or roast chicken can all be cooked in the same cycle, without flavour transfer.
And while the upfront cost of a combi oven may give some operators pause, Scott argues the return on investment is clear, adding: “While investment varies by model, operators often see a return through reduced labour, lower energy use, and increased menu potential. With features like AIR.Tornado airflow and Multi.Time cooking, the Unox ChefTop-X is built to help shops deliver quality, speed and variety in every service.”
Jamie Russo, owner of Redcloak Fish Bar in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, is a convert, having recently invested in a ChefTop-X to replace a griddle and microwave. In doing so, he has streamlined the process for pies and burgers.
“The combi oven runs on pre-set times and settings, so no one needs to stand there flipping burgers or checking if pies are crispy enough,” he says. “It’s freed staff up to answer phones, do dishes or prep chips. The whole process is now more efficient and straightforward. Cleaning’s quicker too as the oven cleans itself, and we just wash the trays. We’re no longer scrubbing a griddle, which used to be really time-consuming.
“We’re also getting better results. The pies are much improved and always selling out. People were skeptical about the burgers, but they come out crispy on the outside and tender inside.”
From compact models to larger multi-tray models, combi ovens are proving their worth in the fast-paced world of fish and chips. Whether you’re looking to expand your menu, improve consistency, reduce reliance on skilled labour, or simply make more of your kitchen space, the combi oven is fast becoming a must-have tool for growth and consistency.
