As baking commands more attention, retailers are recognizing the importance of baking at store level.

“America is celebrating a resurgence in baking,” said Daniel Lessem, director of education and strategic initiatives at Rational USA, speaking during a recent webinar, “Multifunctional Combi-Ovens for Modern Bakery-Café Enterprises,” from The Bread Bakers Guild of America.

The combi oven was invented in 1973, enabling chefs and bakers to take advantage of having a steam generator inside a convection oven. The first commercially available combi oven was introduced in 1976. 

“It was very simple. The steam was on or off,” Lessem said. “Now combis are multi-faceted and customizable. You pretty much control the weather in a box.”

More than 1,000 chefs around the world work for Rational, the inventor of the combi. Rational features the iCombi Pro, which handles from front cooking in restaurants to foodservice in hotels, schools, cafes, and retirement homes – and for operations of all sizes, whether it’s 30 meals or 3,000, from supermarkets to fine dining. This is where you’ll find the iCombi Pro that fits your individual wants and needs. One that can do so much more than a convection oven or steamer. Bakery cafes are a target for Rational.

“The bakery café segment is the heart and hearth of the community,” Lessem said. “Folks are asking for a wider variety of dishes – bakery, sandwiches, omelets. There is a need for visual merchandizing with bright lighting.”

The challenges, he added, are labor shortages and demand for specialized labor – as well as smaller footprints in the kitchen. The combi delivers on all fronts.

“Efficiency is the key to success in today’s economy.”

This article is an excerpt from the October 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Department Design feature and more in the digital edition here.