Over the course of the past year the restaurant and food service industry has seen a boom in takeout and delivery orders. With that growth has come the challenge of how chefs and restaurateurs could maintain the high quality of fried items that were staples of their on-premise dining operations.
With the challenge of how to keep their fried food crispy and tasty when delivering it, the foodservice professional needed a solution. For many the initial strategy was to seek new packaging options. Sean Farry knew that it was going to require more than the package, it needed a cooking solution. With that, the entrepreneur created OiLChef that has revolutionized cooking with oil. Farry set his sights on creating an FDA approved catalyst placed into the fryer to produce a crispier, tastier product utilizing a reduced amount of oil and at a lower cook temperature.
“Restaurant operators use a lot of cooking oil every week and having used deep fryers myself, I knew the hassle it took to change oil, clean the fryers, and dispose of waste oil and the challenges with storage space for the new and the old oil,” OiLChef’s Founder and President continued. “I realized that while there are many filtration systems in the market and chemical solutions that can be added to oil to increase oil life, that these systems typically needed daily interaction and more often than not, weekly or monthly ongoing expenses. I knew there had to be a more efficient way.”
The OiLChef system is designed to both cut down the amount of oil needed to cook, by doubling the life of your oil or shortening as well as reducing frying temperatures, which can be exceptionally beneficial to a business’ bottom line. “The OiLChef program as part of frying operations will complement the client’s current sustainability practices,” said Farry. “For instance, the OiLChef device enables deep fryer operators to reduce their frying temperature by between 15 and 30 degrees, without increasing frying time and without reducing crispy texture or food quality. Most people think this is impossible, but it is a fact only if you have OiLChef in your fryer. OiLChef can reduce your energy consumption by 4 to 7 percent, this saves money, and it reduces environmental impact.” Farry added, “by reducing the amount of frying oil purchased by around 50 percent, this saves cardboard box production and waste, plastic container production and waste, carbon emissions from shipping and distribution, and it saves a lot of frying oil!”
As for how OiLChef’s product benefits business customers, Farry has the answer. “The Catalytic effect in the oil with OiLChef does amazing things for food quality,” said Farry. “The food cooks quicker, crispier, in less oil – therefore less calories and because the trade secret FDA approved formulation inside the OiLChef, enables the absorption of oxygen from the surface of the food, reducing oxidation and helping to increase the shelf life of the food! Less oil on the product helps maintain the crispy texture of the food for longer, which is a great bonus for the food delivery business. The customer tastes more of the food they are buying and less of the oil the food is being cooked in!”
As for the return on investment, Farry has the answer. “90 percent of our OilChef clients break even in 6 months. Some in 3 months,” said Farry. “Each unit comes with a full 3-year warranty and typically a 3-year return on investment is in excess of 400 percent, based only on oil savings. If you add the energy and labor savings and possible increase in food sales, the ROI is more.” Farry continued, “the lifespan can vary depending on the volume of use by the restaurant, however we recommend replacing the unit every 3 or 3 and a half years to ensure 100 percent efficiency. Some small volume operators can get up to 4 years or more lifespan from OiLChef.”
For the operator with a goal of menu consistency and energy efficiency, OilChef offers a one-stop frying solution. Operators interested in learning more about OiLChef and their solutions, information can be found only at their website or by emailing Sean Farry.
