“Better food with less effort” is the motto for Micvac’s new business area, which offers a new way to cook for commercial kitchens, catering services, and restaurants. The company’s patented Micvac process for in-pack cooking and pasteurization is now being used in the food service area.
The method allows production and serving to be independent from one another. Food with a longer and standard shelf life enables improved efficiency when planning the production of meals and the use of staff, while making heating more convenient, according to the company. Less food is thrown away all through the value chain, as users only heat up what they actually need. Users can also stock meals and components in the event of a food shortage.
An early adopter of this application was Carns Fuster, a “carnecería,” or meat shop, located in Spain’s Valencia region. It has launched 25 new recipes of traditional Spanish meals all produced in its own kitchen. The ingredients are packed in the tray, sealed with a film with the valve on top, and then cooked and pasteurized in conventional steam ovens.
“We received a very positive response on the quality of the meals from our customers. This has allowed us to plan further. Due to the long shelf life, we are already thinking of expanding and selling through other sales channels,” says José Fuster, managing director of Carns Fuster. “This was not an option for us before and it means that we can now increase our sales using the same equipment, but in a more efficient way.”
Begoña Soliva, who has spent the last year developing the recipes with Carns Fuster, is proud of the attention the meals have received.
“With this technique, I realized that I had the possibility to do something different. We always use high quality ingredients, and now it is easy to keep the flavor throughout the cooking process. It actually allows me to use less salt and spices,” she says.
