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PassThrough combi ovens enhance workflow at MUJI restaurant
Through a private label cooperation between HOUNÖ and Dieta in Finland, the Danish designed PassThrough combi oven is being used in multiple kitchen designs in the Nordic region from restaurants to petrol stations and supermarkets. Recently, Dieta delivered and installed two Dieta WindStar Pro 110 PassThrough models to the newly opened MUJI flagship store and […]
3 February 2022
Through a private label cooperation between HOUNÖ and Dieta in Finland, the Danish designed PassThrough combi oven is being used in multiple kitchen designs in the Nordic region from restaurants to petrol stations and supermarkets.
Recently, Dieta delivered and installed two Dieta WindStar Pro 110 PassThrough models to the newly opened MUJI flagship store and restaurant in Helsinki, which is the first restaurant of the popular Japanese chain, holding more than 700 stores worldwide.
In Dieta’s mission to support Nordic customers to success, the company offers turnkey projects with everything from consulting and concepts to processing, installation and technical support. This was also the case for their Dieta-House-of-Horeca department, when approached by MUJI Finland Oy.
Easy operation
MUJI needed a solution for their new Finnish-Japanese cuisine concept. They choose the 10-tray pass though combi oven with two doors making it possible to load the oven from the kitchen and unload it from the service area. This helped cooperation between the kitchen and service staff and ensured avoidance of cross-contamination.
Heikki Ahopelto, Food Manager at MUJI Finland Oy, explains:
“We have designed all our kitchen operations and the whole workflow in a way that certain work can be done by anyone.
Of course, there is still kitchen work and service work, but in-between there is a lot that can be done by anyone.
This applies to how we serve lunch; we have a salad buffet, and anyone should be able to operate the oven, related to serving the food. So, the food is prepared in the kitchen, and the service staff operates the oven from the other side and moves the food from the oven to the buffet.”
This cross-function cooperation is further underlined by the fact that all kitchen and service staff wear similar clothing in the restaurant.
High versatility
“We like the oven’s versatile features and ease of use. We have two PassThrough combi ovens; one of them is mainly used for lunch and dinner, and the other for bakery and food preparation purposes”, Heikki Ahopelto states.
While lunch and á la carte dinner with traditional Finnish meals such as reindeer stew and pork belly are being prepared in one oven, Finnish bread and sweet pastries such as cinnamon buns are being baked in the other.
The operation is kept manual to keep the processes as simple as possible, often also with a fixed temperature, according to a menu development matching the concept of “one-temperature-fits-all”. This is to suit the workflow of the restaurant and the cross-functions of the personnel.
Improving processes and food safety
The demand for this PassThrough oven model has been increasing globally in line with the focus on food separation, grab and go sections and open/show kitchens. This development is also noticeable in Finland.
Olli Rinne, Area Sales Manager at Dieta, says:
“The PassThrough ovens are popular with customers where food is actually prepared on-site, especially in the private sector and in supermarkets. It is a stylish way of dividing the kitchen from the serving area, and a great tool for improving processes.
Enhanced hygiene is also a great asset enabled by the oven. There is an increase in the demand of these kinds of products, since restaurants and supermarkets are more and more willing to openly show what is happening behind the counter or walls.”
PassThrough Benefits
- 2-door oven
- Avoid cross contamination; clear separation of raw and cooked food
- Ideal for front cooking
- PassThrough ovens attract customers and increase sales
- Improve logistics in your kitchen and save time
- PassThrough available in size 1.06 & 1.10, and as CombiPlus (stacked ovens)