Ghost Kitchens

Cooking as if by magic ... 

Ghost, Dark, Cloud or Virtual Kitchens, in which cooking is done exclusively for the delivery business, are changing the rules of the game in the gastronomy industry. Indispensable: reliable and efficient technology solutions.

Delivery services and so-called ghost kitchens have been among the winners in recent years: restaurateurs who, since the onset of lockdowns, have managed to build up a profitable delivery and take-away business, have not only been able to employ and retain their staff, but have also been able to, at least partially, absorb, the drop in sales caused by closures. For a long time now, not only specialist but also sophisticated restaurants have been bringing dishes to the home or office. Since then, the breadth and quality of the culinary offer have grown massively. Despite the desire for communal restaurant experiences, consumers have also learned to appreciate the advantages of home-delivered food in certain situations. Experts expect that in the future this will become part of everyday life for more and more people – to enjoy gastronomic services at the home dining table  rather than in a restaurant.  

Brands share the infrastructure

And so, with a lot of money from investors and corporations, more and more food brands are emerging without any kind of restaurant locations at all - achieving awareness and reach very quickly via social media, growing rapidly via licensing, and opening new kitchens at a rapid pace. They are close to customers, but without the horrendous rents of a high street location. Often, several brands share the infrastructure under one roof, without the customer noticing that the Thai curry he just ordered is being prepared in the same kitchen as the risotto he ordered yesterday. All that matters to him anyway is a fast and straight forward delivery, ideally this runs smoothly thanks to the use of digital technology. 

Greatest growth opportunities in decades

U.S. scientist and industry expert Chris Muller of Boston University attests that the Ghost Kitchens phenomenon offers the greatest growth opportunities for gastronomic companies since the 1950s. For him, the restaurant of the future is a jack-of-all-trades with multiple distribution channels - from the on-site restaurant experience to drive-thru, takeaway and delivery, to a digital brand with its own kitchens, branded merchandise and retail products, and a range of offerings tailored to the different times of day. 
The change will be driven as much by the industry itself as by the changing needs of diners, Muller predicts. "Needs that we ourselves may not even be thinking about yet." Because in the future, consumers will continue to want food that someone else prepares for them - whether in a restaurant or at the dining table at home.

Speed, product quality and efficiency

Key to the success of Ghost Kitchens are speed of preparation and the quality of the food, as well as hygiene, economy and efficiency in work processes and energy consumption. With the Convotherm maxx, Convotherm maxx pro and Convotherm mini combi ovens, along with their additional intelligent functions, Welbilt offers the right equipment to meets these special requirements needed to work efficiently, successfully and stress-free in this business segment. 
Despite their minimal footprint, they offer maximum flexibility with their steam, convection and combination steam cooking methods, as well as on-trend sous vide and low-temperature cooking - regardless of whether international trend dishes or European classics are being prepared. Optimized workflows and short distances in the kitchen speed up cooking, as do integrated Cookbooks that enable automatic cooking at the touch of a finger using Press&Go. For Quick Finish, the Merrychef rapid cooking system is the ideal partner to support the finishing process.
 
More information on the new combi oven families:  Convotherm maxx pro, Convotherm maxx and Convotherm mini is available here:
Convotherm - Convotherm maxx
Convotherm - maxx-pro