For the Future of Gastronomy
Interview with Andrea Sauer, Deputy Managing Director of Welbilt Deutschland GmbH
Whether in hotels, hospitals, company canteens, schools, or the military – food plays a significant role for a sense of well-being. Thanks to ever-improving kitchen technology, not only the culinary experience for consumers is getting better, but also the efficiency in kitchen workflows. Welbilt Deutschland GmbH delivers a wide range of products for professional kitchens and is always technically one step ahead of the industry with innovative products.
Passionate commitment, long-term partnerships, and innovative technology are the foundations for the longstanding success of the Welbilt Group and its various brands. The most successful brand in Germany is Convotherm, which has been developing state-of-the-art combi steamers since 1976. Most recently, the company has demonstrated its innovative strength with ConvoSense.
Cooking with AI
Convotherm is primarily known for high-tech and has developed various patents since its inception in 1976. For example, in 1982, the company introduced the world's first combi steamer with an energy-saving Closed System for significant energy savings, and in 1994 the disappearing door was invented. ConvoSense is the latest innovation.
"ConvoSense is the world's first AI-powered combi steamer for fully automated cooking," explains Andrea Sauer, Deputy Managing Director of Welbilt Deutschland GmbH, who is responsible for the commercial sector of the Convotherm range. "With the help of artificial intelligence and modern sensor technology that automatically recognizes the food, dishes can be prepared automatically without manual input and without training." This has allowed the company to already win a large supermarket chain as a customer, which has been able to increase its efficiency and minimize losses so much that the combi steamer has paid for itself within a few months.
Cook & Chill
Convotherm delivers combi steamers to 100 countries around the world. This makes the German operation an important brand within the Welbilt group, which owns brands such as ClevelandTM, Convotherm®, CremTM, Delfield®, Fitkitchen®, Frymaster®, Garland®, Kolpak®, Lincoln®, Merco®, Merrychef® and Multiplex®, and has been part of the Italian ALI Holding since 2022. The company has numerous optimizations planned for the future of gastronomy. Among other things, fully automatic cleaning and water consumption are to be further optimized. "Cook & Chill is becoming more and more important," says Andrea Sauer. "Food can be prepared, reducing the need for skilled labor. Our technology can support that. Moreover, the take-away sector will continue to evolve. Dishes don't always have to be fried, opening up new possibilities with our combi steamers."