How Self-Cleaning Ovens Benefit Retail Foodservice

In the past few years, the foodservice industry has seen a shift in trends favoring pre-prepared, to-go foods. This increase in consumer demand means more pressure on grocery stores to operate at optimal efficiency, because as the demand for food increases, the last thing you want is to slow down your store’s operation with time-consuming, manual tasks like oven cleaning. Alto-Shaam’s self-cleaning commercial kitchen ovens offer solutions when you need it most. 

How Do Self-Cleaning Ovens Work?

So, what is a self-cleaning oven, and how does it work? Use the liquid cleaner or drop tablets into a cavity drain—depending on your preference—and from there, simply use the touch screen control to begin the cleaning cycle. Please note cleaning cannot begin until the oven is cooler than 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Water and cleaner will efficiently clean the oven’s interior for the desired amount of time, as cleaning length is dependent on the type of cleaning cycle selected. Rinse, light, or heavy clean are common cycles that are used. 

Benefits of a Self-Cleaning Oven

When every aspect of a job is essential, our self-cleaning ovens will make a big difference in your retail kitchen in the following ways:

• Efficiency — Practical functions in commercial kitchen appliances are vital in not only meeting consumer demands, but also improving your bottom line. Self-cleaning ovens simplify your operation and reduce labor costs. With minimal to no training, your kitchen staff can easily turn on the self-cleaning cycle and focus on other important tasks. Additionally, frequent cleaning improves oven performance and reliability. 
• Safety — Any grocery store staff member can attest that cleaning a commercial kitchen oven with caked-on grease is a grueling task. Improve safety for employees by elimination the need for employees to spend time reaching into hot ovens to clean after cooking cycles or deep cleaning at the end of the day. Paired with automatic self-cleaning, our built-in, automatic grease collection further improves employee safety. Employees can dispose of the grease conveniently pumped into containers rather than scrubbing hot grease by hand.  

Commercial Kitchen Oven Solutions

Safety, cleanliness and reducing waste are major concerns in all industries, and retail foodservice is no different. Alto-Shaam’s ovens offer self-cleaning technology so you—and your employees— have one less thing to worry about. Two of our innovative ovens include:

• AR-7T Self-Cleaning Rotisserie Ovens — When ready to clean, the hands-free liquid soap injection or tablet-style cleaning options represent the latest advances in sanitation technology. And when every penny counts, the AR-7T helps you reduce costs by using 35% less water than other self-cleaning ovens. There are also no moving parts to improve oven performance and reliability. 
• Prodigi™ combi ovens — Reduce labor with automatic cleaning. With this oven, there are five cycle options from "light clean" to "heavy soil." When cleaning, the oven uses safe, convenient cleaning tablets or optional liquid cleaner.

To reduce grease buildup and enhance the cleaning process, both Prodigi combi ovens and self-cleaning rotisserie ovens feature our built-in, automatic grease collection. This system activates during the cooking process and pumps grease into separate collection containers for safe handling and disposal. 

Alto-Shaam is your partner to help navigate and streamline your retail foodservice operation. Talk to an expert to learn more today.