Need to cook for 4,000 people a day? These chefs use RATIONAL technology

No one who stays at the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, should ever be bored. At least that’s the goal. There’s golf. There are aquatic sports and nature preserves. There’s shopping. And there are restaurants and cafes, 12 of them to be precise, designed to satisfy every possible craving: low-country classics, high-end steakhouse fare, Latin and Caribbean flavors, smashburgers and fries, pastry to nibble over morning coffee.

“If you’re a guest here,” says Aaron Cox, the executive chef, “you don’t have to ever go out.”

For Cox and Ben Harris, Sea Pines’ director of culinary operations, and their staff of 500, this translates into roughly 4,000 meals a day during the high season, 3,000 the rest of the year. In addition to restaurant meals, they also cater special events, including the annual RBC Heritage Golf Tournament, a PGA Tour Signature Event. The goal, however, is to make diners feel taken care of with food that’s been produced at scale in a large catering kitchen. “We want to have a really consistent, high-level cuisine,” says Harris.

To do that, Harris and Cox and their team rely on a battery of RATIONAL iCombi Pro ovens and iVario Pro tilt skillets, all installed over the past five years. Harris, for one, has noticed a definite increase in quality. “It’s opened up opportunities for us to serve better food,” he says.

The RATIONAL equipment streamlines kitchen operations. Both the iCombi and the iVario are capable of multiple types of cooking. The iCombi, says Cox, can switch from dry roasting to steaming with the touch of a button. Previously, that switch would have required two separate pieces of equipment and the maneuvering of trays of hot food through a crowded kitchen. It was annoying and time-consuming and potentially dangerous if anyone dropped anything. The iCombi’s steam function also means that Cox can reheat food without drying it out: instead of relying on steam tables to keep food warm, his team can par-cook dishes and reheat them to order.

The iVario, meanwhile, is capable of both preparing both soups and sauces as well as braising short ribs and cooking perfect Southern fried chicken. 

“There’s less stress and cost savings for sure,” says Harris. “The yields we get on prime rib or whatever it may be, are more consistent. We also have cost savings when it comes to people burning things or forgetting things because it’s consistent, it’s reliable, and you know what it’s going to do.”

The iCombi and iVario systems are consistent throughout the resort so employees who move between the different restaurants are able to pick up the different recipes and fit more seamlessly into the kitchen routine.

The RATIONAL equipment is as easy to clean as it is to use, Cox says. There’s no spraying down the oven at the end of the night, no scraping carbon off the sides. “It’s a push of a button,” he says. “You shut the door and walk away from it.” The iVario, meanwhile, has an integrated drain so cooks don’t have to haul pots of hot water around. “It’s a lot safer,” Cox says.

Sea Pines will be using RATIONAL equipment for many years to come.

“Cooking’s changing,” Harris says. “While there may always be a place for a range, these new technology-driven pieces of equipment complement that. They make it better. They make it easier, they make it more consistent.”

To learn more and schedule a demo, visit the RATIONAL website.

This post is sponsored by RATIONAL