Capturing Culinary Quality in the Plant

Also noteworthy are the quality-management solutions. Each bun is automatically inspected for characteristics such as size, weight, color and coverage of sesame seeds on top with optical scanners and other sophisticated systems. “Every piece has data collected and sent back to the control room,” says McEvoy. “If you hear an air jet, it has decided a unit is out of range and rejected it.”

CAPTURING THE ESSENCE 

Even finding a co-packer capable of tackling smaller projects can be a challenge, notes Casey. “It’s kind of a dying business, the small co-packer,” she says.

Does a packaged food product inevitably require a compromise in quality compared to chef-crafted handiwork? “I think the best a chef can say is that the product represents the style and philosophy of the chef and his restaurant,” says Miller. “A CD is not like a live concert.

“What you have to be aware of is capturing the essence of a product,” continues Miller. “Sometimes you have to compromise. Do you want to compromise the flavor or the texture? You may be able to keep both, or you may have to use some additives you might not ordinarily use in the kitchen.”

With the Fire-Roasted Salsa, there was some compromise in texture, Miller admits. “When you bring things together under high temperature, it loses some of that,” he says. “In a restaurant, we wouldn’t actually cook things together.”

The quality compromise varies depending on the product and the process, notes Casey. “In some cases, it might be 20%,” she says. “But you can get very close to the original with some products...

“I tasted a lot of products in the early days when chefs were having products made,” Casey continues. “Sometimes I thought, ‘Who approved this?’ I’m sure it’s because someone told them, ‘This is as good as you can make it.’ And I thought, ‘Wow. That product can be made better.’ The whole thing about Culinology® now is that people know how to make things better.”

James Scarpa is a Chicago-based writer who specializes in food, beverages and the business of restaurants. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of the foodservice industry trade press.