Chinese wok cookers have traditionally been powered by fire and gas. Chefs talk about ‘Wok Hei’ — the strength of the burners to give dishes that extra ‘oomph’ and flavor. However, a combination of stricter regulations, changes in gas supply in venues, and changing attitudes means that gas wok cookers have become more prohibitive. Induction wok cookers can be an excellent alternative option for many.
The Venue Has No Or Limited Gas Supply
Gas wok cookers consume a lot of power. The average takeaway typically has a wok cooker with 5-7 burners, with the total input required at 89kW – 125kW per hour. Many new restaurant and hot food takeaway sites are built without gas supply, or existing sites that were previously cafes or small takeaways have an inadequate mains gas supply for powering a wok cooker. Installing or upgrading gas pipes is costly, time-consuming and involves additional paperwork.
Providing there is 3 phase power into the venue, an induction wok cooker can often run on the electrical mains, requiring up to 66% less power than a gas wok cooker.
The Venue Has Limited Extraction Air Flow
A large amount of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide is produced from gas wok cookers, requiring powerful extraction systems and fresh air systems to ensure a safe working environment in commercial kitchens.
The issue with powerful extraction systems is where to install them; they are bulky, loud and odorous. Planning permission is required and additional costs are involved to ensure they remain out of sight, quiet and odorless. With these seemingly insurmountable challenges, it would be rational to consider installing equipment that have lower requirements on an extraction system’s specification.
Induction wok cookers don’t produce carbon monoxide and produce carbon dioxide at significantly lower levels. This will reduce the extraction system’s extraction power and consequently reduce the need for acoustic silencers.
Energy Saving and A Future For Renewable Energy
As more businesses tackle their negative impact on climate change, gas-powered cooking equipment and/or high-energy consumption cooking equipment becomes less viable. Commercial kitchens can get ahead of the curve with electric-powered induction cooking equipment.
A typical gas wok cooker for a takeaway has an average energy input of 89kW – 125kW. Whereas induction wok cookers of the same size have an average energy input of 22kW – 30.5kW. This 60% average reduction in energy requirement saves energy and money for many businesses.
In addition, more utility suppliers offer electricity sourced from renewable energy harvesting, which prohibits equipment using natural gas. Induction wok cookers make it possible for a commercial kitchen to be powered 100% from renewable energy.
Improved Time Efficiency
Commercial kitchens are notoriously high-pressure environments, demanding chefs to produce and serve quality dishes fast. Any marginal gains in time saving are essential in the kitchen. A significant portion of a chef’s time is spent prepping ingredients, waiting for appliances to warm-up or cool down, and cleaning.
Gas wok cookers need to be turned on before service, wasting precious minutes at the beginning of service. On the other hand, induction wok cookers can be heated on demand. Woks also need to be heated before any ingredients make contact with the wok’s surface. The expeditious heating of induction wok cookers makes them a better option in this regard as well.
Likewise, the curved induction glass surface remains cool to the touch, making clean-up of spills and post service cleaning more simple, quick and safe.
Cooking with induction also means 90% of the energy goes directly into cooking the produce in the pan, compared to just 40% with gas. Therefore, the duration of cooking processes can be more than halved when using induction, further improving on kitchen efficiency.
Improved Environmental Health for Chefs
Noise pollution in a commercial kitchen with bright, artificial lighting can increase the stress levels of kitchen staff.
Gas wok cookers are not only loud, but also require powerful extraction systems with a high air flow rate to extract excess gases and cooking fumes from a kitchen, which in turn makes kitchens louder. Induction cooking technology produces less noise and also can have extraction fans run on lower (and therefore quieter) speeds. Reducing the noise and air pollution for chefs in kitchens benefits their long-term mental health.
ACK Manufacturing have been manufacturing quality commercial wok cookers in the UK for over three decades. Our range of induction wok cookers is part of our commitment to innovation in the industry. Restaurants looking to innovate and benefit from quality technology that improves the health, safety, and efficiency of their kitchens should choose induction wok cookers rather than their gas counterparts.
