OHAUS® FD Series Food Scale Helps Make Portion Control Simple For Busy Restaurant
At Rockne's Restaurant in suburban Fairlawn, Ohio, where
diners are invited to enjoy "great food and fun," General Manager
Ann Lord and her staff arrive well before opening to prepare for
their lunch and dinner guests. One of the many things the employees
do during those early hours is to weigh out dozens of foods that
are featured on the menu.
"Restaurants live and die by portion control."
Anne Lord, General Manager at Rockne's Restaurant in
suburban Fairlawn, Ohio
"Restaurants live and die by portion control," Lord says.
Consistent portions help insure customer satisfaction and
contribute to the restaurant's profitability, she continues. For
example, diners want to feel they are receiving value and so
Rockne's risks losing these customers if they are served
different-sized portions on separate visits. Loss of customers
affects the bottom line. And, Lord said, Rockne's profit decreases
if extra food is served because of inattention to portion
control.
The OHAUS FD Provides Precision and Durability for Food
Portioning
"They are very simple to use. And they are easy to clean
up and put away." (Ann Lord, General Manager at Rockne's Restaurant
in suburban Fairlawn, Ohio)
Line cooks at Rockne's meticulously weigh out portions of cooked
foods, such as turkey and other deli meat, tuna salad, chicken
stir-fry, chicken salad, vegetables, beef taco melt and even fruit
for fruit salad. On days when large food shipments arrive, the
cooks also portion frozen appetizers by weight. While recipe
ingredients are occasionally weighed, the majority of the activity
is around cooked food.
With such a busy back-of-the-house operation, these workers
appreciate equipment that is durable, and easy to set up and use.
Lord says that the OHAUS® FD Series food scales meet these
requirements and more.
"They are very simple to use," she says. "All you have to do is
turn them on and recharge them occasionally. And they are easy to
clean up and put away."
"The scales are very exact - it's easy to get what you are
looking for." Ann Lord, General Manager at Rockne's Restaurant in
suburban Fairlawn, Ohio
Indeed, to meet stringent cleanliness requirements in food
preparation, the FD Series features a stainless steel top and
bottom housing as well as a removable stainless steel pan. And
designed for maximum portability, the FD Series includes an
internal rechargeable battery which can run for more than 120 hours
before requiring a recharge. The FD Series can also be used
throughout the week on a single overnight recharge.
Staff at Rockne's also like the scale's easy to read, large,
backlit LCD display and the option to select from several weighing
units like ounces or pounds. The FD Series also provides fast and
accurate results within two seconds. "The scales are very exact -
it's easy to get what you are looking for," Lord adds.
About four years ago, she turned to the OHAUS scales after an
unfortunate experience with another manufacturer's equipment. "We
had been going through scales left and right," she explains. "They
were breaking frequently and we weren't able to repair them. We
needed to find reliable equipment." She tried the OHAUS FD Series
scale and was pleased with its dependability. Lord says that they
now have three such scales in their restaurant kitchen, which
include the original one purchased several years ago. Lord was so
positive about the equipment that she discussed her experience with
colleagues at two other Rockne's restaurants in Akron and North
Canton, Ohio. These managers subsequently purchased several OHAUS
FD Series scales for use in their own restaurant kitchens.
Rockne's has been able to retain customers while keeping food
costs constant through the use of OHAUS FD Series scales in its
kitchens. Lord said this weighing process has improved the diner
"experience" as the restaurant chain is able to maintain
consistency - a key factor in strengthening Rockne's bottom line
while leading to a loyal customer base, in a very competitive
industry.