Hello everyone! I was wondering if there is any information out there on using the Sous vide process in a large scale catering setting. i.e. Pre-mark steaks then chill. Cryo-vac and then bring them to temp at an offsite venue. Any information at all would be greatly appreciated!
Your Food Safety regulators will have a set of guidelines and targets that need to be met.
Are there any programs out there you may know of that may assist with a HACCP plan for this process? Especially as regulations change from state to state and city to city its proven very difficult to find a solution. I appreciate your reply.
Sheepman, Ember’s correct, start by reviwing your plans with the local public health department because they are the folks that will keep you in business.
“Large scale” doesn’t sufficiently define the scope or capacity of your project. Do you want to process 100 steaks or a thousand? If you have substantial financial resources you should engage an experienced food facility planner.
For a modest operation your foodservice equipment vendor may be able to provide valuable planning and operating guidance if new equipment is required. They could also inform you of others in the hospitality industry already using advanced SV techniques for off-site catering. The best people in the Hospitality industry are always willing to share their experience.
Sorry, can’t help you there. I’m only a home cook and based in Australia. I figure you should be able to find out the information regarding the regulations in your state from the authority in that state.
There’s a bunch of them out there. They’re usually part of a service that reviews your operation and builds it custom from scratch. You can always Google it. Can’t say I’ve ever used on: when i have dealt with HACCP/HARPC in the past i usually has corporate SME’s and other folks i could utilize.
Sheepman, you might want to start seeking information from SV foodservice equipment companies. You don’t disclose your location so here’s a link to an international company to get you started.
The scale we are currently using is anywhere from 150-1000. Fusion Chef has a HACCP solutions plan but it seems to be fairly expensive and im unsure of how effective or permanent it may be. I appreciate all the replies.
It was my business to work with operators and develop a unique HACCP Plan with all associated documents and systems for their operation while providing the necessary training to ensure its success. Anyone can do it on their if they have a strong food production systems background. Finding the time is another matter.
I still encourage you to start with your local public health officials if your operation is supported by such an organization.
A consultant will get you safely functioning quicker and likely with more detail, but they are not absolutely necessary.
If you are serving from 150 to 1,000 covers a day you cannot afford to operate without a structured food safety system in place.
No sure why Anna’s post has been flagged, she joined to share her experience and so she tries to do
In their restaurant business, many chefs use this technology.
It seems to me that this is a perversion over products. I think this technology can spoil food or kill all the useful properties in it. For my events, I rent food truck nyc, in which everything is prepared on site and hot food is served. I may be wrong, but I don’t think you should do that with food. Of course, it depends on the scale of the event, but you can still rent several of these food trucks and solve the problem. These trucks create a special atmosphere at the party and the guests really like it. This brings back pleasant memories for many people.
Brandon, it’s good to have you share your interesting thinking here. There aren’t enough operators posting to support newcomers to the SV cooking technique.
However, the point of cooking food is ensure the elimination of harmful pathogens making it safe to consume. If useful properties are nutrients, you should know they remain available for digestion in cooked foods.
Renting several food trucks seems to be a particularly costly and ineffective method of serving a large group.