How Broaster’s ES24G Solves Pain Points

By: Katie Hammaker, National Accounts Manager

 

As Broaster’s National Accounts Manager, I support chains all across the United States with their Broaster Pressure Fryers, from the beginning of the sale all the way through to on-site installation and training of hourly employees. While Broaster has been developing the E-Series 24G and taking it to key customers for tests and evaluation, I have witnessed how truly remarkable this machine is, and how it solves many problems for these accounts.

When it arrives at a location, hourly employees, managers, and leadership alike tend to be impressed with the features that are consciously designed but not overengineered. Of course, the signature features are well received, like the automatic dual powered lift. Operators can bring in high-capacity machines that don’t require their employees to try and maneuver a huge, heavy, hot basket of chicken around the busy kitchen. Compared to other manual lift machines out there, the auto-lift is very easy to operate. There’s no hopping and heaving to get the lid mechanism to close—just the touch of two buttons. So regardless of stature, ability, or free hands, the employee can get product into and out of the cooking well easily.

Notably, the SmartTouch^TM screen is a big hit. It keeps the operator informed of the pressure fryer’s status in real time. It displays when filtering is happening, and is programmable with pictures, which helps knock down language barriers. Another great feature is that within one minute of the start of a cook cycle, you can change the selected programmed product without restarting the cooking timer. In the real world, when an operator accidentally selects bone-in chicken when they really meant to tap tenders, it’s great not to have to spend time doing mental math figuring out how long the product has been cooking for. They can just change the correct programmed product without missing a beat. With the E-Series 24G, an incorrect button being pressed doesn’t have to compromise the integrity of the product.

As I’m attending these trainings and working with these locations, I have witnessed some great benefits to the E-Series 24G. Oil life at some locations has reached 3 or 4 weeks, instead of the 5-7 days they were getting on their previous unit. Filtering more often and changing oil less is keeping oil costs down. Labor is freed up to work on other tasks, and the E-Series 24G keeps everyone informed of its status. Simply put, it cooks the MOST amount of chicken with the least amount of oil, energy, labor and space under the hood.

Two of my most favorite parts of my job are directly related to training on-site on the E-Series 24G. The first is the looks of awe and celebration from employees when I show them how easy it is to filter on the E-Series 24G. There are no fittings to disassemble or parts that need to go through the dishwasher. Just a quick wipe down, a few filter papers and aids, hold down ring, and back under the machine the filter pan goes. It’s such a simple process, and employees tell me they don’t dread filtering anymore.

My second most favorite is when service technicians come in to work on an E-Series 24G, which does happen from time to time. With all the electrical components on one side and all plumbing on the other, it’s easy for them to troubleshoot and repair the E-Series 24G quickly. This gets them out the door to their next call quicker, and it gets the operator back up and running. As a proud Broaster employee, when these service personnel tell me how easy it was to work on, I am glad we can be the “easy stop” for their day.

Recently, I was training hourly staff at a busy grocery-deli on the E-Series 24G they had just installed. I asked one of the workers that was there for training why she hadn’t done much cooking on the previous pressure fryer. She explained to me that the previous pressure fryer required manual release of pressure that took around 20 seconds. As she was releasing the pressure, a disgruntled shopper accosted her for “standing around” instead of working on their order. She avoided frying on that unit again. She was relieved that the E-Series 24G has automatic pressure release, which releases the pressure concurrently to ending the cooking cycle. Improved product quality from the automatic pressure release is a great benefit; potato wedges perfectly crisp, limited coating fall off from the chicken, but so is making that employee’s day-to-day better.

If you’re a chain location wanting to extend your oil life, free yourself from complex filtering processes, improve the quality of your products and reduce the daily burdens of your staff, lets talk.

Whether you’re a chain location serving bone-in chicken day-in-day-out, or someone who sells high volumes of tenders, fillets, or other fried foods, I would be excited to show you how Broaster’s E-Series 24G can help improve your business.