Cook Chill Systems are used by many types of food service organizations including Fine Dining Restaurants, Fast Food Restaurants, Restaurant Chains, Hospital Food Service Departments, School Food Service Departments, Institutional Food Service Departments and Caterers. These organizations produce large quantities of consistent 'just made fresh' foods using the Cook-Chill method which gives products an extended shelf life while achieving a reduction in food and labor costs and practicing safe food handling.

The Cook Chill System from Cryovac, D C Norris and Plascon Food Solutions is a major advance in prepared foods technology that ensures consistent quality in every batch, at every location, while reducing labor required for preparation and serving. Like no other system now on the market, Cook-Chill can provide a high degree of quality and fresh cooked taste.

Plascon Food Solutions in partnership with Cryovac Sealed Air Corporation and D C Norris, provides cook-chill bags, cook-chill bag closures, cook-chill equipment and cook-chill accessories. Click Here to see a video detailing the advantages of incorporating the Cook Chill process into your food preparation system.

The Cook Chill 7-Step Process

1. Food Preparation
   Food is prepared on site or at a central location under highest quality control standards and cooked in volume.
2. Bag Fill
   Upon reaching the exact degree of doneness, and while still above pasteurization temperature, food is filled directly into a Plascon Food Solutions Cook Chill bag to ensure strict sanitation.
3. Bag Seal
   The Cook Chill bag is then securely closed with a heat seal system or clip closure.
4. Ice Bath
   The sealed bag is immediately placed in iced water to arrest the cooking process and reduce the food's core temperature to 40 degrees.
5. Store
   Food is stored refrigerated or frozen until ready to serve.
6. Retherm
   At the serving location, product can be reheated in several ways. The bag can be placed in a steamer, or simply immersed in hot water. An additional option for the retherming process is opening the bag and
   pouring the contents into a kettle or serving pan to reheat the product.
7. Finished Product
   Aroma, taste, texture...the final presentation deliverys quality, 'fresh-cooked' goodness.

The Central Preparation Concept

Basically any food of pumpable consistency can be cooked and prepared at peak quality with the revolutionary Cook-Chill system. This includes soups, chowders, sauces, gravies, gelatins, chili, stews, casseroles, pasta dishes, pizza toppings, and many, many more.

Optimum Sanitation Throughout

With Cook-Chill, once the raw ingredients go into the cooking kettle, the food is never again exposed to handling. The SavorGuard bag is used for packaging, storing, distribution and reheating. This unique, multilayered material also prevents crossover of flavors or odors in distribution. The foods are packaged at above pasteurization temperature, and not exposed to air until the bag is opened for serving.

Freshness and Quality

Each batch prepared with the Cook-Chill method is a "prescription" for freshness and quality. This centralized preparation enables foodservice operators to maintain absolute control over uniformity and quality. All recipes are precisely measured and cooking cycles carefully monitored. Foods are cooked to proper doneness, never over- or undercooked. Thus, every serving location, no matter how distant, is assured uniform flavor, texture and quality. Best of all, even after weeks in storage, the foods taste as if they were freshly prepared.

A Proven, Successful System

The Cryovac Cook Chill System is now in use by leading foodservice operators nationwide, helping them serve a broader variety of fresh-tasting foods with new ease and consistency.

Family-style restaurant chains are supplying a wide variety of soups and entrees to their stores. A leading Mexican-food chain, for example, is packaging everything from chili con queso to refried beans.

A health care facility is supplying satellite locations from its central commissary, upgrading the quality of its "institutional" fare and realizing significant economic benefits in labor management and foodservice operations.

And a supermarket chain's central commissary is efficiently supplying in-store delis with soups, chili and a variety of hot entrees.

Other Benefits

Cook Chill Bags from Plascon Food Solutions work equally well for refrigerated or frozen foods. The Plascon Cook Chill bag withstands temperatures ranging from -20 F to 212 F.

Savings in manpower can be substantial, since highly skilled personnel (dietitians, chefs, etc.) are needed only at the central kitchen. No trained cooks are necessary at the serving locations; even part-time employees with minimal training are capable of reheating and serving. And, because so few pots and pans are used at the commissary and serving site, cleanup requires less time and labor.

Storage and inventory are easier to handle, too. Each package is identified by content and packaging date and is easily stackable minimizing storage space requirements. Deliveries can be reduced; each satellite can maintain fresh inventory in its own cooler with assured 30-day shelf life from date of packaging.