Page 33 - Sphere No.22 (Aug 2008)

HOME COOKING
A LTHOUGH SINGLE-HEAD induction
cookers have been available in Hong
Kong for some time, a willingness to in-
stall multi-head units in place of gas burners is rel-
atively recent. Younger people choosing to cook
at home, and the popularity of designs featuring
kitchens open to living areas, probably account in
part for rising demand.
The units have the advantage of being easy to
install, and there is an induction cooker to suit just
about every budget, with the more expensive units
incorporating a variety of sophisticated extra fea-
tures, such as programmable timers. All units are
equipped with a high temperature cut-off function.
About 15 per cent of domestic electricity users
who bought cookers for their kitchens in the last
two years selected induction cookers, and prop-
erty developers who previously favoured gas-only
units have become amenable to installing duel fuel
cookers in new apartments. Some developers have
even accepted the concept of all electric kitchens
in which induction units usually play a role.
Several initiatives have helped create this climate
of acceptance, including cooking demonstrations
at HK Electric’s Commercial Kitchen Centre in
North Point and road shows in various districts
and department stores, made possible by the high
degree of portability of the equipment.
SPHERE 31
“Hotels and other institutional commercial users, such as
hospitals and universities, regard environmental issues as more
important. On the other hand restaurants generally think of the
operating cost as a more important issue,” says Dr Chu.
In addition to the Harbour Plaza North Point, hotels now us-
ing induction wok stations include the City Garden Hotel, the
Park Lane Hong Kong Hotel, the Grand Hyatt Hotel and the
South Pacific Hotel. The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (at its
Fong Shu Chuen Social Service Building) and the Hong Kong
Jockey Club have also installed similar equipment.
“There is not much difference between induction and con-
ventional gas cooking. It is very difficult to distinguish between
dishes cooked by the two different energy sources. In fact, the
Chinese Cuisine Training Institute has already adopted electric
cooking equipment in teaching their students various Chinese
dishes,” notes Dr Chu.
HK Electric has also been able to persuade a number of
Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong to do without their old gas
burners, as K K Lee, Managing Director of the Ho Choi Restau-
rant Group confirms.
“Consumption of various fuels was large in the past,” Mr
Lee explains. “After switching to electrical equipment we can
save energy, raise the restaurant’s productivity, and meet the
requirements of environmental protection.
“The expert advice of HK Electric on the choice of electric
kitchen equipment has enabled us to achieve a much lower
overall operating cost, and working in the kitchen is more com-
fortable. This new generation of environmentally-friendly elec-
tric kitchen equipment should be adopted in this new era.”
Induction equipment is also a logical choice for open kitch-
en environments, in which diners observe the chefs prepar-
ing their food. According to Chef Yuen, a considerable num-
ber of hotels now use induction heads on the egg-cooking
stands of their breakfast buffets, while Dan Leonard, Food
Hall Manager of GREAT, considers the equipment ideal for
chefs to use in the food hall.
“The design of the GREAT food hall in Pacific Place is
unique and modern, and the open kitchen style is adopted. A
clean, hygienic quiet, smoke free and grease free environment
is required in order to let customers dine peacefully. Electric
equipment can solve all the problems and deliver a modern
hygienic feeling,” he says.
Chefs may need some persuading to swap their old fashioned
gas burners for electromagnetic heat, but once the switch has
been made, according to Chef Yuen, who has also installed in-
duction cooking equipment in his home, few will want to go
back to the time-honoured methods.
“Some chefs are conservative,” he says. “After all, all food was
cooked originally with flame, but I’ve shown friends who are
chefs and who have been convinced. Converting kitchens can
involve major renovation work though, so there is also a certain
resistance for that reason. It’s the way of the future, but it will
take time.”