The trade show in Chicago was just amazing. The new equipment is simply amazing. The show was at McCormick place which is humongous to begin with. The show was in the North, South, and Lakeshore halls for anyone familiar with the place. Most of the vendors I wanted to see were in the south hall. I walked 7 miles the first day of the show. I saw a few things that I wanted in my kitchen. I don't have brand names but I requested information from them so I hope I get some more detailed specs.
1)
Press Griddles: These are griddles that automatically press and clamp burgers and cook them in 1 - 2 minutes depending on thickness. They are perfect for smashburgers as you can program the press thickness of the griddle. Just put your meatball and onions on the griddle and press start. I saw two versions of this. One had heated griddles that went up and down only. It used a replaceable non-stick mat to cook on and it automatically pushes the cooked burgers off the cooking surface onto a collecting tray. It then cleans itself for the next batch. The second version has teflon griddles that rocked back and forth slightly during cooking to get a crust on the burger edges. Both made great looking smashburgers. Both also had a cheese melt mode for cheese melting.
2)
Auto cooking pot platforms: I saw two varieties of these but there was not much difference in operation. This was similar to the Nosh unit I posted about a while back except a larger scale. A computer controlled cook pot that allows an unskilled operator to make high end dishes by just prepping basic ingredients. I got a sample of garlic noodles which just blew me away for how much flavor was packed into such a simple dish. The platform has a dry spice dispenser as well as liquid ingredient dispensers which dispense automatically as needed by the selected recipes. This unit can make large quantities of food or a single serving. I think we will be seeing more of these in the near future.
3)
Charcuterie chamber: There was a vendor with a charcuterie chamber that just blew me away. The chamber had a computer controlled humidity regulator that was very precise. It also had a meat pH probe that logged curing information in real time. This data can be used for USDA certification of chamber cured meats. The unit also had a smoker function that was impressive. One of the units that was running was using truffle oil for the smoke. The unit was designed and manufactured in Italy. I am tempted to purchase one of these.
4)
Also Ran: There were also some nifty automatic sushi makers that were on display. I also saw some serving and cleaning robots that were somewhat interesting. I did see a very impressive hand built BBQ pit. I don't remember the vendor. That pit was built solid as a tank. Very nice firebox and cooking area.
Lastly, I wanted to mention one product I was able to sample that just blew me away. It was a plant based meat alternative called Beyond Meat. Before you poo poo me, I poo poo'ed the vendor before I tried it. I always thought that plant based meat alternatives had two drawbacks that just made them suck. One was mouth feel. Meat chews and feels a certain way when you eat it. After taste. Most plant alternatives have an after taste like old beans. After I ate the steak bites, it still tasted like I ate meat. Now don't get me wrong here, I am not going vegetarian and still prefer meat but if you are looking for a meat alternative for something like steak tacos, this actually works. I have had worse that used actual meat.
I took the Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago. I am glad I did. The train pulled into Union Station just 1.5 miles from the hotel. Relaxing and hassle free. I really loved being in Chicago. So much cool stuff to see and do there. It was a wonderful trip and I would go back anytime.
JC
