Of all the different pieces of commercial kitchen equipment that you’ll find in restaurants and there are few items that get as much use as the humble cooktop. Make no mistake though, the ubiquity of cooktops does nothing to diminish their importance. In fact, without them, it’s hard to imagine how a kitchen could be anywhere near as productive and versatile.

It’s these two qualities that really encapsulate what a great cooktop needs to provide. It should be large enough to comfortably accommodate however many pots and pans are required at any one time, while facilitating everything from the frying of eggs to the boiling of water.

In days gone by, the only real choice to be made in terms of cooktops (other than the brand) was whether you wanted gas or electric. Today, there is a far more versatile selection of different products to choose from, and some of the best are designed and manufactured by Blue Seal Evolution. Let’s take a closer look at some of the options.

The classic cooktop

Before we get into any of the more modern takes on the cooktop, it would be foolish to ignore the simple fact that the traditional models still work perfectly. In terms of sheer power and durability, a gas or electric set of burners is all but impossible to beat.

Choose the right Gas cooktop

One of the main benefits of having a gas cooktop in your kitchen is that they provide instant high temperatures and can be easily controlled using the cooking knobs making the whole process flexible and effortless. Turn it up or down without any long wait times to vary between using high heat to cook steaks, boil a pot of water or quickly switch to a lower heat level to start simmering your sauces. In addition, the shape of the flames is concentrated giving a more directed, powerful heat area and ultimately cooks faster without wasting energy.

The benefit of extend cast iron trivets apart from their durability allows chefs to fit almost any type of pots and pans. Chef and restaurateurs can choose the number of burners they need in their professional kitchen line up as Blue Seal gas cooktops comes in 2, 4, 6 or 8 burner configurations to match the level of covers you need for each service.

Let’s take a gas cooktop from Blue Seal Evolution’s range as an example. Each burner can produce a whopping 28 megajoules of heat – which certainly helps to explain why so many chefs still love to cook with gas, even now that electric cooktops present a viable alternative.

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of one power supply or the other, the entire Blue Seal Evolution range features iron castings and a vitreous enamel finish where it’s robust enough to handle the punishment of busy service times.

Try out a Target Top

Another option for a gas cooking equipment from Blue Seal Evolution is a gas target top. These operate slightly differently – featuring a flat surface rather than individual hobs, which can allow for all sorts of creative cooking techniques over a larger surface with varying amount of heat.

On a target top, chefs are not just limited to pot or pans per hob but can utilise the full cooking space based on their size. If you are limited on space, a target top will be more flexible in doing various dishes at a time as you can cook more component on its 900mm wide surface.

A chef can multitask with smaller and larger pans using a target top – small pans for delicate dishes and larger pans and pots for high-volume cooking. By placing it in the centre, the strong burner system on the Blue Seal target top can swiftly heat big pots of water for pasta, soups, or stews. If a simmer is required to complete sauces, simply move the pot away from the centre of the target top. At the same time, you can cook a range of recipes using only one target top.

When restaurants choose to cook to order during service and need to work on multiple orders with different components to a dish, a gas target top outperforms a gas cooktop. One way to demonstrate the versatility of the Blue Seal target top is to make pan sear duck breast, a popular dish in many restaurants. To begin, heat the pan halfway between the centre and the edge of the target top, sear the breast on the pan skin side down, and then move the pan to the outer edge to cook with a more gentle heat. When the skin is crispy and golden, turn it over and finish cooking to the desired level of doneness. While the duck is cooking, you can begin creating the sauce – start with a high heat in the centre and transfer to the side to simmer and reduce. If the sauce is done before the duck breast has finished cooking, you can easily keep it warm by moving the pan to the very edge to keep the sauce warm until serving.

A chef can multitask with smaller and larger pans using a target top – small pans for delicate dishes and larger pans and pots for high-volume cooking. By placing it in the centre, the strong burner system on the Blue Seal target top can swiftly heat big pots of water for pasta, soups, or stews. If a simmer is required to complete sauces, simply move the pot away from the centre of the target top. At the same time, you can cook a range of recipes using only one target top.

Why choose Blue Seal target tops and what is the science behind it?

Blue Seal target tops has a heavy-duty cast-iron top with removable centre ring. It has a high output dual ring cast iron burner that can produce 45 megajoules of intense heat.

Chefs can fit 4 to 5 different types of food on one side of the target top for it to stay warm. The target top casting and burner box are made of thick 50mm refractory ceramic blocks, which helps spread and retain heat across the full surface of the target top. This design maximises heat efficiency and allows you to cook many dishes with various heat levels on the same surface.

Furthermore, Blue Seal gas target tops are known to come standard with flame failure protection on their burners. Because of its flat surface and lack of gaps for food debris to accumulate, the target top is simple to clean and maintain. Designed to work for a lifetime in the kitchen, all Blue Seal cooking equipment has a stainless-steel exterior for the added durability.

Blue Seal gas cooktops and target tops are available in a variety of base configurations, allowing customers to select the model that best suits their kitchen layout and cooking needs. The bench top, leg stand, cabinet base, refrigeration, or oven range under can aid in kitchen workflow by allowing chefs to easily grab the necessary items to continue cooking.

To find out more about which Blue Seal Evolution cooktop is right for you, contact Moffat today.