Case Studies

The Rosen Hotel was interested in adding a hot food menu to their Lite Bite Store at their International Drive Hotel Location in Orlando. Craig Hodges, with Bill Murray from Edward Don, setup a live demo to show how the MerryChef 402s can support their needs without having to make any additions to their current store. They wanted to add covered pizzas, fish and chips, chicken wings, cheese sticks, and potato skins. I prepared the menu items while demonstrating the speed and efficiency of the MerryChef. They were impressed and saw a real connection between the operation they were looking to expand on and, our equipment that could make that happen. Their Corporate Chef loved the oven and it’s potential for all seven of their stores.

Shortly thereafter, they contacted me with a list of frozen items they were going to be using from Sysco and Hackney’s which included mozzarella stuffed bread sticks, two styles of chicken wings, chicken tenders, Jamaican meat patties, potato wedges, and french fries. I tested the products in our Orlando Test Kitchen for the clients and they were very happy. We prepared all of the menu items in 3:00 minutes or less. We then transported the MerryChef to their location and included the Versa Drawer because they didn’t have any available freezer space.

I trained their staff to operate and clean the oven. The Lite Bite staff was very involved and excited about the new oven. We covered how and when to clean the MerryChef. We went over the correct way to cook the items we had tested for their menu and they were able to try all the new items we would be selling. The Rosen Hotel Managers were in attendance and were excited about their new capabilities.

We also added a few combo programs to the MerryChef, which gave the customer a few options for combining the menu items. For example, a combo of four chicken wings and five potato wedges were one item. We have one for the chicken tenders and breadsticks as well. We also suggested an under counter freezer because the features of the Versa Drawer did not suit strictly frozen product.

As, FER Corporate Chef, I worked directly with the client to create a menu from scratch and develop the pricing and the implementation from start to finish. We provided support, training, and programming for the new items they added. The clients now know how to program the MerryChef themselves. Needless to say, they have been very appreciative of all the help and support we have provided. I look forward to helping more clients see the benefits of the MerryChef and how it improve their foodservice operation.

Sincerely,
Ryan Barlow
FER Corporate Chef