Food preparation process

A method of preparing meals for hospitals, airlines and similar consumers comprising placing containers with lids and holding various types of food on a tray, inserting a plurality of such food trays in vertical alignment on supports in an insulated food and beverage cabinet, closing the doors of said cabinet to create a closed compartment for the food trays, coupling the food and beverage cabinet to a plenum chamber having a circulating chilled air source therein, continuously circulating the chilled air from the air source through the plenum chamber and the food and beverage cabinet uniformly around and over each of the food trays and then back to said chilled air source, cooling the walls and the lids of the containers with the chilled air, selectively heating certain of the food containers for different amounts of time and at different temperatures than other of the food containers with each heated container having the time and temperature of its heating independent of the time and temperature of heating of all other heated containers, thereby controlling the temperature of the food being heated selectively, and continuing the circulation of the chilled air during the selective heating step and further comprising feeding food item information into an entry console to set time/temperature curves for each tray, transferring the curve data to a memory module pack for maintaining the curves, affixing the memory module pack to a transport command unit which is operatively connected to said plenum chamber coupled to said food and beverage container containing heater shelves which shelves receive said curve data from said transport command unit.

A method of preparing meals for hospitals, airlines and similar consumers comprising placing containers with lids and holding various types of food on a food tray, inserting a plurality of such food trays in vertical alignment on a support rack having a back wall with a plurality of vertically arranged openings of flow area which decreases from bottom to top thereof in an insulated food and beverage cabinet, closing the doors of said cabinet to create a closed compartment for the food trays, providing a plenum chamber having a chilled air source therein, coupling the food and beverage cabinet to the plenum chamber, creating flow communication between the plenum chamber and the food and beverage cabinet to provide a closed loop therewith, flowing chilled air from the plenum chamber through the back wall of the food and beverage cabinet and to the front thereof and then over the trays on the rack with the amount of chilled air flow exiting from the back wall of the rack gradually lessening from the bottom to the top of the rack and then back to the plenum chamber to create the closed loop to provide equal flow of chilled air being drawn off of each tray level and eliminating stratification of the chilled air in the cabinet, continuously circulating the chilled air from the air source through the plenum chamber and the food and beverage cabinet uniformly around and over each of the food trays and then back to said chilled air source while cooling the walls and the lids of the containers with the chilled air, selectively heating certain of the food containers, controlling the temperature of the food being heated selectively, and continuing the circulation of the chilled air during the selective heating step.

A method for preparing meals for hospitals, airlines and similar consumers comprising placing complete preassembled meals in individual containers on a plurality of trays, placing the containers containing food items to be heated into respective openings in the trays and placing food items to be unheated in another area on at least one other portion of the trays, placing the trays on supports in a movable wheeled cart, locating the containers containing food items to be heated above respective heater elements on its heater shelf, rolling the cart into a stationary housing having refrigeration means, during the rolling step utilizing complementary guide elements on the cart and on a wall within the stationary housing to properly position the exterior of the cart with respect to the chilled air means of the refrigerated housing, electrically coupling electrical connectors of the cart to complementary electrical connectors in the housing by the cart being moved toward the refrigerated housing wall having the guide elements to provide an electrical power source for the heater elements, isolating the cart from the outside environment, refrigerating the atmosphere within the cart to create a refrigerated environment therein, after a period of time in which the cart is in the refrigerated environment then rethermalizing the food to be heated by heating the containers containing the food to be heated by means of the heater elements, accomplishing the heating by selectively applying different heat levels to different food items by means of heater elements on the heater shelves with various heater elements operating at temperatures independently of each other and without heating the items to be unheated, maintaining substantially no temperature rise with the refrigerated environment during the rethermalization, and after the meal has been sufficiently temperature treated then rolling the cart from the housing and rolling it to the service area.

A method of preparing meals for hospitals, airlines and similar consumers comprising placing items to be heated into covered containers on predetermined locations on trays, placing items to be served unheated on other locations on the trays with at least a portion of the trays having an upstanding edge whereby such items are prevented from sliding off the trays, inserting a plurality of such trays parallel to each other on sets of spaced guide rails in a rolling cart having side walls and intermediate end walls with at least one of the end walls having an openable door, inserting the trays into the cart until positioning means on the trays cause the trays to be in proper registration with generally horizontal heater shelves associated with the sets of guide rails, raising the containers having the food items to be heated above the bottom surface of the trays and disposing the containers in direct contact with heater elements on the heater shelves, closing the cart from the environment, rolling the cart into an open-faced stationary housing having a refrigeration unit with inlet and outlet ducts, creating communication between the housing inlet and outlet ducts and normally closed openings in one of the end walls of the cart, circulating chilled air from the refrigeration unit through the housing inlet duct and through the cart over the tray surfaces and back through the housing outlet duct with the cart having a baffle member between the side walls of the cart facilitating in insuring that the chilled air flows over the trays, heating the containers having the food to be heated while the chilled air circulates through the cart, discontinuing the heating after a predetermined time, and rolling the cart out of the housing and to the service area.