Catering Insight Equipment Feature

Grill manufacturers lead trip down Electric Avenue

Catering Insight Features: By Andrew Seymour

Once viewed as a compromise, electric grills and chargrills are rapidly becoming one of the most strategically important equipment categories in the modern commercial kitchen.

Driven by emissions targets, energy costs, space pressures and changing operator expectations, manufacturers are rethinking what electric grilling needs to deliver – not just in sustainability terms, but in flavour, throughput and operational control.

Across the supplier landscape, there is a clear sense that electrification is no longer a future consideration, but a present-day reality.

Operators are increasingly specifying all-electric kitchens to reduce emissions, simplify compliance and future-proof sites against regulatory change.

Yet the challenge for manufacturers is ensuring that electric grills can meet – or exceed – the performance benchmarks historically set by gas, charcoal and solid fuel equipment.

Energy efficiency is now a baseline requirement, not a differentiator. With operators facing sustained pressure on margins and energy costs remaining volatile, manufacturers are under pressure to demonstrate tangible savings without sacrificing output.

One of the most persistent barriers to electric chargrills has been the perception that they cannot replicate the theatre and flavour of solid fuel cooking. Several manufacturers are now directly challenging that assumption.

Andy Piggin, managing director of Pro Foodservice Reps, says the ICARUS by Zesti range, which it imports to the UK, represents a genuine breakthrough.

“The stumbling block to all-electric has often been countertop cooking, particularly chargrills. For the first time, ICARUS by Zesti electric chargrills present the solution, mimicking solid fuel grills to deliver on both theatre and flavour,” he says.

Using a patented vaporising hearth system, ICARUS converts fats into vapour, enhancing smoky flavours while reducing flare-ups and cleaning time – all without water, drip trays or fuel storage.

“Every chef that has tried the kit in our showroom and training centre has commented on the taste of the food delivered by ICARUS,” Piggin adds. “Ultimately, that’s what it’s all about for the customer.”

Read full feature here: Grill manufacturers lead trip down Electric Avenue