Super cool

Support for freezer fillers continues to be strengthened by the cost effectiveness and the health benefits they offer to caterers. Sheila Eggleston reports.

Frozen food is pretty hot right now. A contradiction in terms perhaps, but foodservice operators appear to have turned more readily to their freezers as a way to keep costs down. Thanks to NPD in this sector and new breakthroughs in the freezing process, the bar continues to be raised in terms of quality.

The recent survey undertaken by the British Frozen Food Federation showed that there has been a 20% increase in uptake since  2009 (see page 64). Catering suppliers in the healthcare sector such as Apetito support frozen food as an integral part of a healthy and nutritious diet.

Divisional manager Rosemarie Hoyle says the trends in the health sector go further than just being an 'issue of the moment'. "They underpin how manufacturers and hospitals look at the entire catering function and what can be done to address these subjects with the provision of frozen food.

"A rising concern is the serious issue of malnutrition. This affects an estimated 150,000 hospital residents in the UK so ensuring every meal developed is nutritionally balanced is a fundamental part of our product development. Every one of our meals is frozen when the dish is at its optimum to ensure that none of the goodness, nutrients or the flavours is lost.

We work very hard to ensure that when our meals are cooked they are served to the highest possible standard."

Duncan Marsh, general manager of Bernard Matthews Foodservice, says that while the campaign for fresh has gained momentum in the past, frozen is again becoming more important as the recession forces caterers to review their operations. "Rapid and highly organised methods of freezing have evolved with the express purpose of minimising nutrient losses,"

he says. "The Food Standards Agency has accepted that, nutritionally, frozen is as good for you as fresh, so why should caterers be afraid to look at products naturally preserved in this way? "It's about recognising facts and using them to your advantage. British turkey offers an excellent margin opportunity as it is cheaper to buy than other meat, but can be sold at the same price."

The company's new additions to its school friendly Big Tick range are roast turkey breast chunks and mild tikka turkey breast chunks, which can be used on school menus for dishes ranging from cottage pie to pizza and kebabs. Also new for 2011 are frozen turkey thigh mince and diced turkey thigh for dishes such as pasta Bolognese and curries.

Frozen products have many benefits, says Phil Cumming, UK sales and marketing director at Lamb Weston. "You can improve portion control by cooking to order, which also helps reduce waste and improve cost savings; you can serve seasonal food even if it's out of season as well as food when it's in short supply.

"This is of particular benefit for those with customers who expect to see their favourite food all year round, as when frozen at their peak, this food can be served at its best, no matter what the season. Frozen food also allows caterers to serve a consistently high quality product, which reassures operators that no matter who prepares the food, it will be the best it possibly can be."

Lamb Weston has a wide portfolio of premium potato products from chips and wedges to gratins. A new addition to its Private Reserve range is an extra fine fry cut size that offers maximum potato flavour, with higher yield potential due to its extra thin design, says Cumming McCain Foods is best known for potato products but also produces deep pan pizzas especially for schools. Meeting pupil demand for high street style choices, its hand held pizzas range are easy to serve, which satisfies caterers who need to serve high volumes in a short time frame.

Its cheese and tomato multi serve and cheese and tomato pizza grande also contain added wheatgerm and fibre, giving caterers the opportunity to offer a healthy and tasty pizza option.

Head of marketing Mike Driver says: "We try to work with our customers to provide support wherever possible, helping them to meet the demands of all involved.

This could be providing footballs for a promotion, which we've done recently, or setting up a training session in the kitchen." Ann Hirst, primary area manager for Shropshire Council, has described the work it has done with schools as "a godsend". The council serves school meals around 25,000 times every day across more than 200 schools in the region and in neighbouring Worcestershire, which has no dedicated meal provision.

Hirst says: "Running a great meal service that meets budgetary requirements is a real balancing act that requires versatile products and proactive and supportive suppliers. McCain falls into that category, which is why we use them."

Driver adds: "Demonstrations are a great way to engage staff and pupils and are something that Shropshire holds regularly during assemblies and parents evenings to illustrate what great food is available. With a two course school meal costing under £2 it's remarkably good value too."

Birds Eye Foodservice is focusing on fully traceable, sustainable protein packed frozen food range, with chicken products reared to the highest animal welfare standards, and fish such as Alaskan Pollock sourced from sustainable marine fisheries.

It has a sustainability plan in place called Forever Food, which covers the period of 2010 to 2015. It has been developed with organisations such as WWF, the Marine Stewardship Council, and the Food & Drink Federation, and covers raw materials and manufacturing sites, as well as third party suppliers and aims to drive awareness of better choices in health and nutrition.

Salmon fish fingers, one of its newest products, is made from wild pink salmon fillets, which it says are sustainably sourced, convenient and nutritious.

Frozen ethnic snacks continue to be popular and Daloon Foods says retail data gives a good insight into consumer trends, which tend to be reflected in foodservice, and the latest figures are very assuring. Kantar World Panel data (December 2010) shows that expenditure on frozen ethnic snacks grew over the last two years by 26.3% in comparison to total frozen prepared food, which grew by 4.6%.

Daloon has capitalised on these trends and developed a premium Indian snacks brand for foodservice called Great Tiger.

Available from April, the range can be cooked from frozen and is easy to serve as starters, snacks and sharing platters. The variants comprise vegetable samosas, onion bhajis, and vegetable and spinach pakoras, plus a pakora sauce.

NPD has spurred on the revival of frozen food. For example 3663 has launched a range of frozen classic ready to serve meals. Coq au vin, toad in the hole, beef olives, chicken with feta cheese, chorizo and pine kernels, beef Bordelaise and chicken chasseur come in packs offering eight portions. Own brand manager Nicky Dixey comments: "If there was a product on the market you could use that requires little preparation and back of house resource, will increase profit margins and give you the edge by serving hearty dishes your customers will love, what would you say? Well, we've not created one product that does all this but six.

"The debate of fresh versus frozen and what is more appealing will never go away, but without doubt the convenience of frozen food comes into its own at times when it's difficult to plan footfall or you need to cater for a big event. We've tried and tested and benchmarked our frozen products, so we believe they can't be beaten on look and taste."