Mailiao Elementary School. Taiwan.

Every lunchtime, the kitchen staff at Mailiao Elementary School in Taiwan face the challenge of preparing 1,500 diverse and nutritious meals for not just their own students and staff, but also meal delivery to two additional neighboring schools. Not only do the meals need to be prepared on time, but they also must be nutritious, and appealing to the young students.

Ms. Hsu Li-Ching, the Kitchen Manager at Mailiao Elementary School, greatly appreciates how the RATIONAL cooking equipment is “ergonomically designed and easy to use with numerous built-in cooking programs,” allowing her team to handle kitchen tasks with ease. Furthermore, RATIONAL equipment produces significantly less grease smoke, creating a fresher and cooler working environment while producing healthier, less oily food.

Besides comfort, RATIONAL kitchen equipment has streamlined their cooking process, allowing the kitchen crew to cook more efficiently. Head Chef Liu Yi-Ping values the iVario Pro's fast heating system, which allows for quicker boiling of large quantities of food, and its automatic draining system , which disposes of hot liquids without manual effort and without the risk of scalding themselves. The iCombi Pro’s versatility enables simultaneous cooking of various foods, such as stewing meat, roasting ribs, and baking sweet potato cakes.

With RATIONAL equipment replacing traditional kitchen tools, Mailiao Elementary has gone fully electric, eliminating gas and fuel bills. This change has resulted in a “cost reduction of 40-50%, even with all-day air-conditioning,” according to Ms. Hsu. She is also exceptionally grateful for the after-sales support provided by RATIONAL, where RATIONAL Chef Andy Tan spent two weeks at Mailiao Elementary to assist in building a new kitchen workflow and processes as well as training the kitchen crew how to use the new equipment efficiently.

Mailiao Elementary School is a prime example of how large-scale cooking can be easily achieved with the right smart kitchen equipment. The flexibility and bulk cooking capabilities of the iCombi Pro 20-1/1 and iVario Pro L and XL have allowed Kitchen Manager Ms. Hsu and Head Chef Ms. Liu to create a diverse range of nutritious and tasty meals daily in large batches, on time effortlessly. This has helped reduce staff workload and streamline kitchen processes, contributing significantly to helping Mailiao Elementary properly care for their students.