Why a Chef Who "Buys the Best" Buys Vollrath

The experience at The Chef's Table in Milwaukee, WI, is truly one-of-a-kind — not only because it's a private restaurant, but also because David Magnasco, the owner and executive chef, works "hand-in-hand" with his clients to design the experience around them. 

Magnasco doesn't compromise, and likes to work with the highest quality of everything. From ingredients to equipment, his kitchen is stocked with the best. If you were to peek inside, you'd find it packed with Vollrath products. We met with him to learn why he's chosen Vollrath over and over again. 

Incomparable Quality

When shopping for equipment, Magnasco says, "the total cost of ownership is very important…it's better to buy the good pan up front that's going to last more than a lifetime."

In Magnasco's mind, the best pans on the market are Vollrath's. From frying pans to hotel pans, Vollrath's commercial cookware is built from quality materials, heats evenly, and stands up to the high demands of his busy kitchen

"Every day that pan is getting beaten up," says Magnasco. If he had selected a lower-quality pan, he'd probably have to replace it every six months. But luckily, his Vollrath pan is made to last. "It's going to outlast me and it's going to outlast the person that it gets handed down to…it's going to last forever." 

Superior Sous Vide

One of Magnasco's favorite cooking methods is sous vide because it enhances flavors for a richer, better dish. 

If you're cooking tomato sauce on the stove and you can smell the tomatoes, he explains, "that's flavors escaping the pan." When you cook with sous vide, that can't happen because all the ingredients and seasonings are sealed into the sous vide bag.

"Whatever you put into that bag is going to be trapped in there, so as it's warming back up, all those flavors are infused in that bag and it's just going to get even more flavorful."

When Magnasco was looking for a sous vide immersion circulator, he knew he needed one from Vollrath. No other machine on the market offers the same performance or precision, and that's of the utmost importance to Magnasco. 

The Vollrath sous vide immersion circulator offers temperature settings down to a tenth of a degree for incomparable accuracy. That exceptional precision leads to consistent, repeatable results and prevents overcooking. With the Vollrath vacuum pack machine, vacuum pack bags and immersion circulator, Magnasco can guarantee a perfectly-cooked dish for each and every guest.

Fun Frozen Beverages

Though the sous vide machine is Magnasco's favorite Vollrath product, his bartenders have a different one: the Vollrath frozen beverage machine. 

"Our bartenders have fallen in love with the machine," says Magnasco. "It [makes] a quick, beautiful drink."

Instead of mixing drinks individually, which can be time-consuming, the bartenders at The Chef's Table like the frozen beverage machine because they can "just tap it and it's ready to go. It allows them to move on and do other things."

The Chef's Table chose a Vollrath frozen beverage machine with two bowls, so they can serve two different drinks at one time. When we visited The Chef's Table, they had a frozen Paloma in one compartment and a frozen cherry amaretto lemonade in the other. Whenever Magnasco decides they need something different, the Vollrath frozen beverage machine makes it easy to change flavors. 

"It freezes really fast," explained Magnasco. It churns beautifully, and it's "super easy to clean." 

The frozen beverage machine is a perfect addition to an establishment like The Chef's Table, where they focus on providing an experience that's just as exciting as the menu. Frozen drinks are unique, engaging, and fun, just like Magnasco and his staff. 

Industry-Leading Induction

There's no doubt in Magnasco's mind that induction technology is here to stay. "Really, it's the future of heat in kitchens."

When exploring different induction options, Magnasco quickly discovered that he preferred Vollrath's equipment over other brands. 

"Vollrath's induction technology is the top of the line," he says. 

Why? The expanded magnetic field is one major feature that makes Vollrath technology stand out from the rest in Magnasco's mind. 

"You can pick up the pan and saute, or tilt, and baste, and it's not going to lose its heat. It still stays connected," explains Magnasco. Though that's just one feature of many on Vollrath's induction equipment, it has major implications for the speed and experience of cooking with induction. 

If you lose connection every time you pick up the pan, that means you're losing heat. With the expanded magnetic field, Vollrath induction stays connected and offers constant heat without interruptions. It's a performance that's comparable to gas, but even better, because the Vollrath induction burners are more precise and more efficient. 

This portability is another huge benefit to Magnasco because it "allows [him] to be more flexible." 

Magnasco likes to take his Vollrath induction ranges outside, into The Chef's Table's courtyard, so his guests can observe and engage in the cooking process in a completely new way. The compact, versatile induction ranges are also ideal for catering events, especially those in unique locations like the Milwaukee Art Museum, where flames are not allowed. 

Safer, sleeker and smaller than gas or electric ranges, Vollrath induction equipment offers industry-leading solutions for all of Magnasco's biggest challenges. 

Game-Changing Color Coding

When Magnasco and his team are preparing their intricate five-course meals, they rely on Vollrath's color-coded products to keep their guests safe and ensure consistent portions. 

With dietary restrictions becoming more and more common, Magnasco needed a quick, easy way to maintain safety and accommodate all of his guests. He found the best solution in Vollrath's color-coded products. From cutting boards to serving utensils, Magnasco was able to color-code his kitchen from start to finish. 

"We have a lot of clients that have dietary restrictions. With cross-contamination on cutting boards, or any other utensil, it's important to us to use a red board for beef, a green board for vegetables, and so on," says Magnasco.

Color coding prevents cross-contamination without slowing a kitchen down. The bright colors are easy to see and recognizable at a glance, so they keep every guest safe without adding additional steps or effort to the cooking process. 

When using Vollrath's color-coded dishers, Spoodles and other serving utensils, Magnasco discovered another benefit to these Vollrath products: portion control. 

"It's important that every plate is exactly the same in presentation and portion," Magnasco explained. "The Vollrath dishers and Spoodles are our go-to because we can scoop that level, put it on the plate, and every plate is going to have the same portion." 

Not only does this result in better, more consistent plating, but it also helps The Chef's Table manage costs per portion. If all the plates are the same, they can be more precise in the amount of ingredients they're buying and spending time preparing. It also means less food goes to waste. 

Overall, Vollrath's color-coded products are a huge win for The Chef's Table. 

Magnasco would choose Vollrath products over and over again because of the quality. When shopping for kitchen equipment, he thinks every chef should "go with the good stuff. You get what you pay for."