Combi ovens offer bakeries, restaurants, hotels, and other commercial kitchens many advantages. The appliances are suitable for all establishments that serve 30 meals or more a day during peak times.

Combi ovens combine the benefits of steaming, such as short cooking times, higher yields and juiciness, with the advantages of convection heat, which provides intensive aromas, appetizing colors and crispy crusts. Further, they are easy enough to use that even inexperienced kitchen staff can consistently achieve superior results without constant monitoring.

On just 10.76 square feet of space, combi ovens can replace many conventional cooking appliances, such as stoves, boilers, grills and more. They are easy to use, self-cleaning and save up to 70 percent in energy compared to a traditional kitchen without a combi oven. Thus, they even pay for themselves in under a year, according to Rational.

“The Rational SelfCookingCenter is easy to use. You press a button, load the food, and it rings when it is done cooking,” says Didier Lailheugue, executive chef of the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta.

Rational’s SelfCookingCenter 5 Senses prepares all dishes exactly as the chef specifies at the touch of a button. It automatically recognizes the size, quantity, and condition of the food being cooked. It adjusts all of the settings specifically for the products and the chef's desired result.

"We have once again updated our latest model, the SelfCookingCenter 5 Senses, to include numerous applications especially for the US market," states Billy Buck, national corporate chef for Rational USA.

Combi ovens continue to gain popularity because of their versatility, leading to numerous innovations from leading oven manufacturers.

MIWE recently introduced the backcombi, a complete baking station which includes convection oven baking along with deck oven baking, and can even include a proof box. Various configurations are available to fit your space and production needs.

The new Hoodini from Blodgett is a self-contained, ventless hood currently available on Blodgett Mini Combi 6- and 10-pan ovens. The innovative recirculating system removes steam, smoke and fumes, even when cooking raw proteins. The ventless hood lets the user place the oven just about anywhere, freeing up valuable kitchen space.

From Manitowoc Foodservice, the Merrychef eikon e2s is a small footprint, high-speed convection/microwave oven with a new, innovative design with cutting-edge technologies. Innovative placement of the magnetrons and use of air-curtain techniques allow a narrow footprint and cool touch surfaces. The oven offers key advantages in speed, heat up and cool down times, energy efficiency, noise level, cleanability and cavity-to-footprint ratio.