For the last 10 years, Chef Michael Lombardo has worked his way up through seven different Hyatt properties; getting his start as a line cook, Lombardo is currently the executive chef at Oystercatchers restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. Through it all, Lombardo says Cambro products have been there with him every step of the way.
Oystercatchers, a staple in the Tampa restaurant scene since its inception in 1986, offers an upscale take on fresh and local seafood while treating guests to a gorgeous view of Tampa Bay.
When restaurants want to stay relevant and on-trend, many limit their focus to the menu and front of house. However, Hyatt goes beyond that to equip their teams with supplies that will give them a competitive advantage. During fall 2024, Lombardo and his team received multiple new and vital Cambro products that have made an impact on their operation.
Getting rid of the rusty shelving in their dish room in favor of Camshelving Elements XTRA Series was the first step to modernize their kitchen. Made with heavy-duty composite plastic, Elements XTRA is guaranteed against rust and corrosion and is ideal for wet environments.
When asked what he likes about Camshelving, Lombardo answered, “The durability. I’m very impressed with the structure itself and the amount of weight we can put on there. You put on 30 or 40 sheet trays, it’s pretty heavy.”
Although each unit safely holds up to 2,400 lbs., Oystercatchers opted to add dunnage stands to the bottom shelf, which increases the unit’s weight bearing by up to 400 lbs.
Another challenge Lombardo has to contend with is uneven flooring. With other shelving units, chefs have to grin and bear it—but not with Camshelving.
“Being able to adjust the feet based upon the floor slope has been really very unique; the attention to detail from a manufacturer standpoint, being able to level it out accordingly to how the floor slopes, that’s extremely helpful,” said Lombardo
After installing Camshelving, Lombardo was able to increase storage by adding the Camshelving Pegboard System to the sides of their units.
“The pegboards have really become such a space saver and a tool for organization that was awesome from the jump,” said Lombardo.
Previously, staff would dry lids by stacking them in bus tubs on top of their shelving units, which doesn’t allow them to dry properly and takes up valuable shelf space. Plus, their utensils were scattered throughout the kitchen hanging delicately on small S-hooks.
“Having the pegboard eliminated the need to take up space on the shelving,” said Lombardo. “It’s made things a little bit more streamlined and allowed us to gain a little bit more usable space on the units.”
They’re also able to securely store utensils like whisks, tongs and spatulas all in one place.
“The fact that [the Seal Covers] even came with the hole in there to hang it on the pegboard; it's genius, it's phenomenal.”
Good things come to those who refuse to settle into the status quo. After supplying foodservice professionals with top-notch food storage containers for decades, we looked at how these essentials could be improved further.
With the addition of recessed handles, drain shelves and superior Seal Covers, CamSquares FreshPro completely changed the food storage game. When Oystercatchers needed new food storage containers, they decided to give our CamSquares FreshPro a try.
“I love the fact that the new CamSquares are more ergonomic; I think that was the coolest part,” said Lombardo. “They’ve been wonderful. You get a little bit more space to put things next to each other, it saves a little bit of room, creating a little bit more area to organize and store accordingly.”
While 12 qt. to 22 qt. traditional square food storage containers can fit three containers on a shelf, the new CamSquares FreshPro can fit four. Meanwhile, CamSquares FreshPro Seal Covers are designed to secure tightly to increase freshness while remaining easy to remove.
“I think the lids fall along the same lines in the durability standpoint,” said Lombardo. “You can feel that [the Seal Covers] are a little more reinforced and they don’t appear that they’re going to be flimsy after a handful of washes.”
Next on their wish list is the Camshelving Universal Storage Rack, a Camshelving accessory that’s able to hold food pans, sheet pans, food boxes and dough boxes to effectively eliminate stacked containers.
AUTHOR: ADRIANA COCHRAN IS THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AT CAMBRO.
