U. Bharath (cbedit@imaws.org)
Middleby Celfrost is a 100% subsidiary of USA-based Middleby Corporation, which sells and services world-famous Middleby brands like TurboChef, Pitco, Middleby Marshall, Houno, and Josper Lincat through a network of Indian distribution partners.
Through an extensive network of distribution partners across India, Middleby Celfrost ensures that these top-tier products reach customers efficiently and reliably. With a blend of innovation, quality, and reliability, Middleby Celfrost continues to be a leader in the commercial food service equipment sector, catering to the diverse needs of the Indian market.
Middleby is participating in the 39th edition of AAHAR, India’s largest equipment show, where it will exhibit its range of cooking service equipment.
At the 39th AAHAR 2025 International Food and Hospitality Fair to be held in New Delhi between March 4-8, the company will be showcasing unheard solutions for quick commerce, QSR, hotels and the restaurant community.
“We hope that everyone walking in leverages our solutions to their advantage.
An extremely talented culinary team, along with 30+ technical sales managers, would man our booth so that we could cook and explain every piece of equipment that we have. To the advantage of our customers, we are also taking bookings and are offering a 2-year no-quibble warranty for every sale generated during the show,” said Mr. Abhishek Azad, Executive Vice President, who spoke to Kitchen Heral,d and he elaborated on various aspects of the various innovative measures adopted by the company.
One out of three restaurants use Middleby equipment
While elaborating on Middleby Celfrost’s preeminent position in food service equipment manufacturing, Abhishek Azad said that with over 125 factories within the US, Europe, Asia and Australia, and 50+ international offices and distribution networks in all countries on the globe, Middleby is an industry leader.
“Such is our equipment installation base that 1 out of 3 restaurants in the world use our equipment” he noted.
Product Innovation and ROI
When queried about the company’s approach to the design and development of commercial kitchen equipment to meet industry demands, Abhishek said that an in-house innovation team works closely with customers to solve their needs around food cost, energy, labour, automation and footprint.
“We build equipment not with just features but with a tangible outcome that our customers can leverage and get an ROI,” Abhishek said.
Abhishek also touched upon what critical considerations are applied when manufacturing durable and efficient food service equipment.
The use of high-quality components that can survive the cruel kitchen atmosphere and the abuse that it is subjected to are our main considerations.
On the distribution network and how the company ensures timely delivery of commercial kitchen equipment worldwide, Abhishek said, as mentioned earlier, we have a global distribution network where we cater for all nations by providing solutions to them in their own country.
Product ranges
Giving away vital details about the various product ranges the Middleby offers and how these products cater to different segments of the food service industry, Abhishek clarified that our manufacturing capabilities are mostly built around cooking and are not limited to consistency and a better yield. It also engulfs a fair amount of automation and connectivity and yet keeps it simple and easy to use.
Exhibits at AAHAR 2025
He added that the following products are going be exhibited in the forthcoming AAHAR 2025 International Food and Hospitality Fair to be held in New Delhi between March 4 and 8. The product ranges include the Houno Invoq combi oven, Firex bulk cooking, Turbo chef speed oven, Middleby Marshall conveyor oven, Lincat speed oven and Celfrost refrigeration
On essential services provided to support customers in maintaining and optimizing their commercial kitchen equipment, Abhishek said all our equipment is backed by local service support with adequate know-how and critical parts availability, ensuring timely resolution.
Future Plans
Elaborating on the plans of the global market leader in cooking service equipment, Abhishek said Middleby will continue to grow organically and inorganically with the current base of factories and new acquisitions.
We have started setting up MIK (Middleby Innovation Kitchen,) where our types of equipment are displayed and powered with culinary support for our customers to test and try before purchase. They can touch and feel it all and know the exact solution that they were hoping to get,t if not more.
Further dwelling on the innovations of the company, he said MIK was a bold move. Connecting our multiple brand equipment in the same customers’ kitchen is another big part of our strategy, and lastly, robotics and AI are no longer an aspiration.
We have a lot going on with these two words and have developed several pieces of equipment that are extremely amazing and designed to suit customer needs without involving a lot of manpower.
On how far the various emerging trends and technological advancements influence Middleby’s product development strategy in the commercial kitchen equipment market Abhishek noted that “we always keep up with advancements in emerging technologies and that is embedded in our offerings. Be it AI for intuitiveness or a smarter design to conserve energy, we have it all”. 
Special booth with four restaurants at AAHAR 2025
“At AAHAR, we don’t have a normal booth this time. We have set up four restaurants around pizzas, burgers, a cafe, and a fine-dining multicuisine place. These kitchens would showcase all our innovations for our customers to walk in, see the workflow, and, with all the learnings, implement these strategies using our equipment to get better speed, consistency, yields, energy, and labour savings, and to top it all, without increasing the kitchen footprint” said Abhishek.
