Diverse menus. One standard. Serving Australian commercial kitchens for 40 years.
Forty years ago, commercial kitchens in Australia looked very different.
Menus were simpler, labour was more readily available and combi cooking, as we know it today, simply didn't exist in Australia. Kitchens relied on separate steamers and convection ovens, while consistency depended heavily on the experience of the chef running the kitchen.
For Comcater, and later RATIONAL Australia, that was the beginning of a journey that has helped shape Australian commercial kitchens for the past 40 years.
It began with a chance encounter.
While attending a trade show in Dallas in the mid-1980s, Comcater founder Kevin Wood came across what looked like little more than a stainless-steel box sitting in an aisle. Curious, he stopped to ask what it was. It was a RATIONAL combi oven. Within weeks, he was in Landsberg, Germany, securing the exclusive distribution rights for Australia and becoming one of RATIONAL's first international distribution partner.
Bringing the technology to Australia was only the first challenge.
‘Back then, combi technology was very much a luxury,’ recalls Rob Wood, CEO of Comcater.
‘It wasn't looked upon as a necessity in the kitchen. All of a sudden, you had the technology of a traditional steamer and a traditional convection oven in one appliance.’
Rather than selling specifications, Comcater introduced RATIONAL through live demonstrations. Chefs could see the technology in action, taste the results and experience first-hand how it could improve food quality, consistency and efficiency. That practical, chef-led approach became the foundation for RATIONAL's growth in Australia and remains central to the business today.
For Corporate Chef at RATIONAL Australia Cameron Campbell, the milestone spans almost his entire career.
'When I first started in the kitchen 40 years ago, we had one of the first RATIONALs in Australia,' he says. 'I didn't know it at the time, but we were using cutting-edge technology.'
What was once foreign and unfamiliar gradually became an industry benchmark.
Today, commercial kitchens are expected to deliver diverse menus, maintain exceptional food quality, overcome labour shortages and operate more efficiently than ever before.
For Mac Cousins, Corporate Chef at RATIONAL Australia, RATIONAL's success has always come from continually evolving to meet the needs of commercial kitchens.
'To see a brand succeed for 40 years shows the passion and continual innovation behind RATIONAL,' he says.
Those changing expectations are something Pete Kelly, National Product Manager at RATIONAL Australia, sees every day.
'We all feel different cost pressures in commercial kitchens,' he says. 'Energy, water, food and labour costs continue to rise. It's rewarding to help business owners and operators overcome those challenges and see the benefits RATIONAL can deliver.'
For four decades, RATIONAL's philosophy has remained remarkably consistent. As Kevin Wood puts it, 'We sell the benefits of the product. We don't sell the price.' That thinking shaped the way RATIONAL was introduced to Australia through live demonstrations, chef training and ongoing application support. The objective was never simply to introduce new technology, but to help customers achieve the greatest possible benefit from it.
That commitment extends beyond product development. It also extends to people.
According to Mark Sweeting, General Manager of RATIONAL Australia, one of the company's greatest strengths has been building a team of chefs who understand the realities of commercial kitchens because they've worked in them.
'Our best salespeople were actually our chefs because they could relate to our customers the best,' he says. 'Chef to chef, they talk the same language.'
Over the years, that same philosophy has driven continuous innovation. From the introduction of the iVario Pro, redefining multifunctional cooking, to today's latest advancements, RATIONAL has continued to focus on solving the real challenges faced by commercial kitchens.
Now, as RATIONAL Australia celebrates its first 40 years, the launch of the new iHexagon represents the next chapter.
Rather than simply evolving the combi steamer, iHexagon introduces an entirely new category of intelligent cooking system, combining steam, convection heat and microwave technology in a single platform to deliver greater speed while maintaining the exceptional food quality RATIONAL is known for.
For Mark, it is a continuation of the same philosophy that first brought RATIONAL to Australia four decades ago.
'iHexagon takes combi steamers to the next level,' he says. 'It's really for people with high volume that are looking for speed. What's really important for us is that we maintain the quality.'
The celebrations continue at Fine Food Australia, where visitors can join RATIONAL Australia's 40-year celebrations, experience the Australian launch of the new iHexagon through live cooking demonstrations, and be among the first to view the new 40 Years of RATIONAL Australia campaign film, bringing together the stories of the people, partnerships and innovations that have shaped the brand's journey over the past four decades.
Forty years on, Australian commercial kitchens have changed dramatically. Menus are more diverse, expectations are higher and technology continues to evolve. But the standard remains the same, and for four decades, RATIONAL has helped Australian kitchens meet it.
Further information on the iCombi Pro, iVario Pro and ConnectedCooking can be found by clicking on the relevant links.
28th July 2026
