Apparatus for Preserving Cooked Food Palatability

Abstract

An encapsulated environment is an air-circulation-restricted volume, preferably just large enough to hold a single serving of a cooked, protein containing food product. Restricting the air circulation reduces the evaporation of gases and liquids that are normally lost over time. The palatability of a cooked, protein-containing food product is thus maintained by holding the cooked product at a ready-to-eat temperature inside of an encapsulated environment. The encapsulated environment is a compartment configured to hold a single serving of a cooked, protein-containing food product, the compartment being able to be covered or at least partially closed by its use in combination with a sleeve configured to receive a tray into which the compartment is formed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus for preserving palatability of a cooked food product comprised of a plurality of food components, the apparatus comprising:
 a tray comprised of a compartment configured to hold a single serving of a cooked, protein-containing food product, the tray being configured to be able to form an encapsulated environment for the single component of an individual serving.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the single serving is a cooked, protein-containing food product having a weight between about four ounces and about twelve ounces. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tray is comprised of a plurality of compartments and wherein at least one compartment is comprised of a depression formed in a top surface of the tray. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein at least one compartment is a disc-shapeed void extending downwardly from a substantially planar top surface of the tray, the disc-shaped void having a bottom and being configured to receive one substantially disc-shaped patty therein, the disc-shaped void defining a substantially vertical side wall extending upward from the bottom of the disc-shaped void to the top surface of the tray. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the bottom is substantially planar. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , further comprising at least one channel through the vertical side wall and extending away from the disc-shaped void. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a tray handle extending laterally from an edge of the tray. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising rails, the side rails comprising surfaces on which the tray can slide into and out of a mating sleeve. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a thermally-conductive sleeve having at least one rectangular-shaped opening configured to receive at least one tray. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the sleeve is configured to receive a plurality of trays, a first tray stacked directly on top of a second tray, both trays being fit inside the sleeve. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the sleeve is comprised of a plurality of sub-sleeves, each sub-sleeve being substantially parallelepiped-shaped and configured to receive a single tray therein. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for preserving palatability of a single or individual serving of cooked, protein-containing food product having a predetermined shape, the apparatus comprising:
 a sleeve configured to fit inside a compartment of a food holding cabinet, the sleeve comprising an open interior; and   a tray comprised of a food holding compartment having a predetermined shape substantially similar to the predetermined shape of the food product, the tray and sleeve being configured to provide an encapsulated environment for a single serving of cooked protein-containing food products held in the compartment.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the food holding compartment is sized and shaped to hold a single component of a menu item. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the tray is comprised of a planar bottom. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the sleeve is comprised of a plurality of stacked sub-sleeves, each sub-sleeve, each sub-sleeve being configured to receive one, correspondingly-sized tray. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the sleeve is configured to receive a plurality of said trays, a first tray being stacked on top of a second tray, the food holding compartments in the first and second trays forming encapsulated environments. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , where the sleeve further comprises a clip configured to hold the sleeve inside a food holding cabinet when a tray is placed into and removed from a sub-sleeve of the sleeve assembly. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the sub-sleeves comprise a planar top panel and first and second planar and opposing side panels and at least one substantially horizontal planar bottom panel extending between the side panels, the side panels of the sleeve having a first height, the tray having a sidewall with a second height, the first height and second height being selected to provide a substantially zero clearance between them. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the tray has a food holding compartment having a depth great enough to receive the entire volume of a single serving of a cooked, protein-containing food product such that a single serving of a cooked, protein-containing food product placed in a compartment will not contact the top panel of the sleeve when the tray is on the shelf and slid into and out of a sub-sleeve comprising the sleeve assembly. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein each sub-sleeve is provided with a tray having a handle, wherein handles of the trays are offset laterally relative to each other. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the food holding compartment is a disc-shaped void in a substantially planar top surface of the tray, the disc-shaped void being configured to receive one disc-shaped patty therein. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the disc-shaped void is configured to receive a plurality of disc-shaped patties therein. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising at least one patty-removal channel through the vertical side wall and extending away from the disc-shaped void. 
     
     
         24 . An apparatus for preserving food palatability comprising:
 a food holding cabinet;   a sleeve assembly inside the food holding cabinet; and   a tray inside the sleeve assembly, the tray being comprised of a food holding compartment having a predetermined depth and a predetermined interior shape that is similar to but greater than a single-serving of a cooked, protein-containing food product, the food holding compartment and sleeve forming an encapsulated environment for a single servings of cooked protein-containing food products held in the compartment.