The smell of frying in a restaurant is one of the most frequent and damaging problems for the business. Damaging because the customer perceives it negatively —even if the food is excellent— and because you no longer smell it. Olfactory adaptation makes owners and staff stop perceiving it. But customers do.
Why the smell of frying is so difficult to eliminate
Hot oils release volatile organic compounds that adhere to porous surfaces —walls, ceilings, fabrics, wood— and continue to emit odor long after the kitchen has ceased operation. The extractor reduces the smell in the kitchen, but cannot capture 100% of the compounds, and those that escape are distributed throughout the premises.
The impact on the business
79% of customers say that bad odors affect a restaurant's image. In the specific case of the smell of frying, the impact is especially negative in restaurants that do not specialize in fried food —customers perceive an inconsistency between the gastronomic proposal and the sensory experience. A Mediterranean restaurant that smells of frying loses credibility.
Solutions that don't work
• More extraction: reduces the smell in the kitchen but does not eliminate it from the dining room.
• Sprays and mikados: insufficient to combat the concentration of frying compounds.
• Scented candles: create a mix of odors worse than the original problem.
• HEPA air purifiers: effective for particles, not for volatile organic compounds.
What works: nebulization with neutralizer
The effective solution combines two elements: an optimized extraction system in the kitchen and a professional nebulizer with a neutralizing refill in the dining room and customer areas. The neutralizer acts on the volatile organic compounds of the oil, chemically breaking them down and eliminating the odor instead of masking it.
At BENDIS, we install the system in less than 15 minutes. Automatic scheduling by hours —higher intensity during kitchen hours and after service. Free device. From €39.99/month VAT included.
