Consider deprecating old utils API

**Feature request**
It would be great to have caching for models.

**Use case**
Many users need this functionality for production deployments.

**Implementation idea**
Add a new config option `enable_caching` with default `false`.

The title concerns deprecating an old utils API, while the body requests model caching through a new enable_caching option. Start by locating the configuration handling and model execution entry points, then check for existing tests around both areas. Done requires an agreed scope that resolves the title/body mismatch, defines the option behavior and default, and identifies coverage for caching.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.