Green Products Are Growing in US Restaurants

The use of "green" products is growing in US restaurant operations, and ice machines lead the way in energy-saving food and beverage equipment purchases.

That's according to an online Enodis survey of restaurant operators.  Enodis asked operators to identify the categories of energy-efficient products they had purchased over the past two years.  Eighty six percent (86%) of respondents indicated they had purchased some form of energy-saving food or beverage equipment in the past two years.  Thirty one percent (31%) of respondents to the online survey reported purchasing energy-saving ice machines.

Energy-saving products are a growing trend in the foodservice market, according to data released by the National Restaurant Association.  A 2005 NRA survey showed that at that time, more than 50% of all operators have purchased energy-saving equipment in the past two years.  That survey, which was not limited to kitchen equipment, showed that refrigeration and HVAC were the most-frequently purchased energy-saving categories.

"We're seeing a clear trend of increased interest in, and demand for, energy and resource saving kitchen equipment," said Dean Landeche, vice president of marketing for Enodis USA.  "The Scotsman Prodigy, which offers category-leading energy and water-saving performance, is a great example of that interest.  Based largely on its resource-saving performance and smart technology, Prodigy was named by an independent panel of judges as a 2007 NRA Kitchen Innovation award winner;  as one of the best new products by attendees as the Western Foodservice and Hospitality Show; and as one of the industry's most innovative products by FCSI consultants.  Frymaster fryers are also category-leaders in energy-saving performance, along with products from Cleveland, Delfield, Dean, Garland, ICE O-Matic, Jackson, and Lincoln."

Enodis and its leading brands offer a full-line of energy and water-saving equipment.  The Enodis Enerlogic program  makes it easy for operators to identify, evaluate and purchase more than 600 products tested and proven to meet tough third-party standards for energy and water saving performance.

Enodis is also working with leading organizations to develop resource-saving standards in other product categories, including recently-proposed Energy Star standards for ice machines and warewashing equipment.  Beyond products, Enodis is also a member of the US Green Building Council, supported newly-adopted standards for LEED certification of schools, and is advocating development of LEED standards for commercial restaurants.

Half the Kitchen, Double the Production

Facing increased location and building costs while looking for expansion opportunities in new locations, a leading dining chain issued the following challenge to Enodis:  “cut our kitchen space in half, and double our kitchen throughput so we can serve all our favorite foods to more customers in less space.”

The daunting challenge called for collaborative thinking, innovative technology and new insights about the chain’s menu, kitchen processes, labor, and other kitchen requirements.

With support from the chain, a team of Enodis culinary, engineering and other support personnel descended on several of the chain’s existing operations and also their test kitchens, observing current processes, assessing workflow, and working shoulder-to-shoulder with their culinary development staff.  Within days, the Enodis team had developed several ideas for deploying existing products and integrating new technology to meet the chain’s requirements.

A few weeks later, the chain sent its own food products and culinary team to the Enodis Education and Technology Center near Tampa, FL, to test its full menu on equipment proposed for the new kitchen.  Working with Enodis chefs from Cleveland, Convotherm, Garland, Lincoln and Merrychef, the chain successfully prepared virtually all its famous foods to their own exacting quality standards using Enodis accelerated cooking products.  Beyond cooking, the team evaluated Delfield refrigeration, Frymaster energy-efficient fryers, and Merco warming and holding equipment to optimize the kitchen layout.  The Enodis Enovation process expedited the project, and delivered results in record time.

Now, the chain is moving ahead with plans to build prototypes of the new downsized restaurants, with lower opening costs, high kitchen productivity and the ability to serve more customers its famous favorite foods.

Enodis equipment solutions available for this application:

Accelerated Cooking Technology, Cleveland, Convotherm, Garland, Lincoln, Merrychef

Cooking, Cleveland, Convotherm, Garland, Lincoln, Merrychef, US Range,

Food Preparation, Varimixer

Fryers, electric and gas, Frymaster and Dean

Ice Machines, Scotsman and ICE-O-Matic 

Ovens, Conveyor and Impingement, Lincoln

Merchandising, Holding and Warming, Delfield, Merco, Frymaster

Ovens, Conveyor and Impingement, Lincoln

Refrigeration, Storage and Prep, Delfield

Smallwares, Cookware, Kitchen Tools; Lincoln, Redco

Steam and Combination Cooking, Cleveland

Warewashing, Jackson

Custom Fabrication, Delfield

See the full Enodis Product Catalog for all product information