Sustainable Equipment for Sustainable Food

By Amelia Levin, Sr. Associate Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 5/29/2008 1:20:00 PM

Lately, there seems to be two camps in the foodservice industry. The first includes operators and others who advocate incorporating locally grown/produced, all-natural, “sustainable” food in menus. The second camp consists of operators, consultants, manufacturers, dealers and others who advocate the use of “sustainable” kitchen equipment in the form of energy-, water- and waste-saving appliances and systems.

When and how, though, will these two camps intersect in the kitchen?

You wouldn’t think that cooking a locally sourced, hormone-free chicken vs. a commercially processed chicken would make a difference in terms of the grill or range used to cook the product. And, generally it doesn’t. But, according to Ed Norman, principal of MVP Services Group, if you’re using fresh, raw product vs. frozen or processed product, you’re going to need more heavy cooking equipment. “Basically, you’re cooking from a raw state so maybe you’ll need more steamer capability, braising pans, kettles and other equipment,” he says. 

That’s just it. Buying organic all-natural, or produce and meats from a nearby farm or ranch typically requires the operator to do most of the processing within their operation in the form of washing and chopping their own vegetables, boning or cleaning their own chickens, cooling vs. freezing more items, and other tasks. “One of the major implications of locally grown product is having the equipment to prep and store it properly,” Norman says. 

In other words, when operators have local, sustainable food menus, the important consideration becomes, not necessarily what they purchase, but how much of it they purchase and where they put it in the kitchen. “You need to have more prep tables and space in the prep area along with more sinks for washing the product,” Norman says. “If they can their tomatoes, for example, they’re going to need larger equipment to handle the process and allow for additional prep time.”

In addition, many operators that purchase locally sourced produce and raw, all-natural meats and proteins need extra cooler space to house all the items vs. freezer or dry storage space, Norman says. “You might need to have larger walk-ins or additional reach-in refrigerators,” he says. 

These prepping requirements most definitely affect food safety and labor as a result. “The issue has become finding qualified labor that can handle the product,” Norman says. And, to prevent the spread of cross-contamination during prep work, many operators opt to separate prep tables for meat and vegetables only; purchase color-coded chopping boards to prevent cross-contamination; buy prep tables embedded with antimicrobials; and separate foods in the walk-in coolers, he adds.

Here are some examples of operators with sustainable/locally sourced/organic/all-natural food and drinks and the equipment purchases they’ve made:

Cullen’s
Houston
American grill with a menu featuring in-house, dry-aged meats, seafood and locally grown fruits and vegetables “served at the peak of ripeness.” The restaurant also uses energy-efficient ovens, lighting, air curtains, air conditioning, and an energy-efficient warewasher and ice machine. -The building itself was constructed using eco-friendly materials and insulation.

Community Food and Juice
New York City
Restaurant serving brunch, lunch, dinner and juices at a juice bar uses only grass-fed, antibiotic-free beef, poultry that’s free-roaming and corn-fed, and fish that’s wild, not farmed. The restaurant also sources from local farms and offers artisan cheeses and other foods. At the back of the house, the restaurant uses energy-efficient refrigerators, freezers, and lighting with timer switches and occupancy sensors. Community also has a composting and recycling program among other “green” initiatives, including eco-friendly furniture.

A Mano
Chicago
Modern, downtown Italian restaurant serving authentic dishes with produce from the Midwest, where possible, and all-natural meats. The restaurant serves tap water to the tables using a water filtering/dispensing system and individual tabletop carafes, rather than purchasing bottled water to help reduce non-biodegradable plastic in landfills. The water dispensing system serves both still and sparkling water. Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., uses similar water treatment and dispensing equipment with the option of adding flavors to the sparkling water to make sodas.  

Lumiere
West Newton, Mass.
Upscale, contemporary American restaurant featuring local and sustainable dishes like Jamison Farm leg of lamb with spring vegetables, and Giannone Farm Chicken with locally sourced, creamed morels and asparagus. At the back of the house, Lumiere uses pre-rinse spray valves to save water, energy-efficient lighting, non-toxic cleaning supplies and organic disposables and other natural materials.

Kings Family Restaurants
Altoona, Pa.
These restaurants use a breading machine to bread the hormone- and cage-free chickens they purchase from local providers for their chicken tenders. The automated machine consists of a rack that turns and breads chicken, onions and other products evenly so the restaurant can serve a more homemade-style dish rather than purchase, pre-breaded, frozen chickens that aren’t necessarily guaranteed to be all-natural or free-range. 

Gusto Grilled Organics
New York City
Fully organic restaurant focusing on grilled foods that also uses energy-efficient broilers and charbroilers for their operation as well as energy-efficient ovens, refrigerators and freezers. Gusto also uses pre-rinse spray valves to save water, biodegradable disposals to reduce landfill waste, and has instituted a recycling/composting system. 

Magnolia Bistro
Burlington, Vt.
Breakfast and lunch eatery dedicated to using “local and organic ingredients whenever possible” (house-cured, organic salmon with locally grown greens; Vermont maple syrup sausage and cheddar with local apples); also uses faucet aerators and pre-rinse spray valves to save water in addition to energy-efficient lighting and many organic/chemical-free materials, disposables and cleaning agents throughout its back of the house.

… Also, some healthcare and restaurants in Europe are purchasing egg pasteurizing equipment to pasteurize the hormone-free/cage-free/vegetarian-fed eggs they purchase since these products are not always available in pre-pasteurized form to prevent salmonella. These egg pasteurizing products are currently undergoing testing in the United States, where poached, basted and other semi-raw eggs are becoming more popular among gourmet restaurants in salads, Carbonara-style dishes, on sandwiches, and as standalone items. 

Do you know of any operators with sustainable menus and sustainable kitchens? Please post your comments in our talkback section.