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drop some pounds from your energy bill


Continued from p. 51


from keeping the walk-in closed to noticing a bad thermostat. Just like food safety, you can’t be everywhere at once, and it is there- fore up to staff to make the changes that will result in some real energy-saving results.


By “equipment upgrading” we don’t nec- essarily mean replacing everything out- right, so you can breathe easy there. There are many ways to make the equipment you have work more effi ciently, and even though each improvement may not have a massive, instantaneous effect there is defi nitely a cumulative benefi t that can be realized by systematically upgrading everything from dishwashers to refrigerators.


Finally, once you’ve put in all the legwork getting your kitchen trimmed down to fi ghting weight, don’t forget to make a big deal about it to your customers. Tell them ev- ery chance you get, in every channel you use to communicate with them, just how much effort you’ve put into creating a sustainable restaurant. They will certainly appreciate the new, slimmer you.


45 46


43


Optimize the kitchen ventilation system


The ventilation system above the cooking line in a restaurant kitchen is constantly running, constantly costing you money. Some simple tricks will help you control that cost, like getting the system rebalanced, pushing your equipment up against the wall underneath the hood to maximize suction, and installing a demand control to automatically tone down or rev up the system according to cooking volume.


44 50 you upgrade equipment


Upgrading restaurant equipment is no small expense, but sooner or later it will be a necessary one for your business. As long as you are upgrading, you might as well maximize energy efficiency with an energystar rated piece. That way you can save on monthly energy bills and also qualify for local, state, and federal tax rebates. Go to energystar.Gov and check out their rebate finder.


Stop thawing meat with running water


It’s a common practice at home and in many restaurants, and if your kitchen is using hot running water to thaw meat then you’re throwing dollars down the drain. create a thawing schedule for every day of operation and see that your staff sticks to it. Sticking frozen product in the refrigerator 8 hours before the dinner rush is so much cheaper (and safer) than sticking it in the sink an hour beforehand it’s not even funny.


Grow your own food


Not that you needed more work in the coming year, right? Even so, many chefs have started growing their own herbs and vegetables in little vacant lots, on rooftops, or right behind the restaurant as a way to source the ingredients they need as locally as possible. customers love the idea and you can also save some money by gardening at least a few of the many ingredients you use daily in your operation.


47 48 Get a rebate when


2012 energy efficiency resolutions 49


Get leed certified


The leadership in energy and environmental design is a program that rewards many types of buildings, including restaurants, with a certification for sustainable and efficient practices. Getting certified involves earning points for different types of sustainable design elements in your commercial kitchen, and probably only makes sense for certain types of restaurants. If your customers are very conscious about the going green trend, however, leed certification starts to make a lot of sense.


See page 10 for polarware steam table pans


Replace steam table pans


If you use a steam table then you’ve probably got more pans than you know what to do with, and that’s why the new year is a perfect opportunity to get rid of the ones that are costing you money. Over time the corners and edges of steam table pans bend and crumple from use. Every crack between the edge of the steam table and the lip of the pan is allowing heat to escape – and that means your table is working far harder than it should be. Flatten out your pans so they fit snugly against the table and replace the ones too far gone to repair.


Replace refrigerator door gaskets


cracked, compressed, and worn door gaskets on refrigeration units are costing you money! cold air is escaping the unit through these old, worn-out gaskets. Even worse, there’s a food safety threat involved: grime and dirt breed bacteria in those cracks and the temperatures of food product near the door may enter the danger zone. Do yourself a favor and get those gaskets replaced today.


Set equipment schedules


Powering up restaurant equipment puts a huge load on your gas and electric meters all at the same time – costing you more money than it should. create power up and power down schedules that space out your usage and try to set them for off-peak hours when rates are cheaper.


Tundra Specialties 888.594.4183


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