Equipment takes center stage at NRA Show

Award-winning equipment conserves resources, saves time, promotes innovation

May 22, 2007 — For cutting-edge culinary technology, the National Restaurant Association 2007 Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show had it all.

On the NRA Show floor at Chicago's McCormick Place, Grant Achatz, chef-owner of Alinea restaurant in Chicago, demonstrated a quick-freeze device [view video] he developed with Philip Preston, president of Niles, Ill.-based NRA Show 2007 exhibitor PolyScience. The device, a griddle-style top attached to a special refrigeration unit, reaches -30 degrees Fahrenheit in about 10 minutes.

Dressed in a white coat, Achatz squeezed small dollops of strawberry puree thickened with starch from a plastic bag. He placed a cover on the device to intensify the coldness, and about two minutes later, the young chef was serving a chewy frozen treat with a "Starburst-like" flavor to onlookers. At Alinea, he makes frozen-caviar-and-sour-cream lozenges with the device, which won the 2007 Food Network “Tasty Technology” award.

Equally innovative: The NRA Show's 2007 Kitchen Innovations Award recipients, 19 pieces of equipment judged by an independent panel to be among the most innovative in foodservice.

Among this year's award winners is the Waste Air Heat Recovery System for rack-conveyor dishwashers, made by Nashville-based Meiko. The machine reclaims waste heat generated by the machine as free energy and uses it to preheat incoming rinse water. By providing hot-water sanitization from a cold-water supply and using less water –- 0.28 gallons per rack –- than conventional models, the machine conserves water and energy. The company estimates the machine will pay for itself within two or three years because of the cost-savings.

Vulcan-Hart’s Floor Gas Steamer allows restaurants to steam cook vegetables or seafood more quickly than ever, thanks to a continuous flow of 235 degree steam. Conventional steamers operate at 212 degrees and take about three and a half minutes to cook a head of broccoli. At 235 degrees, the broccoli cooks in two and a half minutes, says spokesman Mike Burke.

Unified Brands introduced a refrigeration/freezer product that works like a cooler. Instead of metal racks inside an insulated metal box, the Randell FX Series holds in cold air through insulated drawers. With a traditional refrigerator, the cold shuts off when someone opens the door.

"The cold stays with the product, so it’s more precise," says Alex Edwards, assistant product line manager for Randell.

Visit the list of all equipment exhibitors at NRA Show 2007.

— by Dan Richards and Linda Busche