Trade show surprise

So many trade shows send me flyers that I can't exactly say they all get a full reading. But one just caught my eye. In the list of new products to be featured at the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show is a commercial dishwasher marked as "ENERGY STAR." The new Cle ware-washers from Hobart employ a rinsing technology that, say the manufacturers, saves more than 50 percent of water and energy than traditional machines.

I'm impressed. In my years in restaurant kitchens, I've seen water and energy waste on such a gargantuan scale that just to hear Hobart talking about efficiency gets me interested.

To be fair, a restaurant dishwasher generally uses only a fraction of the energy of a home dishwasher during its five-minute cycle. It's just that it's run about a thousand times a day.

The ad got me interested enough to read further. It turns out that the trade show is presenting seminars on "Going Green in Hospitality," presenting case studies of eco success stories from the industry and building the bottom line through sustainability and utility efficiency.

Sure, they cited "bottom line" rationale for the environmental initiatives, but, hey, I'm all for environmental stewardship turning a profit. I think that's the only incentive that will bring sustainability mainstream. As the brochure proclaims, "The green movement is here to stay, and this is where you can learn to do well by doing good."

The mailing also highlighted a new type of "rapid recovery griddle" from Vulcan that "delivers energy efficiency and a 27 percent increase in production capacity over griddles manufactured with standard griddle plates." Since cooking appliances were the number one energy wasters in the kitchens I've worked, that griddle warms my heart. I plan to go to this show, and find out what other good news we have to look forward to in the professional kitchen.

Jay Weinstein's blog posts are provided by LifeWire, a part of The New York Times Company.