According to recent census results, public school attendance rates have been increasing steadily since the turn of the millennium. As such, school kitchens are beginning to build and expand to support ever growing numbers of incoming students. With many students relying on the school cafeteria for their daily lunch, it is important that public schools be well-equipped to provide a variety of nutritious and sustaining foods to their students. However, because school kitchens differ from restaurants in that they are not necessarily profit or marketing oriented, the equipment requirements can often be somewhat different from typical commercial kitchens.

Tomorrow is Independence Day and over half of the people in the country will be celebrating with their families, close friends and good food. There are many potential dangers surrounding this holiday from firework injuries and sunburn to hangovers from simply drinking too much. But one of the most prominent hazards that people just don’t think about is food safety. Incidences of food poisoning spike in the summer due to the increased amount of outdoor cooking, grilling and picnicking. It is estimated that approximately 128,000 people will need hospitalization this year due to food borne illness according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

The ice machine is one of the most important pieces of equipment in any restaurant or commercial kitchen. Whether it be for chilling beverages, packing around food, making smoothies and frozen drinks, or even soothing the wound when an employee burns his or her hand on the stove, ice serves a multitude of purposes in every foodservice establishment.

Hoshizaki is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of commercial ice makers , and second largest manufacturer of refrigerated food service equipment. Hoshizaki operates six plants in Japan, two in the U.S. and one in England, distributing products worldwide. Their production facilities in Peachtree City Georgia and Griffin Georgia are some of the most automated production facilities in the industry. Utilizing the latest state-of-the-art technology Hoshizaki takes great pride in every commercial ice machine that leaves their assembly line, and before reaching the end user every Hoshizaki ice machine is run-tested at the factory and undergoes numerous quality and performance tests including ice production capacity and energy efficiency.

Think over the events you’ve attended.   Where were the largest ones held?  Mine were in stadiums.  Think about your stadium purchases.  (Don’t think long.  You could buy a small car with what you’ve spent.  That might make you weep.)  What’s the one thing you’ve purchased at every event?  Based on the length of the lines, you’re like me.  You bought something to drink, most likely for several people.  Like me, you may have wondered if those cups came with an optional diving board.  Have you ever thought to multiply the number of cups by the number or people you see holding them?  Next time, after the event, look around.  Hundreds of them are everywhere.  Each contained ice when it was sold.  Stadiums unquestionably have a need for ice storage no one else has.

Manufacturers that make food service equipment invite certification agencies to visit their facilities and test their equipment for safety and sanitation. A seal of approval from a respected certification board lends legitimacy to a product and guarantees that it will be safe to use in a commercial setting after it leaves the factory. It won’t catch fire. It won’t rust. It’s safe.

Make your wedding, corporate event or parties even more special with an Apex Fountain! Apex Fountain has been in business for 60 years and counting. They are the recognized leader in manufacturing of high quality banquet displays and serving products. Apex Fountains carries an extensive line of catering and banquet equipment including, beverage fountains, punch bowls and tiered serving trays.

There are a few pieces of restaurant equipment that are necessities, not that every restaurant will need each and every piece on this list, this is just a good starting point for anyone looking for restaurant equipment ideas.

If your restaurant’s front doors open over a busy downtown sidewalk, you own a plot of property that is appropriate for advertising’s most populist canvas,  the A-frame sidewalk chalkboard . Come on—how can you not love these chalkboards? They’re an irresistible, unconventional, customizable pedestrian flytrap. And I assure you, there are at least three aspiring painters or poets or typographers working for you already who would kill to play with a stub of chalk every morning before lunch. Sure, chalkboard signs are analogue—old media—but so what? Neil Young put it best on Rust Never Sleeps: “…It’s old, but it’s good…”

If you’ve been needing a new piece of equipment for your commercial kitchen and are worried about delivery time, then you’re in luck. The J.E.S. sales staff was paid a visit yesterday (pictures below) by Doug and Danny from Master Marketing Sunlow to learn about some new shipping benefits for customers ordering Imperial Range products.

Food is one of the biggest expenses in a restaurant. A great way to rein in food costs is to negotiate a prime vendor agreement with your distributor. In exchange for your exclusive business, the distributor will give you a better deal. Here’s how to negotiate the best agreement possible.

A wise man once told me,”it’s what you learn when you think you know it all that counts”. I never professed to knowing it all, but when it came to grilling food over an open flame I knew I could hold my own. It was only after a recent visit from Chad our representative for the Holland Grill Company , that led me to believe otherwise. He opened my eyes to a brand new concept in char-broiling, while opening my taste buds to some of the most succulent meats I’ve ever had on an outdoor grill.

Manitowoc has done it again with their innovation and inside the box approach to thinking and creating a state of the art ice machine with the Indigo Series. Lets start with the Intelligent Diagnostics, this feature monitors the health and the well being of your machine, and gives you the ease of knowing that your machine is running smooth and ready to make the ice you need. This also alerts you of errors before you run out of ice, there is a constant monitoring of the refrigeration and sub-system controls. So when problems arise they can be immediately attended to. The electronic storing and reading of data makes servicing easier also reduces labor time and reduces the machines downtime.