All meals generally require the same basic utensils—plate, fork, knife, spoon, napkin, glass, etc. But the presentation of these items can not only provide a nice visual aesthetic but can also convey the formality of an event.

Smoothie bars are all the rage and have been for a few decades. They are a convenient way to get a cool drink and a serving of fruit and veggies. Popular places to have one is near a health club or in malls or on the beach. There are several different types of equipment you’ll need to start up your smoothie bar. This is a guide along with some recommendations to help you get started.

It’s no secret that every good chef needs a great kitchen timer to ensure a delectable meal. Whether you are a residential or commercial chef, purchasing the right kitchen timer is a priority for avoiding over or undercooked meat. The kitchen is a very serious place to be when using electricity, heat, etc. Therefore, timers are a great asset to have to keep from setting your kitchen ablaze from absent-minded cooking habits.

Stocking the cabinets in your commercial bar or home kitchen with the right kind of glassware can sometimes be a daunting – or at least financially intimidating – task. The sheer variety of different types of beverageware will mean that most establishments won't have the budget or space to keep every single kind of glass on hand.

Customers will pass judgment about your restaurant the second they sit down. That is why picking the right dinner plate is so important to the restaurateur. Dinner plates are an important part of your restaurant experience and thus should be well thought out before purchasing. It should complement the color and design of your establishment. When choosing dinner plates, you should consider several things including materials, colors, shapes and sizes.

Lodge Manufacturing has made cast iron cooking equipment for more than 110 years. It was not until 2002 Lodge developed a vegetable oil spray system with high temperature gas ovens to season their cookware before it left their warehouse.

Whether you're looking to throw an amazing baby shower, wedding shower, or just to celebrate National Chocolate Day, make it fabulous with a delicious and beautiful chocolate fondue fountain!

What is an Air Curtain?

From the office lobby to shipping and receiving, and from our front doors to yours, better environments use Berner! Since 1956 Berner International has been dedicated to maintaining comfortable environments and saving energy with Berner commercial, architectural, and industrial air curtains and doors. Berner air curtains and doors effectively prevent heating or air conditioning from escaping through open doors; while providing substantial energy savings, personal comfort, and insect control. Air Curtains and doors employ a controlled stream of air aimed across an opening to create an air seal. This seal separates different environments while allowing a smooth, unhindered flow of traffic and unobstructed view through the opening. Berner Air Curtains also help stop the infiltration of flying insects. For 60 years Berner has offered unmatched quality, performance, and dependability; saving energy and creating healthy, comfortable environments!

The type of cookware that you choose for your home or commercial kitchen will have a large influence over your general cooking process. There are a wide variety of different types of pots and pans available to the modern chef, but none are as well-known (and argued about) as stainless steel pans and non-stick pans. The stainless steel vs. non-stick question is asked frequently by shoppers hoping to upgrade or restock their kitchen, and although people often swear by one or the other for a variety of different reasons, it is important to know about the differences between the two before making your decision. Keep the following things in mind when shopping for your next selection of pots and pans.

It’s important to know what those certifications tell you about your purchases, so we’ve listed our most common ones. The next time you’re shopping on our site, you’ll have a better understanding of the quality of products you’re considering.

Though it’s somewhat of a rigorous process, home canning has been passed down from generations back. It has given families the opportunity to preserve their own foods for years right from the comfort of their own kitchen. Fruits, vegetables, meats, and poultry can be preserved and savored year-round with this unique way of preserving foods. The great part of canning your foods is the reassurance that you will have of opening your can goods months later and guaranteeing the freshness and quality you come to expect from this process.

Kitchen Knives come in many different varieties and it can be overwhelming trying to find what kind of knife you need.

A phenomenon has emerged in the brewery world that has caused a chaotic stir among those wanting to make their own beer. Home brewing has not only grown into a popular activity in residential kitchens but it has also gained a reputation in commercial kitchens as well. Making your own brew is a very inexpensive product that will easily rival anything else you could buy in the store.

Owning a KitchenAid stand mixer is considered by many to be one of the defining requirements of an “official” home kitchen. The quality, usefulness, and durability of KitchenAid’s stand mixers are among the best in the industry, and although the price of admission to the KitchenAid owner’s club can be a bit intimidating, it is universally regarded as being well worth the investment.

Walk-in refrigeration units are convenient and often necessary for commercial kitchens. And though the process of getting one can be overwhelming it is important to have all of your I’s dotted and your T’s crossed when ordering a walk-in unit because even the tiniest detail can affect the outcome. The key is to work with your seller and be sure that they have all of the information they need to give you what you need.

Atmosphere is very important in a restaurant. It sets the mood for how people receive your food. Having a trendy themed restaurant can be a bit temperamental, with the fleeting nature of trends. However, here is a list of trends that we think aren’t going to go out of style any time soon.

Let these recommendations spark ideas of how you can use gourmet popcorn to complement your beer selection!

What do you picture when I mention “American Cuisine”? And I don’t mean clam chowder or gumbo or some other regional dish like that. No — when I say “American Cuisine,” I’m talking about food popular across the entire country, eaten in all nine time zones. I’m not sure about you, but when I picture the food of America, I imagine paper plates topped with hot dogs, cheeseburgers, sausages, barbecue chicken, and maybe a little yellow corn thrown on the side. America is the land of milk and honey, true, but even more than that, we’re the land of sirloin skewers and baby back ribs. America is a nation of grillers.

While plastic is cheaper and more convenient for many applications in today’s modern kitchen sometimes there’s just no substitute for quality old fashioned wood. In addition to durability it adds both style and elegance to your kitchen with it’s antique finishes and beautiful colors. This is one of the reasons you see many world famous chefs on television using wooden cutting products in their shows. When taken care of properly a wooden cutting board, chopping block or butcher block will serve you well for years to come and they become even more attractive as they age.

Community fish fries have long been a staple in the southeastern region of the United States. Fish fries are great for community building, fundraising, or even just family events, and their versatility and appeal has begun to spread across the nation. However, some who are unfamiliar with this largely southern tradition may have a few questions about how to “properly” host a fish fry of their own. Luckily, fish fries are traditionally very casual events, and preparing for them is usually not a terribly intensive process. Here are a few things to keep in mind when organizing your own fish fry.

Wine glasses are a topic of moderate controversy among various beverage connoisseurs. One wine drinker may insist that the shape of your wine glass matters a great deal, while another might feel that it doesn’t make a significant difference. Some avid wine enthusiasts would argue – perhaps pedantically – that each type of wine tastes better when served in a very specific type of glass matched to the qualities of the wine in question, but most home budgets can’t afford to keep over two dozen different types of wine glasses at the ready, and that’s not to mention the cabinet space that that would require. However, there are some generally accepted rules about what sorts of glasses to use in most everyday wine situations, and having a few different styles on hand should keep you well covered to properly serve just about any type of wine.

G.E.T. Enterprises is a leading manufacturer in tabletop restaurant smallwares . They have a wide selection of soup and rice bowls. These bowls are 8 oz. in depth and have several decorative patterns including several Oriental designs. They are made of melamine and are NSF listed. They also offer platters to complement the bowls and are sold in sets. These items are great for either commercial or residential tabletops.

We at JES are happy to announce our top selection of gifts for this years top 10 guide for the kitchen. Don’t see the perfect item here – you can find more in our NEW gift guide category at the JES store.

The Idea, Generally

During the past few holiday seasons, the food service and catering scenes have been dominated by a sleek, glossy aesthetic: reds, golds, lacy whites, baubles hung from the ceiling, snowflakes fixed to the walls, wreaths the size of car tires, poinsettias at the maximum capacity. But this year food service designers and event planners are dialing things back. We’re moving away from a Rockefeller Center sort of atmosphere and more towards a Grandma’s Living Room type design.

The holidays are coming and that means it’s time to start rocking around the Christmas tree by throwing a great holiday party. If you’re having a little trouble getting started, have no fear we are here to help. Below you’ll find a step-by-step guide of how to throw a stellar Christmas party in true J.E.S. fashion.

With the holidays just around the corner, many people have already begun to make arrangements for this year’s holiday dinner. We’ve recently discussed how to choose wines for a wine tasting , but it’s time to revisit the subject from a different angle as families and catering companies gear up to make their holiday dinner beverage selections.

Libbey Inc . has been a leader in glass tableware and is the second largest glass tableware manufacturer in the world. They maintain almost 2,000 stock-keeping units . They have decorative glasses for all occasions like the COUNTY FAIR drinking jar . This 16-ounce glass gives a bit of rural charm with its “mason jar” shape. One that will make a perfect gift for the holiday season.

Regardless of where you are in America, one thing is for certain: Americans love coffee! Coffee is always a necessity no matter where you go. The average coffee shop sells $550,000 worth of coffee in a year. 52% of Americans drink coffee daily. 15% of Americans buy at least one cup of coffee at a coffee shop every day. This number is increasing 3-4% per year.

Whether it’s your first Thanksgiving or you’re a Turkey Day pro, these cooking and baking tools are essential to get you through the holidays. We always remember to get the food, but making sure you have the correct equipment and kitchen utensils can make or break your holiday. You’ll need all of the basics plus a few special tools to cook turkey, gravy, and your favorite side dishes.

This week, we welcomed Chef Rob Eaton of Buzzard’s Roost Southern Tea House back to the JES showroom to show us how to prepare a slightly less traditional bird for the upcoming holiday meals. In this video, Chef Rob demonstrates how to prepare, cook, debone, and serve a delicious roast duck.

What We Talk About When We Talk About ‘Cup’

Go to any website that sells coffee-making products — I’m talking urns, percolators, brewers, that sort of thing — and you’ll notice that the products are listed like this:

J.E.S.’s Top Gift Ideas for 2011

It’s gift giving time again, and we’ve put together a list of unique and useful gift ideas for kitchen. Nothing makes a gift more personal than taking the time to choose something that suits the taste and interest of the recipient. If you have a kitchen enthusiast on your gift list, home or professional, take a look at our gift guide.

Cutting boards come in many varieties but the two basic ones are wood and plastic. Care and maintenance for each one depends on the material used. Wood cutting board requires coating the board in mineral oil which acts as a sealant to prevent bacteria from forming. Avoid submerging in water, store in a dry place, brush it clean, and avoid bleach. A plastic cutting board has to have warm soapy water to clean it and should avoid the dishwasher. There are four steps to caring for a wooden cutting board.

The holidays are just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about your shopping list for the loved ones in your life. Here are a few J.E.S. Restaurant Equipment gift suggestions for the cook (or cooks) in your family.

Over the years, wine tasting has become a fairly standard practice among those looking to expand their cultural and technical understanding of alcoholic beverages. But with the relatively recent rise to prevalence of smaller batch craft beers, combined with our modern ease of importing foreign goods, beer tasting is beginning to become a popular pass time for both seasoned aficionados and new beer drinkers alike.

Prescriptive rules of etiquette — even those starchy, hoity-toity, three-sorts-of-dinner-fork type rules — didn’t just crop up randomly. Smart people like Judith Martin, Amy Vanderbilt, and Emily Post paid close attention to both successful dinner guests and unpopular ones and thought about how the differences in their social tics affected the flow of a conversation or the atmosphere in a room. They listed these behaviors in notebooks, found the patterns, and then got their findings published. Good and bad manners existed well before Emily Post — all she did was jot them down.

Since the beginning of time people have searched for ways to preserve the shelf life of food. Today we may take for granted that our refrigeration units offer a cold haven for food that would otherwise quickly spoil, but it wasn’t to long ago that we were seeking out caves, or drying out food to keep it stored.

Today 98% of US homes own a refrigerator, and 21% own two or more. But many people don’t know how these appliances work. (And many of us are not even sure if the light stays on when you close the door.) No matter if it’s commercial or residential the basics are the same, and during a recent meeting of our service department one of our helpful technicians showed the staff the sequence of operation for refrigeration.

Throughout the month we have been post tips on our Twitter account to help you when it gets time to carve the pumpkin this year for the Halloween holiday. Now that it’s so close to the holiday, here’s a look back at some of the best tips.

Although manufacturer warranties have made the world of expensive consumer purchases a much safer place to shop, they can sometimes be tricky things. Many warranties come with sets of extenuating circumstances that can render them invalid if the product is used in the wrong way or in the wrong location. Restaurant equipment often includes several of these special-case details, so it is important to read through the warranty sheets on your new equipment before replacing any old machines.

Do you own a KitchenAid stand mixer but don’t seem to use it quite as much as you would like? Perhaps it’s time to consider some accessories to expand the usefulness of your mixer, but where to begin? KitchenAid’s accessories list is fairly expansive, and can be intimidating to search through if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for, but this KitchenAid accessories guide from the J.E.S. Restaurant Equipment Learning Center will give you a good overview of what each attachment does and which set of attachments will best suit your particular kitchen activities.

The best present you can give an adult-aged person is something that you’ve made yourself. This self-made gift can be painted or written down or glued together or baked — whatever idiosyncratic skill that you have, access it, materialize it, wrap it up, and then stick it under the fir.

Today a Bar-B-Que restaurant owner stopped by our showroom to have several of his knives sharpened on one of our M2100 Chef’s Commercial Diamond Hone Knife Sharpeners. A question arose from his visit. Which are better? Electric or manual knife sharpeners?

The weather is getting cooler and a rich cup of cappuccino is just the thing to keep you warm during these chilly months. The IMIX-3 Infusion iMIX hot drink dispenser, Cappuccino, 3 hoppers is ideal for making a finely-brewed, rich cappuccino.

A good set of kitchen knives is arguably the most important tool in any chef’s arsenal. No matter what is being cooked or prepared, it is inevitable that there will be some sort of cutting or chopping involved at some point, and those who have spent any time in a kitchen know how important it is to maintain the blades on your knives. Dull knives will not cut effectively and can be tiresome or even hazardous to use in situations that require precise and careful cuts. Keeping your knives sharp is a necessary routine for any amateur, professional, or home chef, but it is critical to your knives’ longevity that they be sharpened properly. Although they are used for all sorts of heavy-duty tasks in the kitchen, knives are actually fairly delicate implements, and improper or overzealous sharpening of a blade can be more detrimental than the wear from any period of use. Many restaurants and commercial kitchens regularly outsource their knife sharpening to a professional third party, but taking measures to keep your blades sharp on your own is an easily achievable way to avoid having to constantly send your knives away to be restored.

Stocking glassware for your bar or restaurant can often be a daunting proposition. With so many different types and styles of glassware , it is only natural to wonder if you are buying the “right” glassware to properly compliment your drink menu. Although the “rules” concerning what drinks go into what sort of glass are mostly arbitrary (reasonable customers will forgive you for not always having exactly the correct glass for every occasion), having a variety of different glasses in which to serve your various drinks will help add interest and flair to your beverage offerings. The types of glasses that you need, however, will ultimately depend on what sort of drinks that you are going to be putting into them. Here is a quick overview of the “necessary” glasses for different kinds of beverages.

Salad spinners are a great way to clean and dry your lettuce in one container. Because these appliances use centrifugal force, they are a much more efficient and effective way to prepare leafy greens.  Rather than using a bowl of water and paper towels, which can leave your leaves still wet, a salad spinner gets rid of dirt and excess water. A salad spinner consists of three main parts. The outer bowl, the inner bowl, and the lid with the handle. The outer bowl is what collects the water and dirt from the lettuce. The inner bowl is where the greens go, and the lid keeps water from splashing out and the built in handle moves the inner bowl to clean the lettuce.

Regardless of what type of restaurant you decide to open, one thing is for certain: Everyone loves ice cream! Ice cream shops are a great idea for marketing to all age groups from toddlers to senior citizens. The average American eats approximately 6 gallons of ice cream a year, therefore an ice cream shop can be a great investment for you as an entrepreneur.

While many Americans regard this day with memories of sadness today is also a day to be proud. J.E.S. Restaurant Equipment is proud to be an American company that supports many American manufacturers with rich histories beginning right here in the land of the free. That’s why in honor of this tragic yet uniting anniversary we’ve compiled a list of some of our most popular made in the USA products.

Don’t be one of the numerous restaurants that close their doors due to poor food cost management.

Over the years, keg sizes have become a somewhat confusing topic for those looking to purchase their own direct draw serving equipment and kegerators for their bar, restaurant, or residence.  After centuries of use in the preparation and storage of alcoholic beverages, the essentially arbitrary sizing system of barrels and kegs has become a bit cumbersome, and the exact meaning of “keg” during a conversation varies depending on the interpretation of the person with which you are speaking. Although keg sizes are not officially standardized from one location to the next, there are generally accepted regional standards that will help make selecting appropriately-sized kegs a simple endeavor.

Hosting a wine tasting in your bar is likely going to be a much more intimate and personal experience than the more open “convention center” feel of larger, exhibitor-style tastings. Bar tastings allow a unique opportunity for conversation and community building, but it can sometimes be challenging to balance a bit of “wine professionalism” into the pre-existing atmosphere of your bar. In part one of this post , we discussed how to select your wine order. While your wine is ultimately the main attraction at your event, the presentation and surroundings can make or break a good wine selection. Here are a few things to consider when organizing the layout of your tasting.

Let’s get right to it. Here are some tips for a better, safer, and easier food slicer experience. The type of food slicer you have should be based on the frequency at which you use it. Light duty slicers are made for use only a few hours or less a day. If you don’t use it very much at all, a manual slicer would be better economically than an electric slicer. If you use it several hours a day, and you might use it for cheeses, a medium duty slicer would be your best option because it will withstand the use. Whether you choose manual or electric for medium duty is  up to you and your preference. Now, if you are going to be using your slicer constantly throughout the day, you will definitely want a heavy duty slicer that can easily withstand constant use and slicing cheese. Be sure that your blade is stainless steel and don’t forget to get a blade sharpener, otherwise, you won’t be able to cut anything after a while.

School is back in session and the cafeterias are busy again. Schools are focusing on feeding kids healthy foods, but how do you know if they are eating off of healthy lunch trays? A lot of schools stopped using the plastic trays when Styrofoam became popular because of how cheap it is for schools to buy. Now, a lot of schools are reverting back to reusable trays because of how un-environmentally friendly Styrofoam is. Styrofoam takes years to decompose and is a leading cause of ocean pollution. Several school districts moved to use paper trays that can be used in compost, but unless the school has a composting facility, these trays also end up in landfills.

While refrigeration temperatures are an important part of running a food and beverage business, bar beverage chilling is rarely ever addressed. While this may not be very important to a restaurant with a full dinner menu it is something a small bar-focused establishment might want to consider. All alcoholic beverages are not created equal and therefore should not always be stored at a single temperature setting. Separate refrigeration units should have their temperatures set based on whatever type of beverage is being stored in them.

Refrigerator door gaskets probably don’t come to mind every day unless they are falling off.  The seal between the door and the cabinet are very important, they provide a barrier that keeps the warmer outside air from entering the cooler air inside; same concept as the weather stripping on your doors at home.  If the gasket has gone bad (cracked, dry rotted, etc…) and is not creating a tight seal around the door and cabinet body then the compressor is running more and costing you a lot more in energy dollars.

Another frequently asked question we receive is, “what’s the difference between a radiant & lava rock charbroiler?” (often called a chargrill as well). Well the main difference is the way in which the heat is transferred to the food. On a radiant chargrill the burner is positioned under a cast metal radiant from which the heat is radiated towards the food being grilled. The radiant is usually pitched like a roof allowing the excess drippings to run off and not carbonize; although some of the drippings from the meat will actually “burn” and provide that chargrill aroma we are all so familiar with. Lava rock charbroilers use a bed of lava rock positioned above the burners to catch and radiate the heat towards the meat above.

Popcorn is a snack enjoyed all around the world. It can be cooked several different ways, but the one of the most popular ways to get it is from a kettle popper. These aren’t just for the movies; there are smaller poppers that can be used for personal use if you’re a big popcorn fan. There are all shapes and sizes with various outputs depending on the need. This guide is to help you figure out which one best suits you. There are a few things to consider before you make your choice.

As a kid I remember that feeling of excitement that would grow in me as the family vacation would draw closer. The night before we left, I would struggle sleeping, I would wake up early that day, and be in the car ready to go hours before we would pull out of the driveway. As an adult, I still get very excited about vacation. The time to relax, visiting new places, and the food. OH the food! That is my favorite part about vacation as an adult, having the opportunity to try new restaurants. I know, not every restaurant experience is great, but I want to take some time to share a little about my 10 favorite restaurants I have visited traveling this country. And for a bonus, two candy shops in my home state of Virginia that are amazing!

I was perusing through our website one day when I noticed one of our customer’s commenting on a Cambro food storage container he recently purchased for sous vide cooking . I started thinking how great of a blog topic this would be for those who have never heard of such a process.

Although once a bit of a rarity in the American foodservice market, artisanal pizza has become quite the trend over the past several decades. â€Å“Craftâ€Â pizza shops have become ubiquitous in our modern cities, and as such, many home cooks have taken to their kitchens to try their hands at making their own homemade pizza. To do so, many people have begun purchasing pizza stones: a simple kitchen gadget that allows one to replicate the effect of cooking pizza in a traditional hearth oven.

When talking about kitchen knives , “hardness” is a term that often gets thrown around without stopping to explain what it actually means. Although the term sounds straightforward, it’s not quite as simple as it seems, which often leads to confusion on the consumer’s end when hardness values are listed in a knife’s specifications. Although many cooking enthusiasts (especially home chefs) can select a suitable, quality knife without extensive personal knowledge of the engineering behind the blade, understanding what hardness really means and how it applies to your kitchenware will help make future shopping more accessible.

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.

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.

Choosing the right dishwasher for your restaurant or establishment can seem pretty overwhelming, especially when your current dishwasher just kicked the bucket and your employees are threatening to riot from being forced to manually wash all the dishes in the restaurant. But the more you know about commercial dishwashers the easier it is to decide on the right machine to get your business back on track.

Although the concept of induction cooking was first developed back in the early 1900’s, induction cooking equipment has just recently started to catch the attention of the foodservice industry. With the refinement of the technology came lower prices and greater ease of use, and as such this effective and energy-efficient method of cooking is being integrated with increasing regularity into both commercial and residential cooking equipment. Induction cooktops feature a unique suite of benefits that are universally enjoyed by those who invest in the technology, but the cooking mechanism is rather different from most conventional methods, and knowing how it works can help you get the most out of your induction cooker.

For years T&S Brass has been a leading manufacturer in spray valves, commercial faucets and plumbing equipment. T&S Brass has always tried to stay on top of all new regulations by providing quality, innovative products.

It seems as though one of the more frequently asked questions around the sales office is, “What’s the difference between air-cooled & water-cooled?”… Well I’m here to give you that answer.  While it may seem as thought the answer is self explanatory most people do not understand the difference or the pros & cons of each.

Nemco is famous for their French Fry Cutters so lets start with The Spiral Fry Cutter!

Managing food cost is the most critical aspect of owning a restaurant. Most restaurants bring in most (if not all) of their profit through food revenue, making the balance between ingredient purchasing and menu pricing an obviously important part of running one’s business. Among the numbers of restaurants that close their doors every year, almost all of them have been due to poor food cost management.