Big equipment requires big amounts of energy to power up and operate. But just how efficiently you operate that equipment has a lot to do with how you care for, clean and maintain it as well as the way that you operate your restaurant equipment. Here are some quick tips that you can implement in your foodservice kitchen specifically to improve the energy efficiency of your commercial griddles and tilting skillets or braising pans.
• Make sure all staff allow adequate preheat time on start-up for griddles or braising pans.
• Watch the temperature so that you don’t overheat your commercial cooking equipment.
• Review your menu and set the temperature for each section, no hotter than the food requires.
• During off-peak day parts, turn controls down or off on unused portions of your griddle or tilt skillet surface, do not turn equipment all the way off if you will be using later that day.
• Loading food over thermostat probes will yield better results.
• Do not use ice on griddle surface; it can cause buckling of plate.
• Make sure to season the griddle surface after each thorough cleaning.
• Select thermostatically controlled griddles, as they conserve energy and cost less to use.
• Scrape the cooking surface between food items. Some surfaces may require special tools so refer to the manufacturers user manual.
• Scratches and nicks on your griddle surface can cause off-peak carbon build-up and make food stick. Regularly check spatulas and scrapers as well as other utensils for rough areas and replace as needed.
• Grooved griddles consume up to 40 percent less natural gas than underfired broilers.
• Check your flame and confirm that it is blue, not yellow. If you see a yellow flame, call for service.
We hope these tips help you to save energy in your foodservice kitchen. Keep in mind that there are improvements in technology that are continually making commercial foodservice equipment increasingly efficient. It’s always good to see if there are newer equipment products on the market that may make sense for your operation, even if your current, older kitchen equipment is still in working order. The money savings from reduced utilities along with any tax incentives just may make it worth your while to change.
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