Creating a sustainable resort kitchen takes a lot of planning. Knowing how energy, water, and materials flow in and out of the back of the house is important. Hotel owners and chefs should focus on creating a kitchen that is not only sustainable on paper but also efficient in real life.
Establish an Energy and Water Baseline
Before deciding what makes sense to upgrade or replace, you must first set a baseline of your current consumption of electricity, gas, and water. Gather one year of electricity, gas, and water bills, and note your peak kitchen operating hours from those bills.
Then walk around the kitchen during service hours to see which pieces of equipment operate continuously and which ones are being under-utilized. You should also take note of food waste, how you are disposing of cooking oil, and how you are washing your dishes.
This baseline will be the reference that you use when making every future decision related to upgrades. It will allow owners to prioritize upgrades, predict savings, and provide stakeholders with data to justify investing in upgrades rather than making assumptions.
Reclaiming Waste Heat Through Capture and Reuse
A lot of heat is created and lost in the kitchen. Heat recovery systems allow you to use waste heat from the exhaust to preheat new air being brought in through the make-up air system. They help use waste heat generated by ovens or boilers to heat water before it enters the hot water supply and distribution system.
Using this strategy over time will reduce the overall amount of energy needed to heat water, which can be especially important for large commercial kitchens with continuous service.
Selecting the Best High Efficiency Core Equipment
The long-term efficiency of the system is greatly influenced by the quality of the equipment you select. Ovens, ranges and fryers should be evaluated not only for their capacity and price, but also for the quality of their insulation. Also consider the standby and cycle-time energy use, and the type of programmable controls.
During this comparison, many operators use Restaurant Supply’s online resources to compare their options. You can find commercial kitchen equipment online with efficiency options including high efficiency fryers, convection or combo ovens with advanced control options, and induction-compatible ranges.
Ways to Reduce Water Usage in Dishwashing
Small changes in dishwashing can yield significant results. Replacing older dishwashers with newer commercial dishwashers that are built to be more efficient is one great way to reduce the amount of water each rack of dishes uses. By coupling these newer, more efficient machines with low-flow pre-rinse spray valves, you can further reduce our water consumption!
The use of filtration/re-circulation systems, along with the introduction of air drying cycles will help reduce your overall hot water usage. Staff education is also incredibly important when trying to achieve maximum water efficiency in dishwashing.
Staff members that properly load dish racks in the machines, select the correct wash cycle, and perform preventative maintenance on the dishwashing machine will continue to help you maintain maximum efficiency.
Designing Better Systems for Oil/Food Waste
A sustainable kitchen will manage waste as a system rather than as an afterthought. Oil filtration will extend the use of oil and therefore reduce the amount of time needed to dispose of oil. Some kitchens work cooperatively with oil recycling companies to ensure that oil does not end up in a landfill.
Conducting food waste audits will help identify overproduction of food and food production/ prep inefficiencies. Clear separation at the source supports composting or off-site digestion programs.
Where regulations allow for small on-site digesters, they significantly reduce the number of times hauling waste is required, and helps to eliminate odors associated with food/oil waste. This is particularly important in resort settings.
Combine Monitoring and Controls
Digital tools that offer real-time monitoring of energy and water use are an advantage to modern resort kitchens. By using such a system, managers can identify inefficiencies early, confirm energy savings from used upgrades, and adapt their operations as occupancy levels or menu changes occur.
The continual accumulation of data in this manner provides an ongoing source of data-driven insight for continuous improvement as opposed to one-time upgrades.
Educate Staff to Create a Culture of Sustainability
A low-impact kitchen relies on how others manage the resources as much as the kitchen design itself. Staff should know how to operate the equipment efficiently, develop their knowledge of efficient start-up and shut down procedures, operate the kitchen’s ventilation and operations, and properly sort waste during their shifts.
Creating standard operating procedures (SOPs) and providing visual cues at each workstation will help build staff habits that contribute to the organization’s sustainability objectives.
Sustainability Pays Off
Designing low-impact resort kitchens requires creating a balance between performance and sustainability. Resorts will greatly reduce energy, water and waste resulting from kitchen operations, by implementing the above tips. This ultimately results in a back of house that provides long term cost control, meets regulatory requirements, and supports brand credibility.
