Celebrating its 15th anniversary,
this prestigious foodservice industry award recognizes innovative new equipment
that delivers advancements in speed, efficiency, safety, and more.
The National Restaurant Association Show today announces the
recipients of the 2019 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Awards, honoring progressive equipment that
increases efficiencies and productivity. Each recipient and each product
honoree will be showcased in the interactive Kitchen Innovations Showroom at
the 2019 National Restaurant
Association Show, Hotel-Motel Show®, to be held May 18-21 in Chicago
at McCormick Place. The
KI Showroom allows attendees the opportunity see emerging back-of-house trends
in one place dedicated area.
The
KI Awards program has earned a reputation for defining the gold standard of
foodservice equipment innovations. “Forward-thinking
and cutting-edge, this is the equipment that generates industry growth through
a focus on factors such as automation, efficiency, safety improvements,
sustainability, waste solutions, and more,” says Scott Redler, COO and co-founder of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Co-Chair for the 2019 National Restaurant Association Show. “We are honored to showcase their
dedication to the industry.”
Chosen by an independent panel of
judges comprised of industry leaders and internationally recognized food
facility consultants, multi-unit executives, and design experts, the 2019 KI
Award recipients reflect the trends and topics most important to foodservice
operators today – and
showcase the future of the industry. The 25 selected award recipients address operator
concerns including labor, inventory management, cleanliness, energy and water
efficiency, food safety, sanitation, cross-functionality and space-saving
measures.
The 2019 Kitchen Innovations Award recipients
are:
Antunes
Jet Steamer JS-1000
A blank-sheet rethink of countertop
steaming: the Jet Steamer injects high-velocity steam into controlled bursts in
a closed pitcher for complete penetration throughout the food within the
pitcher, allowing for significantly faster cook times. The steam also mixes
ingredients, saving operators time when preparing items such as soups, eggs,
and chili.
AXCESS
2000.H Pick-Up Station
Co-developed with Little Caesars, the AXCESS™ 2000.H
Pick-Up Station is the industry’s first heated, self-serve order pick-up
station. As orders are placed inside the device, an app notifies customers.
Customers skip the line, input their pick-up code, opening the customers’
secured compartment containing their order. Customers grab their order and
leave the store in seconds.
Baxter Manufacturing
BV400G VersaOven
Presenting
a new level of versatility, the VersaOven is a self-cleaning, programmable gas
rack oven that offers convection and non-boiler steam to serve as a steamer,
rotisserie, convection oven, and combi oven for fast cooking. A rotating rack
provides even roasting or baking. A patent-pending grease separation system
aids in the cleaning.
Bear Robotics
Penny
Meet
Penny, a foodservice robot with artificial intelligence that drives
autonomously. Designed to maneuver in tight, crowded quarters, Penny shuttles
food from kitchen to tables and brings dishes back for cleaning. Tray shape,
suspension, everything is optimized for foodservice needs. In 2019, Penny will
feature an upgraded design and a tablet that communicates with customers and
takes orders.
Bluewater USA
Bluewater PRO 400 Water Purification System
A
tankless design streamlines the Pro 400 reverse-osmosis system, which filters a
broad array of contaminants for one or more appliances, from dishwashers and
ice makers to steamers and coffee makers.
The system produces up to 1825 gallons daily. An optional storage tank
accommodates very high demand use, without affecting the efficiency and
performance of the purifier.
Chicago Bar
Shop
SinkTech
Finally,
someone automates the three-compartment sink. SinkTech uses sensors to
determine water levels, temperature, and cleanliness. It automatically
drains and fills sinks and saves time, energy, water, and money. It’s compact,
installs without plumbing, and doesn’t interfere with washing or scrubbers. And
it’s connected to the cloud for data on usage and compliance.
Chowbotics
Sally the Robot
Imagine providing fresh made-to-order foods 24/7 virtually
anywhere, without on-duty labor. Sally the Robot serves customizable salads,
yogurt bowls, grain bowls, and snacks using sophisticated robotics and
algorithms to dispense accurate portions of hundreds of different ingredients.
Sally delivers precise portions in a 3’ x 3’ footprint with a 120V socket.
ComplianceMate
ComplianceMate
takes digital checklists and wireless temperature sensors to the next level
with its first-in-foodservice LoRa (long range) communication protocol.
Patented software and lower-cost LoRa transmits farther, using less battery
power, than Bluetooth in difficult transmission environs like stainless steel
deep freezers. Cloud-based data lets you identify trends across multiple
locations.
Cornelius® Marmon/Berkshire Hathway Company
NitroPro™
Mini
Answering
the challenge of bringing down the size of systems for nitrogenated coffee and
other beverages, the NitroPro™ Mini goes tankless—no nitrogen
storage needed—instead generating its own nitro onboard, and has reduced the
size of air compressors, valves, and flow controls. The result: simpler
operation, simplified supply chain, and more compact footprint.
Advanced Health Department Intelligence (HDI)
Ecolab’s
newly reinvented HDI program capitalizes on next generation technologies and a
raft of new analytics for a whole new, greatly magnified view of health
department activities across the country. It’s expanded the database to over
1.5M locations from 65,000+. Real-time alerts on numerous categories, data
retrieval, and customer-facing dashboards all are cutting edge.
Grindmaster
PrecisionBrew
Air-Heated Shuttle Brewers
Grindmaster’s new Shuttle Brewers step up with a new level of
sophistication. An advanced touchscreen offers detailed settings for time,
temperature, pulsing, and more to match roasters’ specs. A magnetically driven
agitator prevents suspended solids from settling, and shuttles are heated by recirculating
hot air rather than electric coils that cause hot spots and scorching.
Henny Penny
FlexFry
The
first of its kind, FlexFry offers a combination of open frying and pressure
frying in the same battery footprint. The new combo includes Henny Penny's F-5
electric low oil volume platform and 2, 3 or 4 vats of pressure frying.
Touchscreen interface, three-minute express filtration and auto top-off on the
F-5 and for pressure frying an easy open/close lid and pressure assist
technology.
Henny Penny
Space$aver Team Combi
Unique in the U.S. market, the Space$aver Team combi combines two
stacked, independently operated combis in a single frame and shell, with a
single power cord and all the serviceable components centralized below. The
22”- wide footprint is topped with an integrated ventless hood using four-stage
filtration for grease and vapors requiring no catalytic converter.
FT1000e Low Energy Series
Sometimes
refinements are so comprehensive they amount to reinvention. This new
flight-type warewasher features redesigned wash, airflow, and
heat-retention elements, enabling use of lower electrical-draw components
such as pumps, motors, heaters, etc. Result: 12%-20+% energy reduction
depending on configuration, and smaller circuit breakers, all while maintaining
wash quality.
Hoshizaki
MODwater
Small
is good. Hoshizaki has found a way to dispense four kinds of water—chilled,
hot, alkaline, and sparkling—in the smallest footprint ever. Patented
technology chills and carbonates water on demand without a carbonator tank. No
tank, no pressurizing pump needed. It all saves space and maintenance.
Jamix
Kitchen Management System
Choosing KMS software can be challenging, but Jamix sets itself
apart on several points. Whereas many offer recipe and menu management and
costing, Jamix also ties in inventory management and procurement. Plus, it’s
true cloud-based, and can be accessed with any browser, any operating system,
any mobile device. Perhaps best of all, it’s extremely intuitive.
TwinPour Beverage Dispenser
Lots of unique
features in this new dispenser. In a 44” counterspace, TwinPour offers two
dispense points and 266 flavors, allowing two customers to be served
simultaneously. Each side accepts any style of ice and offers two choices.
TwinPour dispenses all ice types and can be configured to dispense two types at
the same time. Additional chilled water
lines serve as cooling system for ancillary pieces of equipment.
Manitowoc
Ice/Welbilt Corp.
Indigo
NXT
Ice production and efficiency. The Indigo NXT line achieves both,
with refinements that enable a combination of efficient rotary compressors and
environmentally friendly R410a refrigerant, neither seen before in U.S.
icemaking. In fact, Indigo NXT produces roughly 50 lbs. more ice daily and is
an average of 11% more efficient than models using R404a.
Merco, a Welbilt Brand
Visual Holding Cabinet with Tray Tracking Technology
Everyone knows how timers work. You set them, and they count down.
Merco’s new Tray Tracking Technology takes it up a notch. Insert a tray and the
timer starts automatically and counts down—and if you need to move the tray,
the timer electronically stays with it, tracks to the new location, and
continues counting.
RATIONAL USA
UltraVent Plus
With the recirculating ventless hood market heating up, RATIONAL
has come up with the UltraVent Plus, the first one that is retrofittable,
incorporates filter technology that requires no catalytic converter for
grilling and roasting, and comes in a configuration that can be retrofitted
even to RATIONAL Combi-Duo stacked electric countertop combis.
TM-105 Ventura Flex PL Tabletop Corn Tortilla Machine
Filling
a huge hole in the U.S. market, Tortilla Masters introduces Ventura Flex, the
first electric tabletop corn tortilla machine. At just 2’ x 2’, with a small
high-torque motor, Ventura
Flex produces up to 840 corn tortillas per hour. Molds and settings produce
different sizes and thicknesses.
Data Driven Cooking
Everyone
has cooking software. Data Driven Cooking is different. DDC monitors oven
usage, analyzing and recording cooking times, menu items, energy and water use,
etc. And artificial intelligence uses that data to recommend operational
patterns, new recipes, and more. Further, sensors in the oven calculate volume
and mass and adjust cook times for different size batches.
Vollrath Company
Modular Induction Dry Well Drop-In
Induction dry well drop-ins are known for eliminating the
water-related chores and expenses of traditional steam wells and slashing
energy use by more than half. Vollrath’s new system features two independent
induction zones per well, and unlike any before it, uses capsules in each zone
with fold-in, fold-out legs to accommodate both 2.5”- and 4”- deep full-size or
half-size pans.
VT Burner Technology in conjunction with Venancio USA
VT Burner
Infrared cooking offers speed and other advantages, but
conventional IR burners generate IR through ceramic shields that are prone to
cracking and replacement. Retrofittable VT Burner is cast steel, with a
patented layered design that requires no ceramics to generate IR energy. It’s
IR-fast, inexpensive, durable, and cuts gas consumption compared to standard
burners.
Vulcan, a division of ITW Food Equipment Group
Versatile Chef Station
The new Versatile Chef Station is a compact multi-function cooking
station that serves as a griddle, saucepan, braising pan, steamer, pasta
cooker, rethermalizer, and fryer all in one—and with its patented multilayered
cooking surface, it’s faster, more accurate, more even, and easier to clean
than a braising pan.
The 25 KI Award recipients were
selected by an independent panel of judges who are distinguished leaders in the
foodservice industry. The 2019 Kitchen Innovations judges are:
- Dan Bendall (Principal, FoodStrategy, Inc.)
- David Chislett, FCSI (Executive
Principal, Ricca Design Studios)
- Jeff Cook (Chief Engineer, Restaurant Solutions
Group, McDonald’s Corporation)
- Richard Eisenbarth, FCSI (President/COO, Cini-Little International)
- Foster F. Frable, Jr., FCSI Associate AIA
(President, Clevenger Frable LaVallee)
- Randy
Homer
(Program Manager, Food & Beverage Operations Asset Management, Walt
Disney Parks and Resorts)
- Jim
Krueger, Jr., CMCE, NRAMF (Chief, Air Force Food & Beverage
Policy, Procedures, Business Development & Strategic Initiatives Air
Force Services Activity (AFSVA) Food & Beverage Branch)
- Steve
Otto
(Director, Capital Equipment Purchasing, Darden)
- Jim
Thorpe (Senior
Food Service Designer, Aramark)
As the global restaurant and
hospitality industry’s premier trade show, the National
Restaurant Association Show brings
together more restaurant and hospitality buyers, and equipment manufacturers
than any other industry event. To register, please visit Restaurant.org/Attend/Registration. For more information about the KI program and
this year's award recipients, visit 2019 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Awards.
###
The
National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is owned and
operated by Winsight LLC in equity partnership with the National Restaurant
Association.
About the National
Restaurant Association
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant
Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry,
which comprises more than one million restaurant and foodservice
outlets and a workforce of 15.1 million employees. We represent the industry in
Washington, D.C., and in partnership with 52 state associations, we advocate on
our industry’s behalf in states and locations across the nation. We manage the leading food safety
training and certification program (ServSafe); a unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart); and sponsor the
industry's largest annual trade show (National Restaurant Association Show May 18-21, 2019, in
Chicago). For more information, visit the Show on social at Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
About Winsight LLC
Winsight LLC is a business-to-business information, event and market
intelligence company serving the restaurant and noncommercial foodservice,
convenience and petroleum retailing and grocery industries. Winsight provides
research and analytics, branding solutions, face-to-face opportunities, lead
generation initiatives, and content marketing services through products
including subscription data products, reports, research tools, research
programs, fully custom studies, conferences, custom marketing services,
meetings, print, digital trade media and tradeshows, including the National
Restaurant Association Show.
Winsight LLC is a portfolio
company of Pamlico Capital.
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