While the majority of the restaurant equipment that won awards at the 2016 NRA Kitchen Innovations® Awards was cooking equipment, there were some notable refrigeration equipment winners too. Here is the list of award winners for Innovative Restaurant Refrigeration Equipment.
You will find a link to the company’s home page and a direct link to the product if there is one. Once again, some companies oddly chose to ignore an excellent PR opportunity and completely omit their products from their websites.
Versa-Cool Portable Walk-In Cooler – For times you can’t stay put
This portable cooler is only 4’x4’x36” when collapsed but provides 105 cu. ft. of refrigerated storage inside a 6’6” high insulated tent when assembled. It weighs 300 lbs. and sets up or tears down in under ten minutes. When unfolded, the floor supports 1,000 pounds. It runs on any 115v, 10amp outlet, maintaining an internal temperature of 36 to 40 degrees F.
I would think caterers would be clamoring for this cooler, but the item is not listed anywhere on the company’s website. However, you can watch the YouTube video about Versa-Cool here.
Note: Product not found on their site as of 10-13-2016.
Modular Production Center – Refrigerated, rolling workstation for small kitchen areas
If you search for “Modular Production Center” you won’t find it on their website. The only way to know about this system is to go to the Resources page, then Brochures, then Production Counter and then you can download any of three one-page brochures. It takes some detective work but the necessary information is there.
The only other reference to this product is the press release about winning the award on their News page. Here is what it said.
“Duke’s new Modular Production Center combines advanced ergonomics in a compact footprint. The patented Tri-Channel design provides even cooling across entire depth of the unit due to multiple cold wall construction. Duke’s KOOL refrigeration system holds temps steady in environments exceeding NSF7 ambient kitchen temperature requirements.”
What they are trying to say is that this is a refrigerated rolling workstation featuring two refrigerated drawers and a refrigerated well on top that holds 15 ea. 1/6 pans, 6” deep. It has a convenient shelf above the top well and a rack of 12 bottle holders for various condiments. It uses a standard 110v, 10.4-amp outlet. They make three models, a 38” double-sided, a 38” single-sided and one 32” single-sided.
It looks like a well-designed piece of restaurant equipment, too bad it’s a secret.
Note: Product not found on their site as of 10-13-2016.
Horizon™ Elite 1010 & 1410 Ice Machines – The genius is in the self-cleaning operation
What is new and different about these ice machines is the way they self-clean. During the ice making process, a small amount of fresh water flushes from the harvest end, forcing out the scale and suspended particles that typically build up on other ice makers. The result is cleaner ice, reduced maintenance and scale buildup. Even with the small additional flushing action, the Elite 1010 and 1410 use less water than comparable machines and do not require expensive filtration, even in hard water areas.
To see how it works Watch a short video here.
72” Chef Base With Glycol/R290/R404A Refrigeration™ – The new way to cool with Glycol
Turbo-Coil® use glycol cooled by Freon for the refrigeration. The result is less run time and energy usage, saving hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs.
The 36” and 48” models have two drawers and the four drawer models come in 60”, 72”, 84”, 96” and 108”. They run on standard 115v, 6.28 amps and come with a 6’ power cord.
For a complete diagram of the system, download the PDF from their Product Solutions page here.
(Now, if they would have only hired us to proofread their pdf, it would have been perfect.)
Stoelting® AutoVend System – Sell Self-Serve Soft Serve by the Sea Shore (or wherever there is WiFi and outlet.)
Want to sell something besides rock hard ice cream novelties from a freezer? The Stoelting® AutoVend System lets you sell soft serve ice cream wherever there are 115v plugs and a WiFi connections.
Customers use the touch screen to choose from two flavors, four toppings and two sizes of cups. It even dispenses a spoon. They can pay with cash, credit, debit or Apple Pay.
This intuitive machine uses a WiFi or 3G/4G connection to inform the operator by text message when the hoppers are low, or another service is required. Reporting can be accessed remotely and provide information such as real-time product inventory, the amount of product sold, trends, historical data, product temperatures and maintenance frequencies.
The AutoVend machine holds Two – 3 gallon (11,35 liters) hoppers for soft serve mix and Four – 9 quarts (8,6 liters) topping bins giving you plenty of profit between refills.
It looks like all you do is pour the mix into the top and pull the money out at the bottom.
Download the Stoelting AutoVend Spec Sheet here.
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