ORLANDO, FLA.—The Peabody Orlando announced the launch of its new Organics Recycling Program. The compost program is in partnership with Waste Management, Inc. of Florida and is the first of its kind in the Orlando area. The Peabody Orlando plans to roll out the new program in the hotel’s banquet kitchen and looks to expand the initiative to all of its other food and beverage outlets in the near future. “We are pleased to be one of the first hotel properties in Orlando to launch such a program,” stated Michael Jueds, director of engineering, The Peabody Orlando. “At The Peabody...

Unless incredibly eco minded, the majority of guests don’t want to hear about a hotel’s greening efforts around reductions in water, waste, energy and chemicals. Happily, the same is not true when it comes to food—a good story around food that’s local creates a unique and memorable dining experience, and adds great value to a guest stay. Letting the guest in on a story about the fungi forager who brings locally foraged mushrooms or fiddleheads to your menu, or details on the Nubian goats at a neighboring farm that produce the chevre for your velvety cheese cake, just makes food...

RIPON, WIS.—Alliance Laundry Systems announced that Bill Brooks has been promoted to national sales manager of UniMac. Brooks will be responsible for overseeing sales of the UniMac brand in the United States and Canada. UniMac is a market leader in providing heavy-duty commercial laundry equipment to a wide range of industries, including hotels, long-term care facilities and fire departments. Brooks joined Alliance in 1990 and has held several positions during his tenure. He most recently worked as the national accounts sales manager, where he coordinated national account sales activities for Alliance. He is an expert in the OPL industry and...

MILTON, N.Y.—The recent opening of Henry’s Farm to Table restaurant at , in the 300-year-old Hudson River-side hamlet of Milton, N.Y., completes the property’s evolution from charming bed and breakfast to country chic resort—one with a decidedly green sensibility. The new contemporary American 60-seat dining destination restaurant embraces the locavore movement by sourcing locally to showcase the bounty of the Hudson Valley. Indeed, Henry’s Farm to Table reflects its name literally since much of the produce and eggs used by executive chef Paul Kelly comes from Buttermilk’s on-site 40-acre working organic farm—Millstone. Daily, Chef Kelly’s team harvests organic greens, vegetables,...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—An edited exhibit division of statement-making products for hotel, resort and casino food and beverage operations will debut at the 2011 International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS), November 12 to 15, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The Hotel F&B Zone will feature manufacturers and distributors of bar equipment; beer, wine and spirits; software and technology; buffet ware and catering accessories; and specialty food and beverages. “The Hotel F&B Zone was created to accommodate the sourcing needs of food and beverage executives from across the country who attend the IHMRS annually, offering them a...

ARLINGTON, VA.—Green Path America has partnered with Totally Green as a sales agent of Totally Green’s ORCA Composting Solutions for the Hospitality Industry. The ORCA Green Machine works by utilizing non-hazardous microorganisms in conjunction with biochips. It comes in three sizes, suited to meet the needs of most industrial kitchens, and is fully self-contained. Use of composting practices is widespread in Europe and Asia, but still rare in the American marketplace. The Dallas Cowboys organization is the first U.S. sports franchise to install one of the sophisticated reactors. Nick Sciurba, business development director of Green Path America, said he expects...

LIVONIA, MICH.—The San-O3-tyzer by Hamilton Engineering and Aquawing Ozone Systems is a new system that uses a blend of heat and ozone in every wash cycle. Adding ozone to the wash allows for less chemicals and the use of lower temperature wash water, which will substantially lower utility bills and reduce the carbon footprint of a laundry operation. Additionally, there are San-O3-tyzer models designed to fit in the space of and function as a folding table. San-O3-tyzer systems come in more than 20 standard sizes that can accommodate up to 4,000 pounds of hourly wash capacity. Every San-O3-tyzer is factory...

LEESBURG, VA.—The National Conference Center (NCC), located in Leesburg, Va., is one of the largest conference training centers in the United States. Several years ago, the Conference Center decided to go green and implemented a wide array of energy saving programs. Last year, the site also began making a large, concerted effort to serve locally grown food—quite a challenge for NCC’s executive chef Craig Mason who serves upwards of 2,000 meals a day for NCC guests. So, they invited all of the region’s farmers over for networking and an opportunity to discuss the community’s needs as well as NCC’s...

NATIONAL REPORT—The carbon footprint of single-use plastic and glass bottled water containers is huge. Consider the raw materials that go into the bottles, the manufacturing of the bottles themselves, the transportation of the bottles and finally, their disposal (only 20 percent of plastic bottles and 28 percent of glass bottles are ever recycled). Fortunately, many vendors are now making it easy to eliminate most of the carbon footprint of bottled water—thanks to on-site water purification and dispensing systems that incorporate reusable, branded glass bottles. Some restaurants are even charging upwards of $10 for the premium water that is bottled...

RICHMOND, CALIF.—Excellent Packaging & Supply, a wholesale distributor of sustainable, biodegradable, and nature-based packaging for foodservice and other applications, has added Ingeo biopolymer-lined clamshell containers to its line of BagasseWare pulp-based foodservice products. These new products address a problem that has long frustrated operators of cafeterias, restaurants and to-go establishments: the tendency of bio-based containers to soften and lose their structural integrity when serving hot and moist food. Today, many foodservice operators who might otherwise use bagasse-based containers for take-out foods reluctantly use Styrofoam or starch-filed polypropylene containers for hot or greasy foods because they don’t want to risk food...