FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—In support of their commitment to building upon an innovative range of foodservice equipment systems, Electrolux Professional North America will be showcasing several new products at their booth at the 2009 North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) Show in Orlando, Florida, February 5-7, 2009. The highly anticipated air-o-convect, a hybrid convection oven which Electrolux just introduced to the market in April 2008, will be on display. Also exhibited at the Electrolux Professional booth #2080 will be the new, 6-pan full size air-o-steam combi oven and several enhanced Electrolux Dito products. Combining the features and benefits...

DALLAS—The Fairmont Dallas has unveiled the new Pyramid Restaurant & Bar. It features contemporary décor and new organic, sustainable menus created by Executive Chef j.W. Foster. The new Pyramid, at more than 7,000 square feet, resonates with a modern, sleek, contemporary look evoking a stylish vigor and energy. The look and feel are imaginative and engaging and feature a color palette in rich tones of celadon, taupe, gold, and moss with accents of polished bronze, walnut and mahogany against a backdrop of earth-toned wall coverings and dark mahogany flooring. Since his arrival in Dallas last year from his native Canada,...

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO.—FoodServiceWarehouse.com launched its Going Green Program, an industry-vetted program aimed at helping commercial kitchens cope with the costs and complexities of going green. Through educational resources, rewards and the industry’s only free certification process, FoodServiceWarehouse.com is dedicated to helping commercial kitchens slash energy costs, conserve water and reduce their environmental impact. To kick-start the program, FoodServiceWarehouse.com will give away a green commercial kitchen worth up to $40,000 to one qualifying kitchen. “Restaurants that invest strategically in energy efficiency can cut utility costs between 10 to 30 percent without sacrificing service, quality, style or comfort—while making significant contributions...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—RockResorts, a luxury hotel company with a long-standing tradition of embracing the natural settings of its resort locations, has recently launched Appetite For Life, a brand-wide program showcasing cuisine created with local/regional organic and sustainable ingredients. The program is being rolled out across all its resort properties. The RockResorts collection of eight luxury hotels has implemented the Appetite for Life program in all food and beverage operations. The program involves a variety of sustainable food elements including: offering Horizon Organic dairy products; implementing the use of sustainable seafood and fish; eliminating all artificial trans fats; using Coleman...

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—Deep-fried foods may not be so good for your waistline, but at least you could be helping the environment when ordering those French Fries at the Fairmont Scottsdale. The resort has launched a new program to convert its kitchen grease into biodiesel, one of the world’s fastest-growing new alternative fuels. Partnering with local manufacturer AZ BioDiesel, the Fairmont Scottsdale will help to prevent more than 100,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere with the new program. By collecting more than 700 gallons of used cooking oil from the resort’s kitchens, AZ BioDiesel will be able to...

HOUSTON—How do you get a laundry facility that covers 27,000 square feet into the basement of a downtown Houston, Texas hotel? It’s easy; you build the hotel on top of the laundry. Most hotel laundries are put in as an afterthought to the construction of the hotel and as such have limited space for equipment. The laundry facility located in the basement of the Hilton Americas-Houston was included in the initial building of the structure and exists as the largest laundry facility in the United States Hilton family of hotels. The massive equipment, including two tunnel washers, was put into...

IRVINE, CALIF.—Food Recycle Science continues its innovations in food waste recycle technologies with the introduction of the new eCorect system—a high-speed food waste recycling machine, through a distribution partnership with Lancaster, Pa.-based Somat Co., a division of Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Company which was recently named a 2008 Energy Star Partner of the Year. The eCorect system is an environmentally-friendly waste dehydrating machine that rapidly reduces/decomposes the weight and volume of food waste, meat scraps, small chicken and fish bones and paper/cardboard and compostables by 85 to 93 percent and transforms them into a high-quality, humus rich organic soil amendment...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Since issuing GS-33, the Environmental Standard for Lodging Properties, in 1999, Green Seal, Inc. has certified many lodging properties in a number of states. The standard has been revised in minor ways twice, and remains a leadership standard that challenges the lodging industry to operate more sustainably. After reviewing its Green Lodging Program and the progress it has made over the years, Green Seal has decided to propose a provisional revision of GS-33. This revision will primarily enable properties to be certified at three different levels to reflect the range of performance and the difficulty in achieving a high...

Food service can be an accessible entry point for greening your operations that will have a direct impact on your customers, suppliers and community. Start seasoning your food purchasing decisions with sustainable options and watch the green grow on multiple levels beyond just the bottom line as greening your menu can help increase customer loyalty, deepen community ties and help the planet. As energy prices continue to rise and environmental awareness grows, the organic foods segment continues to snowball at about 20 percent annually. According to a recent study released by Organic Alliance, Inc., more people than ever are seeking...

BERKELEY, CALIF.—VASKA, Inc., a Berkeley, Calif.-based manufacturer of botanically-based commercial laundry care products, is pleased to announce it has been awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s Design for the Environment (DfE) certification for four of VASKA’s laundry care products. This certification allows the business community to identify and choose products that protect the environment and are safer for workers. VASKA submitted its product formulas to the EPA which reviewed the chemical background of each ingredient for its effects not just on the environment, but also on workers’ health and safety. Julia Fry, founder of VASKA, has worked to create a trustworthy...