14 Foodservice Equipment Launches We’re Watching

CHICAGO — With the array of food-related products on display at the National Restaurant Association Show held recently in Chicago, attendees could conduct any aspect of the business.

Food preparation, cooking, warming, serving, and more, a company—or two or seven—was there representing. Even nonglamorous aspects to the job—rodent control and dish washing—were in the house.

CSP logged a few miles walking the floors—and what follows are some of the more eye-catching items.

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Squeeze bottles from Fifo Innovations, Burnaby, British Columbia, ensure proper food rotation with its first in, first out feature, reducing waste and dispensing quickly.

Interchangeable color-coded valves come in different sizes (for the various viscosities of liquids such as honey, caramel and chunky sauces) and swap easily. There are one-, two- and three-valve dispensing caps, as well as portion-control rings.

Coca-Cola-owned, Dunstable, England-based Costa Coffee’s fully automatic, high-capacity WMF 1500 S+ machine offers rich espresso-based hot and cold drinks. Equipment options include a countertop format with a digital ecosystem that supports the customer in building its coffee business.

The machine can be set up as self-serve for consumers or back-of-house for the crew to prepare beverages. The machine features up to three hoppers, which offer a choice of up to two types of coffee beans, chocolate powder or twin toppings, and includes a 10-inch color-touch display.

Milwaukee-based Hatco’s soup stations can hold preheated soups at safe-serving temperatures. An insulated stainless-steel design allows for even heat distribution, and an infinite switch on each end regulates the temperature of the nearest well.

There are versions to accommodate two 7-quart or 11-quart round food pans.

Troy, Ohio-based Hobart’s AMTL two-level dishwasher with smart connect has two independent wash chambers: The upper chamber has a five-sided, double-wall insulated hood with a 17- inch opening and the lower chamber has a hinged, double-wall insulated door with an 8.8-inch opening.

A wash cycle can be done in as quickly as one minute, with the capability of sanitizing 80 racks per hour, with efficient water use. Tank water level is maintained by an electronic sensor.

This service from Ecolab, St. Paul, Minn., includes traps designed to catch rodents in a discreet manner that doesn’t alarm customers.

The Metro2Go has a four-compartment contactless pickup, takeout and delivery order staging hot station that keeps items hot. The front of the unit, from Wilkes-Barre, Pa.-based InterMetro Industries, features full-window, sliding polycarbonate doors.

The unit has two Super Erecta Hot Heated Shelves, which deliver consistent radiant heat across the shelf ’s surface. The temperature of each shelf can be independently modified up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The unit comes in several sizes.

San Diego-based Hyginix’s Fog Tank offers five steps to clean, shine and sanitize equipment, as well as make sure it’s bacteria-free. The unit is a fully insulated and thermostatically controlled stainless steel tank.

It removes fat, oil, grease and carbon buildup from metal cookware and kitchen equipment, including aluminum, via an environmentally safe cleaning agent that’s noncaustic and nontoxic.

This oven from Menomonee Falls, Wis.- based Alto-Shaam offers a more efficient way of cooking and keeping food moist. Ventless and self-cleaning, it has three cooking modes: steam, convection and combination.

It works as two or three independent ovens in one, offering the ability to steam, air fry, bake or grill more simultaneously and without flavor transfer.

This compact juicer from Citrus America, Oviedo, Fla., requires 15 minutes to self-clean thanks to a reduced number of parts for fast disassembly. Various pressing kits can be swapped in based on the size of the fruit being juiced, and the machine can juice 30 fruits per minute.

A dynamic knife provides precise cutting, and a double cover offers added hygiene, durability and efficiency. Two-zone technology means there’s complete separation of juice from the engine area.

The warmer from Nemco, Hicksville, Ohio, lets foodservice operators keep cooked foods in ideal serving condition and optimize order-fulfillment speed without sacrificing food quality.

The same unit can keep foods hot moist or hot dry by inserting or removing inserts.

A patented ThermalBreeze technology achieves high-energy efficiency with a thermal air curtain and hot convection air recirculation. Each warmer can warm up to four different foods at once.

Melbourne, Fla.-based ITD Food Safety’s Temp-Taker 6 uses wireless Bluetooth technology to conduct temperature checks and deliver instant, detailed results that are electronically accessible and organized.

The new Flip Mode enables one-handed operation and button-free use, and users can email, print and save reports easily.

The XPress Grill from Mississauga, Ontario-based Garland offers three widths for its dual-surface clamshell griddle: 12, 24 and 36 inches.

The automated machine offers uniform compression for consistent heating across whatever is being cooked.

The energy-efficient unit is easy to use, clean and service and features a single-button push start and a push-button menu. Once the menu is set, cooking begins automatically. A Teflon wrap prevents food from sticking.

This pressurized nine-flavor soft serve freezer from Electro Freeze, East Moline, Ill., delivers menu flexibility in a small footprint. Select flavors via the touchscreen and then push the dispense button.

Users can dispense the base product alone or press a button to infuse the product with one of eight extra flavors, which are stored in the cabinet in 32-ounce syrup containers.

Kari-Out, Tarrytown, N.Y., sells recyclable/environmentally friendly single-slice hinged pizza boxes as well as a variety of sizes of Eco-Earth carryout boxes that are 100% recyclable, biodegradable and compostable.

The company also can make custom sizes.