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Kitchen Innovations® Showroom

Kitchen Innovations

Whether you're looking to save time, space or energy, the Kitchen Innovations Showroom features the latest equipment designed to improve back-of-house operations and benefit foodservice operators.

Kitchen Innovations Awards

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 automation, efficiency, safety improvements, sustainability, waste solutions, and more.

View the 2020 Press Release

Read the press release of the products that received this prestigious foodservice industry award in 2020.
See the press release here.

Congratulations to the Kitchen Innovation Awards 2020 Recipients

Antunes

InfiniSteam Seven-Drawer Steamer

No more need for retherming and holding large batches. The InfiniSteam IS-7000 features boiler-based steam for quick retherming of varying menu items with high-velocity bursts of steam directed to seven drawers, each independently controlled for steam and temperature. Intelligent programming lets operators manage and serve fresh portions on-demand while enhancing quality and reducing labor and waste.

AyrKing

AyrKing Mixstir

The Mixstir keeps product consistently blended and ready to cook or serve while maintaining flavor profiles. Unlike conventional blenders, which tend to clog and break in certain applications, the Mixstir combines a robust, stainless-steel vessel, slower RPM and a unique blade design to handle blending thick batters for frying operations and mixing seasoned oils for products like Nashville hot chicken.

Beverage-Air, an Ali Group Company

Cross Temp

Taking versatility to a new level, Cross-Temp switches from refrigerator to freezer, typically within an hour, and back, as storage needs dictate. Push-button temperature control is all it takes. With a range of -15° to 40°F, the unit can even store ice cream. A variable-speed compressor and adaptive defrost adjust for optimal performance and efficiency based on operating conditions.

Blodgett/Middleby

VLF

Say hello to the industry’s first full-size ventless convection oven with an embedded catalyst right inside the cooking chamber. The catalyst incinerates grease laden vapors before they leave the oven, and a top-mount hood removes excess moisture and provides a filter as a second grease-vapor barrier. The configuration is approved for bone-in, skin-on, raw proteins and allows full-size stackability.

Ecolab

KAY® Antimicrobial Fruit & Vegetable Treatment (AFVT) & Produce Handler

Food Safety Simplified: The patent pending handler system enables the use of AFVT without the need for a dedicated produce sink, dispensing equipment or personal protective equipment (PPE). Designed with small batch produce washing in mind, the easy-to-use system mixes a 4oz bottle of concentrate with 4 gallons of water to create the required concentration of use solution. It’s all pre-measured, requires no physical contact with the concentrate, and no PPE. AFVT is FDA approved and EPA registered.

Ecolab

Rodent Ceiling Service

Rodents threaten food safety and an operator’s brand, from below AND above. Ecolab’s service combines patent-pending equipment with regular service to proactively eliminate rodent activity in ceilings before it takes hold. Early detection is the key to superior results, and the unique rodent ceiling device enables servicers to access ceiling voids for early detection and interdiction.

Electro Freeze, an Ali Group Company

9 Flavor Fuzionate

More flavors, less space: The Fuzionate soft-serve system uses patented mix-chamber geometries and blade design to blend right at the point of dispense, enabling up to nine high quality independent flavors from a single base mix. An integrated variable speed motor, coupled with electronic controls, allows custom tailoring to a variety of frozen bases and syrups.

Garland/Welbilt

High Performance Broiler

The next generation Garland Broiler, leveraging Synergy technology, substantially cuts energy consumption thus reducing CO2 emissions. It atomizes fat eliminating the need for a grease tray, and as a result, this new broiler reduces the frequency and effort required for cleaning. Other potential benefits include improved food quality and moisture retention.

Georgia-Pacific

GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine

With explosive growth in food delivery, takeout and drive-thru, the GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine is a great enabler. A superior alternative to snap-on lids for cold drinks, GP PRO Automated Sealing Machine applies a film seal to paper and plastic cups ranging from 8 oz. to 44 oz. The seal ensures drinks are spill resistant and tamper-evident.

Hoshizaki

Sphere Ice Machine

Clear, solid sphere ice creates a top-shelf impression, and with less surface area than a cube, it melts more slowly, too, an advantage especially in premium liquors. Hoshizaki’s undercounter sphere ice machine, the first of its kind in North America, fits behind a bar at only 24.75” wide and 33.5” tall and produces 500 1.8”-ice spheres daily.

Kitchen Connect/Welbilt

Kitchen Connect Virtual Oil Quality System

Conventional oil sensing relies on relatively expensive Oil Quality Sensor (OQS) hardware to interpret oil quality. It’s costly, and prone to failure and replacement. Welbilt’s new virtual OQS instead is essentially a software-based machine learning algorithm. The technology creates a predictive model related to number of cooks, number of quick filters, oil temperature during idle and other usage data.

Omni-Rinse

Auto Burn Technology For Ice Bin Melting

Tired of hauling buckets of warm water to melt down ice bins for cleaning and safety? Auto-Burn™ Technology, either integrated in the bin or modular in portable form, delivers a hot water stream to an ice bin that propels a whirlpool that churns and breaks up the ice much more rapidly than manual efforts.

RATIONAL

iVario

Blending the flexibility of a tilt skillet with true cooking intelligence, the RATIONAL iVario ® can boil, fry, steam, sauté, braise and more in record time. The unit recognizes load size and automatically adjusts the cooking process to produce consistent results, all without an operator having to manually set time or temperature. Other features include heat zones, auto lift and more.

Server Products

eServ™ MultiServ™

Under the IoT-enabled eServ™ dispensing platform, MultiServ™ can dispense up to five, ambient-pouched products from one discharge point via an intuitive touchscreen display selection. Perfect for front- or back-of-house, MultiServ™ can be programmed for precise portions or push-and-hold applications and deliver real-time data via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Single-use pumps and quick-connect hoses reduce labor and cleaning.

Star Manufacturing

Ventless Induction Down Draft

This new 208V rangetop combines induction technology with the patented Wells Ventless System exhaust, creating a new solution for operators wanting prepare food in full view of customers without the constraints of typical, externally vented, air systems. Key specs include four 1800W hobs, a center-mounted downdraft ventless exhaust that leaves a clear view of cooking, and a self-contained four-stage filtering system.

True Manufacturing

Reversing Condenser Fan Motor

Dirty condenser coils can use twice as much energy as clean ones, according to at least one industry study. True’s patented system reverses the fan motor for 15-20 seconds to blow dirt off the coil every time the fan cycles on, saving energy and increasing component life. Better yet, it’s now standard on all True HC models.

Unox

Evereo

Say hello to EVEREO®, the first ever “hot fridge” designed to preserve meals for days at serving temperatures. The unit’s patented technology allows foodservice operators to preserve cooked food at hot temperature and ideal humidity for up to 72 hours. Among benefits: no energy-intense cook-chill-regenerate processes, reduced handling labor, and virtually instant service time.

Wood Stone

WS 3-Bay Gas Rice Cooker (GRC)

The 3-bay GRC uses standard 1/3 hotel pans to cook great rice every time with a single push of a button. With patent-pending boil sense technology and three programmable recipe cooking algorithms, the GRC uses an average of 40% less fuel than conventional rice cookers. Cooking in standard pans allows you to cook, hold, and serve in the same pan.

2020 AWARDEES' PRODUCT VIDEOS

KI Awards Judges

The KI Awards program is judged by a panel of respected third-party experts from across foodservice representing some of the industry’s best-known brands and organizations.

See the KI Judges here.

KI Fireside Chats

Equipment Innovations Shaping the Future of Foodservice

Join the editors of Foodservice Equipment & Supplies and restaurant development + design magazines at KI Fireside Chats. They’ll spend time tackling some of the most pressing issues operators face not only today, but in the future. Foodservice operators, consultants, dealers, designers, and more will share their industry insights by offering a look at what’s to come for operators of all shapes and sizes.

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More information on the latest National Restaurant Association Show