FH0320

EQUIPMENT
Nugget ice was first popularized
by U.S. fast-food chain Sonic,
with “Sonic ice” garnering a cult
following for its crunchy, chewable
texture.
“The overall trend is toward
nugget ice,” agrees Trey Hoffman,
Hoshizaki America Inc.’s product
manager for Ice and Water.
Hoffman notes nugget-ice
machines are more expensive and
require more maintenance than
cube-ice machines, but also offer
a way for operators to stand out
in a competitive market. “If you
have four people in a car and,
all things are equal, one of those
people is an ice chewer, they’re
going to say ‘let’s go to Sonic’
because they have that chewable
ice,” explains Hoffman. “Those
little differences can make a big
difference overall.”
Both Wolfe and Hoffman agree
the ability of nugget ice to absorb
the flavour of its surrounding
liquid has potential beyond
quick-service chains. “I’ve begun
playing around a little bit with
cocktails [served] with nugget
ice,” says Wolfe. “After you drink
your cocktail on the rocks, you
can spend a few minutes chewing
on this ice to have a secondary
experience.”
Wolfe adds there are now
various small-sized nugget-ice
machines on the market that
can easily fit under the counter
in most bar set-ups — a smart
choice for bars interested in producing
a small volume of nugget
ice to complement a few select
drinks in their cocktail program.
Ice is a key part of the drink
program at Braven, Oliver &
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Bonacini Hospitality’s (O&B)
steakhouse in the JW Marriott
Edmonton ICE District. Julien
Lavoie, O&B’s director of
Operations in Alberta, says the
restaurant uses a combination of
ice machines and hand-chipped
ice for its cocktail menu. “The ice
actually changes the dynamic of
the drink,” he explains. “You mix
the same ingredients over a large
cube, rather than in a shaker with
an ounce of shaved ice, and it’s
going to taste very different.”
In addition to its current cubeice
machine, Lavoie says Braven
will soon be adding a flaked-ice
machine to its arsenal. “We’re
going to be introducing a cocktail
with shaved ice and champagne
— almost like a champagne snow
cone,” he says.
Like most bars and restaurants,
Braven makes its large-format
ice cubes (cubes that are bigger
than about one inch) by hand;
however, Hoffman says Hoshizaki
is aiming to change that. “Right
now, the large-format-ice market
is not served by machines; it’s
served by people hand-making
this ice with molds or presses,”
explains Hoffman.
In Q2 of 2020, Hoffman says
Hoshizaki will be introducing
a sphere-ice machine that can
produce balls of ice around 1.8
inches in diameter. Marketed
toward bars and restaurants with
high-end cocktail programs, the
sphere-ice machine aims to automate
the time-consuming process
of making large-format ice by
hand.
At a projected list price
of US$12,000, the sphere-ice
machine is a bigger investment
than most ice machines, but
Hoffman says it could be a gamechanger
for the right operators.
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
New technology is making it
easier for operators to detect
From the
Supply Side
ICE-O-MATIC’S GEM2006
PearlStorm ice machine
produces more than 2,000lbs.
of Pearl Ice — the company’s
proprietary soft and chewable
ice with a unique shape — every
24 hours. The unique shape
easily absorbs its drink, infusing
the ice with flavour. The spacesaving
GEM2006 has no required
side clearance with front and
rear air exchanges allowing
side-by-side installation. It
also features a stainless-steel
evaporator and SystemSafe,
a load-monitoring system for
increased reliability.
and solve problems with their
ice machines. Many Hoshizaki
ice machines now incorporate
remote monitoring, allowing
operators to check on the status
of their machines in real-time via
an app.
“You can see how much ice it’s
making and, if there’s an error,
you’ll get a notification,” says
Hoffman. “Remote monitoring
gives you the ability to do predictive
maintenance. You can find
out there’s a problem when it
occurs and respond accordingly,
so it’s going to prevent downtime,”
he adds.
In spite of technological
advances, cleaning continues to
be one of the biggest maintenance
challenges for operators. “[Ice
machines] have all the magic
qualities you need for biological
growth,” explains Hoffman.
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42 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY MARCH 2020 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM