FH0320

EQUIPMENT
“They have water and they have
oxygen; if they’re [located] in a
restaurant, especially a pizza or
a fried-chicken restaurant, they
have plenty of nutrition in terms
of flour.”
Hoffman says while most ice
machines need to be cleaned
every six months, machines set
in restaurants where a lot of
flour is used are at particular risk
for developing mould and need
to be cleaned more frequently.
Cleaning and maintenance routines
for ice machines are not
one-size-fits-all; they vary based
on the environment in which the
ice machine is located.
“I’m looking for that magic
bullet of a technology that prevents
biological growth in ice
machines so you don’t ever have
to clean it or you have to clean it
very infrequently,” says Hoffman.
“But of all the technologies available
to us right now — none of
them do it 100 per cent.”
As Wolfe points out, regular
cleaning and maintenance may
be a short-term inconvenience
but, in addition to preventing
potentially unhealthy conditions,
they ultimately save operators
money over the long-term. “The
better you clean the machine, the
more efficiently it will run,” says
Wolfe. “That means environmentally,
the cost goes down and,
to the operator, it also means
the operating cost goes down.
It means more money in their
pocket.”
OLD RELIABLE
While new technology opens up
opportunities for operators to get
creative with ice, many continue
to be satisfied with basic, wellmade
ice machines that can hold
up to the wear-and-tear of highvolume
service.
Zac Woo, head bartender at
Toronto restaurant Baro, says
the restaurant uses three ice
Big Little Ice
Josh Wolfe, director of Sales
in Ontario for Food Service
Solutions, says the introduction
of small, entry-level-priced
ice machines — such as the
Simag by Lancaster, Pa.-based
Scotsman — has been one of
the most innovative developments
in the ice-machine market
in the past few years.
These models have allowed
smaller foodservice establishments
that previously may
not have had the money or
retail space to invest in an ice
machine to enter the market.
“For the smaller mom-andpop
shop — people who, in the
past, were used to buying ice
— they can put a 50-or 60-lbs.
machine in and, over the course
of the lifetime of the machine,
save a huge amount of money
over buying ice,” says Wolfe.
“They’re looking at a 15-inch,
small footprint they can count
on. No more running to the
store, no more waiting for an ice
delivery and no more paying for
ice every day.”
machines (two Kold-Drafts and a
Hoshizaki) across its four floors
to keep up with its large demand
for ice. “As a bar manager or just
an operator, things that matter
to me about an ice machine are:
Is it reliable? Does it produce
enough ice? Is the ice consistent?”
says Woo.
He says for busy establishments
such as Baro, the most
important feature of an ice
machine is its dependability
during busy service times.
Ultimately, the best ice
machines offer consistent cooling
as well as the ability to elevate an
operator’s offerings, adding new
textures and dimensions. FH
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM