Creating Healthy Kid’s Meals

Healthy children’s faire seems to be on everyone’s minds these days, from meals prepared at home to school cafeterias to restaurants. Kids are notorious for being picky eaters, making it difficult to tempt their tiny palates with simply a plate of vegetables. However with a little creativity many meals can be made-over to be lower in calories and fat, without skimping too much on the tastes kids crave.

Did you know that Serv-U has an entire department on their website dedicated to school supplies? Visit our school supplies department to find everything you need to create healthy, fresh and flavorful meals in your school’s cafeteria.

What is your school or restaurant doing to ensure that children receive meals that encourage dietary variety and balance?

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

It takes more than a good quality commercial coffee maker to brew a great cup of coffee. Below are some basic Do’s and Don’ts from BUNN on how to make sure your customers receive a great cup of coffee every time.

Do make sure you are getting the good water you need. Check your water source for softened or hard water. If necessary, run your water through a water treatment filter.

Do keep all coffee stored in a clean, dry place away from heat registers and vents or extreme cold for maximum freshness.

Do know the correct operation of your coffee brewing equipment for maximum performance.

Do use only quality controlled paper filters designed to fit your brewing equipment.

Do make sure decanters and/or pots used at serving stations are cleaned every day.

Do dispose of filter and grounds immediately after brewing to prevent drip-thru of unwanted flavors trapped in used coffee grounds.

Do clean your brewing equipment regularly (especially the sprayhead area) -- at least once a week.

Don’t mix fresh brewed coffee with previously brewed coffee as this will dilute the taste and affect the flavor of the whole pot.

Don’t brew over previously used coffee grounds because all of the flavor has already been completely extracted.

Don’t re-heat for serving any coffee with a temperature below 175° F

Don’t serve coffee using beans or ground coffee past the freshness date.

Don’t let coffee "bake" on a serving station or brewer. Twenty to 30 minutes is the maximum time allowable for an open pot to deliver a perfect cup coffee.

Don’t serve coffee in pots or decanters that haven't been properly cleaned, since acids and other organic materials can taint even the best brewed coffee.

Visit BUNN’s website for more tips and information on brewing the perfect cup of coffee.

Bar Equipment that Boosts Sales – Portable Beverage Merchandisers

Increase your profit with impulse sales of beer, bottled water and soda. A portable piece of bar equipment such as a portable beer icer is perfect for tempting thirsty customers at your bar, hotel, concession stand or outdoor event. Simply wheel a portable beer merchandiser into a high traffic area and watch your beverage sales skyrocket.

Portable beer merchandisers are a terrific addition to your bar equipment inventory as they are typically constructed of durable molded plastic. These fully insulated mobile beer coolers will keep their contents cool, thus saving you time and money with minimal ice refills. Most portable beer merchandisers will feature a built-in bottom mounted drain, thus making them an easy piece of bar equipment to empty and clean.

Mobilize your Bar Equipment with a Portable Bar

A portable bar is an innovative and cost effective piece of bar equipment for any banquet facility or outdoor venue. The sleek design of a portable bar will blend with nearly any décor and this cleverly constructed piece of bar equipment offers numerous features that will make your job easier. With plenty of storage for bar equipment items such as glassware, condiment caddies and bus tubs, a portable bar has everything you need.

Optimal features to look for when choosing a portable bar include an ice bin with or without a cold plate, a prep area with a cutting board or stainless steel surface for preparing garnishes and drinks, speed rail storage for wine, liquor and mixer bottles and storage space for bottled or canned beverages as well as glassware and miscellaneous bar equipment tools.

Looking for an easy and cost efficient way to add a bar to your home, without having to purchase multiple pieces of bar equipment? A portable bar is a great way to liven up a social gathering in your home’s family room, game room or outdoor patio. Plus, a portable bar allows you to take your bar equipment to the area in which you wish to entertain.

 Name this pan: it’s a shallow rectangular shape, oven and broiler safe and can also withstand freezing cold, scrubbings and machine washings. Of course, it is the sheet pan. Whether you operate a bakery that moves sheet pans of sugar cookies in and out of your oven, a fine dining restaurant that cooks half sheet pans of roasted vegetables beneath the broiler for the dinner rush, or a catering business that freezes sheet pans full of chocolate-covered strawberries until they are ready for dessert—you probably use this versatile pan.

The list of qualities to look for when it’s time to replace commercial sheet pans is short and sweet. In order to stand up to the heat of your broiler and the chills of your freezer, sheet pans should be durable, and warp and rust resistant.

Lincoln Wear-Ever pans are well-known among the professional community for their sturdy 3003 Aluminum construction. The sheet pans have a sturdy closed bead edge design with 1” sides, making them suitable to both baking and roasting. The natural finish on Lincoln Wear-Ever sheet pans is long-lasting and easy to clean.

Serv-U also carries National Sanitation Foundation certified heavy gauge sheet pans. These Vollrath sheet pans have an open bead edge design, so the surface will not hold water. They are constructed of 3004 extra dent resistant aluminum alloy and are also easily cleaned.

Sheet pans are sold in a range of sizes. Serv-U offers full size sheet pans, half size sheet pans, ¼ and ¾ size sheet pans and the option of solid or perforated. Pick the proper sheet pan and your kitchen can handle any recipe.

In the heat of summer, who doesn’t want an ice cold glass of lemonade, sangria, iced tea or punch? Serving these icy drinks during outdoor parties, buffets or banquets is best done in an iced beverage dispenser. Commercial iced beverage dispensers are the finest way to serve drinks to a large number of people within a short time span, and transport icy beverages to different locations safely and conveniently. On top of these benefits, iced drink dispensers are often equipped with advanced features.

Glass beverage dispensers provide your guests with a beautiful and functional display. If you are interested in a variety of shapes and capacities, check out Cal-Mil’s selection of iced beverage dispensers. Some are equipped with black wrought iron bases for elegant display and drip trays for cleanliness. All dispensers have removable ice chambers, allowing ice to cool your beverage without diluting the flavor of the product as it melts.

For the most durability, consider iced beverage dispensers with high impact plastic construction. Tablecraft iced beverage dispensers are resistant to scratching and denting, making them ideal for transport in a catering operation. Carlisle clear iced beverage dispensers feature tight fitting hinge-less lids to prevent spills. Some models have deluxe spring-action faucets and removable drip trays. Choosing the best construction saves you the labor of cleaning up spills and the expense of a pile of napkins.

Juices, punches and sangrias need optimal temperature settings, but iced tea has an additional requirement—optimum brewing. Stainless steel iced tea urns will give you the best brew for your buck. People will appreciate tea that has been carefully brewed and sits at the ideal icy temperature.

When the weather gets chilly, there is no doubt that coffee brewers, urns and percolators will become the most popular beverage dispensers on buffet tables and banquet spreads. Serv-U also carries quality warm beverage dispensers to use when the heat wave passes!

Durability is one of the biggest issues in the food service industry. Whether catering, bartending or serving, the goal is an attractive presentation for your customer that can’t be broken in transport or storage. The solution to your durability dilemma? Stock up on plastic restaurant supplies.

The foodservice industry has made huge advances in plastic serveware—specifically Melamine, SAN and Polycarbonate. All three materials have unique pros and cons, but the most distinct is cost. Both SAN and Polycarbonate have a petrochemical base, Melamine does not. All three varieties are completely dishwasher safe, but won’t stand up to liquid chlorine bleach or abrasive scouring pads. Regular commercial dishwashing detergent or sanitizer easily cleans your plastic restaurant supplies.

The trend towards plastic drinkware is popular in pool, lake and beach settings, but equally appealing for your average bar or nightclub. Plastic is less of a liability than glass. Plastic pitchers, for instance, are just as attractive as their glass counterpart, but more durable. When your customers are pouring from plastic pitchers, you increase your profits by cutting your overhead equipment costs.

When it comes to storage of your plastic restaurant supplies, plastic tumblers can be stacked without worrying about chips or cracks. A rack of plastic plates won’t weigh you down the way that china, ceramic or glass will.

Plastic restaurant supplies aren’t limited to dinner and drinkware. Crocks and larger serving pieces are also available in Polycarbonate and Melamine. Plastic is a natural insulator for cold foods and also has excellent thermal properties. Though no plastic material can withstand an oven, most varieties are safe for the microwave.

When you need something completely unbreakable, cost effective and attractive, plastic restaurant supplies are the perfect option.

Super Bowl Sunday is a huge day for football fans and, according to USA Today, pizzerias. Sales of pizza on game day are some of the biggest of the year, jumping by up to 50 percent. Stocking up on pizza equipment and pizza prep supplies can help you suit-up for Super Bowl sales.

If your pizza operation is concerned with value and efficiency when cooking pies, it is important to invest in a conveyor oven. This piece of kitchen equipment is engineered to produce consistent results for your customers, with some models baking up to 19 fresh pizzas per hour. Impingement conveyor ovens are available in both full size and countertop models. When speed is important to your profits you can be confident that your impingement oven heats two to four times faster than a conventional oven.

Serv-U also sells pizza pans to slide through the oven, suited for pies of many sizes, including deep dish varieties. In order to give customers the most ideal crust, consider adding a pizza screen to your stock of kitchen equipment. A screen will create a crispy crust by cooking the bottom surface of the dough with convection and radiation.

The biggest sales on Super Bowl Sunday come from deliveries. Therefore, after you cook your pizza, it’s important to have the equipment to deliver hot and fresh pies. Serv-U offers specially constructed delivery bags, designed to help breathe moisture and steam out while keeping the heat inside. The Oven Hot brand bags come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed return policy. For longer trips, models are available equipped with a heating element. To cater to the most ravenous crowds, we offer pizza carriers with multiple racks that can carry up to 10 of your jumbo 18” pizzas. 

Stocking up on your equipment needs is a good step as you prep for the big day. Don’t forget to knead the dough for your dough boxes, top off your containers of toppings, and sharpen the wheels of your pizza cutters so you are ready for the demands of Super Bowl Sunday!

Name your product--pizza, pretzels, pastries, bagels and more. When you can deliver these items to your customers at the perfect temperature and texture, you earn big sales for your deli, café, or concession stand. Heated display merchandisers are designed to deliver the profits. Serv-U offers a range of merchandisers to suit each product’s unique holding needs.

Pizza is a favorite product at sporting events, fairs and concerts for its alluring visual presentation and familiar taste. Appeal to all the customer’s senses by keeping your pies hot and delicious in a 1 or 2-door pizza merchandiser. For superior taste and texture, it’s important to invest in a humidified merchandiser. Slices stay soft and fresh for a longer shelf life because of the consistent heat. You can give your customers a piece of quality pizza, beyond the confines of the parlor.

Pretzels, pastries and other bread products are also best served by humidified display cabinets. Humidified warmers are designed for a more rapid rate of turnover, guaranteeing a fresh, soft pretzel always available for your customers to purchase. They allow you to control the temperature and humidity and are often illuminated for optimum display. The maximum capacity 3-tiered warmer can hold up to 72 pretzels, but if space in an issue compact models can save you money by not requiring too much additional room. Hanging racks can be replaced with flat ones to hold bagels, donuts, scones or sandwiches, depending upon your needs.

A state-of-the-art display case can set you apart from your competition. Tempered glass, digital thermostats, and bright lights are all available within Serv-U’s selection of merchandisers. Such features will assure your customers of professionalism and dedication to high standards.

A new wave of healthy habits inspired by holiday overindulgence and New Year’s resolutions sweeps the nation each January. Diet season is in full swing, something that many in the foodservice industry see as a customer deterrent. The key to drawing the crowds to your door during this time of year is catering to their calorie counting. Here are some tips on restaurant equipment to rev up your post-holiday profits.

Salads are an obvious menu selection for those with a health-conscious New Year’s resolution. Take advantage of this by incorporating a salad bar into the flow of your restaurant and advertising the healthy selection available. Mobile food and salad bars are an eye-catching addition to attract customers. If a stand-alone food bar seems like a design challenge, Serv-U also offers a variety of tabletop food bars. Portable buffet bars allow for easy loading and unloading.

Stock your salad bar with insulated drop-in ice pans to keep the produce crisp and appetizing. These pans can be frozen overnight for ease of service. The technique keeps pre-chilled product at or below 40 degrees for 8 hours. Toppings and dressings can be stocked in round food storage crocks on the salad bar. The crocks are both freezer and dishwasher safe.

For another profit-boost during the diet season, have your chef create an in-house dressing that can be marketed as a special low-calorie option. Placing a cold crock of the homemade dressing at the end of the salad bar decreases your food costs so you can profit from post-holiday health consciousness.

Salads prepared with kitchen equipment behind the scenes and served as entrees can be profitable in a fine dining environment. While a self-serve bar is the ultimate labor-saving route, a chef-prepared salad takes fewer ingredients and energy than many other menu items, thus increasing your profit margin.

By stocking up on salad bowls, tongs and serving accessories, you can turn salad season into a profitable period for your restaurant.