Facing seemingly insolvable performance challenges from its kitchen ventilation system, Bridges Restaurant & Bar, Danville, Calif. was ready to outlay upwards of $20,000 for a new rooftop make-up air system.

Instead of exiting through the dual exhaust cooking hood, smoke and food odors wafted into portions of the 3,300-square-foot dining area raising complaints from patrons seated at tables near the kitchen.

The 24-year-old, independently-owned Bridges is popularly known in the San Francisco area for its casual-elegant dining and also as the famous location for actor Robin Williams’ comedic multiple costume changes in the 1993 Hollywood movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire.” Because of its upscale image and popularity, the vexing dining area cooking odors were bad for business and affected the overall guest experience, according to Kevin Gin, executive chef and a member of the restaurant’s investor consortium.

Furthermore, drafts from the existing make-up air HVAC system were drawing smoke and grease, that should have been contained within the cooking exhaust hood, and depositing them onto the diffuser, walls ceilings and other kitchen surfaces requiring more than $1,000 annually in maintenance labor and cleaning compounds.

Besides odor infiltration and maintenance costs, the drafts from the air conditioning supply over the food prep area was prematurely cooling prepared hot entrees while employees in other kitchen areas were uncomfortably hot.

Finding a Low Cost Solution
A large HVAC retrofit outlay seemed imminent until an arranged meeting between Gin and an HVAC ventilation product manger attending a Bridges-held 25th anniversary dinner for the nearby Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), a San Ramon, Calif.-based commercial foodservice equipment performance test lab funded by Pacific Gas & Electric. Nick Paschke, product manager at textile HVAC ductwork manufacturer, DuctSox Corp., Peosta, Iowa, recommended a custom textile air dispersion system designed specifically for kitchens. The ceiling-mounted device disperses airflow uniformly, parallel and in front of the kitchen exhaust hood. The fabric diffuser is an easy-to-install replacement for metal air distribution diffusers that commonly cause kitchen exhaust hood overflow.

Instead of a 5,000-cfm make-up air equipment replacement, only the kitchen’s lone conventional 3 x 3-foot supply box and four metal diffusers were switched out. Located over the food prep line to distribute air throughout the 1,000-square-foot kitchen, the diffusers were replaced with two eight-foot-long, 28-inch-diameter D-shaped KitchenSox fabric diffusers. Instead of the metal diffuser’s estimated 500-fpm airflow that caused turbulence and disruption of the cooking hood’s capture, the air is gently and evenly dispersed through the fabric into the entire kitchen area at a significantly slower 85-fpm rate. Without the previous high velocity airflow and subsequent turbulence, the dual exhaust cooking hood now efficiently performs up to its design standards and captures smoke, grease particulates and cooking odors without overflow.

CulinAire Systems, El Dorado Hills, Calif., a foodservice ventilation contractor specializing in demand ventilation controls and engineered kitchen ventilation equipment, fabricated the sheet metal plenum and metal/fabric adaptors that supply the 16 linear feet of fabric duct. The fabric duct system and metal accessories were installed by CulinAire overnight without disruption to the kitchen operation.

Without the drafts, the excessive airborne smoke, grease deposits and dirt that the return air system had once drawn onto diffusers, kitchen walls, ceilings and cabinets no longer occurs, which has expedited daily cleaning and sanitation routines.

Gin also plans annual cleaning since the fabric diffuser can be disassembled by kitchen staffers in just minutes and commercially laundered, a process that would require days to complete by an outside contractor with a metal system.

Green Mission Accomplished
By improving the air distribution and eliminating the hood’s hot air overflow into the kitchen, a considerable energy savings supplements Bridges’ green mission, which is strategically marketed among its clientele. Gin said it’s difficult to pinpoint energy savings of the new system because FSTC continually uses Bridges as a beta test site for new technology. However, Gin did estimate recent Bridges’ conservation efforts are saving the restaurant more than 20-percent in energy costs with quick investment paybacks.

For example, FSTC oversees results of Bridges’ variable speed Intelli-Hood control, which is manufactured by Melink Corp., Milford, Ohio, and won the renowned “AHR Innovation Award” in the ventilation category presented at the 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago.

Other green equipment includes:
· A Cyclone Xi 96-percent efficient hot water heater by A.O. Smith, Ashland City, Tenn.;
· A variable temperature control for more efficiently running walk-in cooler operation by E-Control Systems, Sherman Oaks, Calif.;
· High temperature/reduced water kitchen and bar dishwashers by Hobart Corp., Troy, Ohio;
· A lighting retrofit from standard bulbs to compact fluorescent;
· The highest efficiency equipment available today in fryers, convection ovens and ice machines by Vulcan-Hart Co., Baltimore, Md.; the Garland Group, Freeland, Pa.; and Manitowoc Ice Inc., Manitowoc, Wis.; respectively.

Bridges’ challenges with HVAC ventilation was solved completely with fabric diffusers that cost less than ten percent of the approximate $20,000 for a new make-up air system. Furthermore, the energy savings and reduced maintenance costs offer a payback of less than one year on the air diffusion system. “This is really a common problem (inadequate cooking hood drafting) I think many restaurants suffer from and don’t realize there’s a simple, inexpensive solution,” said Gin. “We once thought replacing the HVAC system would improve our kitchen ventilation challenges, but we now realize it probably wouldn’t have remedied what was actually a ventilation problem that fabric ductwork solved.”

The post San Francisco Restaurant Solves Cooking Hood Draft Challenges with Cloth HVAC Diffuser Retrofit appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

18 Reasons cooking class

18 reasons

18 Reasons is a nonprofit community cooking school in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District whose goals include helping people learn how to buy, cook and eat quality food, as well as helping low-income families by addressing food inequity in the Bay Area and through educational programming.

“Our mission is to inspire our community with the confidence and creativity to buy, cook, and eat good food every day,” explains Sarah Nelson, Executive Director at 18 Reasons. “This mission drives our work at 18th Street Kitchen and our Free Community Programming.”

“We live in a food environment where buying, cooking, and eating good food isn’t easy. Individuals and families must navigate deceptive marketing, confusing nutrition advice, and heavily processed products when deciding what to eat.”

This impactful organization works with chefs from around the world and hosts hands-on cooking classes, cheesemaking and fermentation workshops, dinners with farmers and brewers, wine seminars, and more, with most classes booking up completely. These hands-on cooking classes change daily.

“We attract students interested in learning fundamentals, world cuisines, and advanced techniques through a home cooking lens, and gear classes to meet these needs,” says Nelson.

Some example classes include Japanese Baking and Sweets; comforting curries; Croissants, Danishes and Kouign Amann, a special two-day workshop; and recurring favorites like Malaysian Chili Crab; sweet and savory galettes; Scandinavian baking; Flavors of Bordeaux; and Pasta Primers. Other popular classes include Basic Knife Skills and Culinary Boot Camp. Each class features a menu to be cooked or baked, with a new teaching chef guiding the class.

Baking croissants

18 reasons

For Valentine’s Day, 18 Reasons is offering two themed classes: Chocolate, which involves learning how to bake a Flourless Chocolate-Almond Cake with Marbled Chocolate Glaze, Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies with Flaked Sea Salt and more, and Valentine’s Day Feast, which includes learning how to cook a cherry and herb stuffed quail, mascarpone mashed potatoes and more.

18 reasons offers themed classes around other holidays as well, including Chinese New Year in Malaysia; Short and Sweet: Mardi Gras Party; Mid Autumn Festival Mooncakes; Umbrian Easter Feast; and Purim Baking.

“18 Reasons believes in the transformative and healing power of home cooking,” explains Nelson. “We choose to work with chefs that teach from a perspective and appreciation for home cooking as opposed to techniques and/or equipment typical for a commercial kitchen or restaurant.”

“Guests keep coming back, and we see a trend of multiple class takers,” she continues. “Some people enjoy trying new classes, while others gravitate towards a certain instructor or cuisine.”

Supported by these paid classes hosted through its 18th Street Kitchen cookery school, 18 Reasons offers free, hands-on cooking classes and grocery donations to low-income adults, families and kids, and Black and Latinx pregnant women, through its Cooking Matters and Nourishing Pregnancy programs.

18 Reasons is celebrating its 15th year this year, and they’ve evolved and expanded in many ways that include offering Cooking Matters classes in three counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco, and creating three new programs: Planned & Prepped, Food As Medicine (FAM), and Nourishing Pregnancy.

We chatted with Sarah Nelson, Executive Director at 18 Reasons on how 18 Reasons got started, its educational programs, the range of cooking classes they offer and more. Here’s what she had to say.

18 Reasons in the kitchen

18 reasons

How did 18 Reasons start?

The Bi-Rite Family of Businesses created a space in 2008 for community dinners and tastings, meant to connect farmers with the community members buying their products. Executive Director Sarah Nelson began a nonprofit, Three Squares, in 2011 to address food insecurity and the need for many in disinvested neighborhoods to increase nutrition and, ultimately, better health.

18 Reasons was born as a merger between the two — creating a nonprofit community cooking school with cooking classes at our Mission location, as well as free programming at sites within the community.

Talk about the range of paid cooking classes you offer. What can guests expect during these classes?

Our classes are unique because they’re largely powered by volunteers, which creates a greater feeling of community in classes. Our volunteers usually come from people who have taken our classes and want to get more involved in the organization.

We offer classes at a variety of price points, with our most popular Basic Knife Skills class being just $75. It’s important for us to offer classes that match a variety of student interests and budgets. The cooking classes are very communal, often asking people to work in small groups. It’s a fun opportunity to get to know classmates, and to initiate conversations that continue with wine and dinner at the end of classes.

We offer cooking classes that allow students to hone a variety of skills — from fundamentals like sautéing and egg basics, to deep dives into regional recipes and skills like Handmade Noodles of Penang. World cuisine classes are a way for members of a diaspora to connect to their culture through food, and for guests to learn more about regional culinary traditions.

18 Reasons class

18 reasons

Talk about the three food education programs you offer — in what ways have you seen these make an impact on the community?

Cooking Matters

Cooking Matters is a 6-week series of classes that pairs hands-on cooking practice with culturally appropriate nutrition discussions and healthy grocery donations.

We offer series for kids, teens, adults, and families in both English and Spanish. Topics covered include knife skills, learning about nutrition labels, food groups, and balanced eating, and how to use and choose vegetables, whole grains, and fruits.

84% of participants increase healthy food preparation, and 82% increase how often they eat fruit, vegetables, whole grains, or low-fat dairy.

Planned & Prepped

Planned & Prepped is a series for adult graduates of a Cooking Matters series that focuses on meal planning, prep, and storage on a budget.

This program was created in response to the question from Cooking Matters participants, “I’ve built a solid foundation of skills and want to keep learning more – what comes next?”

Food As Medicine (FAM)

FAM is a long-term, specialized Cooking Matters series tailored for participants with poorly controlled diabetes. FAM helps participants manage their diabetes using nutritious food, cooking skills, and nutrition education.

It is funded by CalAIM and in partnership with Contra Costa Health Services doctors, who support by recruiting participants and providing medical supervision and nutrition expertise during classes.

87% of participants report improvement in their blood sugar and 33% of participants report improvement to their A1C.

Nourishing Pregnancy

Nourishing Pregnancy is an innovative cooking and health program serving Black and Latinx birthing parents in the last months of pregnancy and first months postpartum. Over 16 weeks, participants take prenatal cooking and nutrition education classes and postpartum support classes.

Black and Latinx birthers typically receive medical care in white-dominated settings. All facilitators in Nourishing Pregnancy identify as Black or Latinx, and create a sacred space of social support and belonging.

Nourishing Pregnancy has dropped low birth weights of babies born during the program to zero!

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