Kevin Banas

Being a part of the hospitality industry often means trying to stay ahead of what can be a dizzying broadside of trends. Shifting consumer preferences, trailblazing chefs and restauranteurs, and the perpetual need to excite and steal attention make for an environment where one must always innovate or die. Through it all, however, there is […]

A savvy restaurant goer in search of the best dining experiences knows to seek out restaurants with changing, seasonal menus, and chefs that are acclaimed for their focus on how and where they source their ingredients. Produce, in particular, should be fresh, flavorful, and as free as possible from the artifice of industrial scale production. […]

Whether big or small, on a restricted budget or a princely one, no project succeeds without proper coordination between all the stakeholders.  As foodservice designers, our first point of coordination is usually with the ownership:  What sort of facility are they developing?  How many guests are they targeting?  What will the hours of operation be? […]

The exhaust hood is a humble, yet vital workhorse in the commercial kitchen. Seemingly simple on its surface, at their most basic they are a metal box overhanging your cookline, capturing vapor and heat to be exhausted to the building’s exterior. But nothing stays simple in these modern times, and a dizzying new array of […]

The second Sunday of every October marks the beginning of National School Lunch week, a time to recognize, appreciate, and support the meal programs at public schools that nourish so many of our nation’s children. Unfortunately, school lunches do not enjoy a great reputation in the United States; they are often derided as bland, over-processed, […]

Water is one of those strange things that some kitchens can easily ignore, confident in the quality coming out of their tap; while others are cursed to obsess over and spend to improve theirs. Wherever you wind up on that spectrum, it always pays to spend a little effort and attention on your water. As […]

Organic waste management may be one of the least appealing subjects you’ve ever run across.  At the best of times it is an afterthought; something loaded into black bags and tossed into the dumpster after hours. At the worst of times, it means expensive removal and hauling bills, or a major attraction for vermin and […]

Although not always looked upon with favor by today’s health-conscious gurus, deep frying your food is an ancient method of preparation, dating back to the Roman cookbook, Apicius. The technique was used by nearly all cultures in due time and, by the mid-nineteenth century, the advent of cast iron made it accessible to home cooks. […]