Green Heat for the Holidays

The innovative Buffet Burner from Pineapple Hospitality can help keep the environment cool

• 
  SAVE
• 
  SHARE
• 
  TEXT SIZE
• 
  PRINT
• 
  COMMENT
• 
  PDF

. October 14, 2008

NOVEMBER 27, 2008. Don Walts knows what can happen if a tray of food heated by a traditional Sterno can is left out too long. 'If the Sterno's too hot, in about 15 minutes the food is going to turn into leather,' says Walts. 'And if the Sterno can runs out, the food is going to get cold. It can be really difficult to maintain the right temperature to keep meals tasting hot and fresh for our guests.'

As General Manager of the MCM Grande in Odessa, Texas, Walts refuses to stand for any sub-par meal. That's why he has made the Buffet Burner Electric Chafing Dish Heater an integral part of meal service at the MCM Grande. 'We've been using the Buffet Burner primarily to serve meals during coffee breaks and meetings,' says Walts. 'Some of the food will sit out for an hour or more. With the Buffet Burner we don't have to worry about running out of Sterno or changing containers and interrupting meetings.'

'We just set the Buffet Burner at the right temperature and go back three hours later and it's still going. Pineapple Hospitality's Buffet Burner is incredibly convenient and efficient,' he adds. 'We knew it would provide a neater, cleaner application of heat. We didn't anticipate the value of the different temperature settings. The food is never too hot and never too cold.'

The Buffet Burner, created by Intracoastal Innovations, is the most innovative universal electric chafer heater in the industry. The Buffet Burner provides a safe, environmentally-responsible alternative to costly, open-flame canned fuels traditionally used to maintain food temperature in kitchens, buffets, serving lines and banquets.

Walts has been so impressed by the Buffet Burner's performance, he just bought several more Buffet Burner units from Pineapple Hospitality, the premier distributor of Green Products and Marketing Programs for Hospitality. 'We bought our first two Buffet Burners about five months ago. We wanted to see how well the product would perform and hold up,' Walts says. 'The Buffet Burner has really stood up to the wear and tear of everyday use. We know we're supposed to treat products like these carefully, but it doesn't always happen in real life. It's been knocked around a few times and is still going strong. Made out of heavy gauge polished stainless steel, the Buffet Burner is built to outlast chafing dishes.'

Saving Money & Protecting Earth

Improving the quality of food served in meetings and on buffet lines is just the start with the Buffet Burner. The product also eliminates the need to order, stock and shelve the hundreds of cans of Sterno heaters that a single hotel can go through in just a month. The Buffet Burner is also cheaper to run - at an average cost of only 4 cents an hour. One Buffet Burner equals an estimated 5,000 cans of fuel!

'What we're finding is that many of our hospitality partners are most excited about the Buffet Burner being part of their ongoing Greening programs,' says Ray Burger, President of St. Charles, Mo.-based Pineapple Hospitality, a distributor of the Buffet Burner. 'The Buffet Burner is not only better for your bottom line, it also protects the ozone layer by eliminating emissions from burning canned fuel, and diverts thousands of empty Sterno cans per property from landfills.'

Every year tens of millions of cans of chafing fuel are burned worldwide, emitting hazardous carbon dioxide. They are then disposed of in our landfills and oceans. Buffet Burners are a non-consumable product and do not produce any fumes or odors. Green benefits include less damage to our ozone by the elimination of harmful emissions as well as limiting the continual manufacturing, transporting, and other waste associated with canned chafing fuel.

As environmental awareness becomes more and more of a focus, hotels, resorts, restaurants, and many other companies are recognizing their responsibility and are making changes to green their daily operations. Not only does the Buffet Burner provide an eco-friendly way to heat buffets, but it saves significant money and storage space while fostering increased guest loyalty and satisfaction.

Empty Trash Cans

With the Buffet Burner, kitchen managers will never have to worry about running out of canned fuel, or dealing with the waste that comes from throwing out used fuel cartridges. The Buffet Burner even cuts down on packaging and transportation costs, and won't be subject to price fluctuations that canned fuel made from ethanol may face as more cars and trucks adopt ethanol as a major fuel component.

'Being in the hospitality business for 15 years, we've seen the kind of trash that comes from banquets,' says Intracoastal Innovations' Robert Feagley. 'There's tons of trash, and you add to it with all these empty or half-used cans of fuel. It's a never ending cycle of restocking these things, ordering them and then throwing them away. Instead of trash, the Buffet Burner leaves you with extra profits at the end of a banquet. It's cheaper and easier to run, provides a cleaner serving station by eliminating the trash, and is so convenient for the kitchen staff to handle,' Feagley adds.

Safe Heating

Nasir Zahir, Food and Beverage Director for the Ch^ateau on the Lake Resort in Branson, Mo., says one of the major benefits of the Buffet Burner is safety. With Sterno-ignited flames, there's a chance for servers or guests to mistakenly touch the canned fuel and burn themselves.

'The Buffets Burners are saving us on our energy costs, but they're also safer to use,' Zahir says. 'You don't get singed fingers or tablecloths like you could with canned fuels' open flames.'

The Ch^ateau on the Lake's dining area can seat up to about 160 for breakfast, lunch or dinner. During rush times, the staff can get so busy, they might lose track and let one of the dishes run out of fuel. Once it goes out, the food starts getting cold, which reflects poorly on the restaurant and hotel. Unlike serving with open flames, Buffet Burners allow you to take control of the temperature, the duration, and the cost of your buffet heat. The Buffet Burner never runs out, never blows out and never leaves food sitting cold in chafing dishes.

'The quality of the food is the most important consideration, and with the Buffet Burner, the food stays at a nice, consistent temperature,' says Zahir. 'It saves us on energy and is safer to use. I'd recommend this product to anyone.'

About Pineapple Hospitality

Headquartered in Saint Charles, Missouri, Pineapple Hospitality(TM) is an EPA ENERGY STAR(TM) partner bringing fresh ideas to hospitality guests' doors and owner/operators' bottom lines - including FreshStay(R) (www.freshstay.com), EocRoooms & EcoSuites (www.EcoRooms.com) Environmentally Sensitive Amenities(TM), the greenSPA(TM) luxury amenity and dispenser system, Custom Linen Re-Use programs, Guestat(TM) programmable thermostats, High Performance showerheads, the Nature's Mist(TM) deodorization system, and dozens of other products and programs. For more information, please visit www.PineappleHospitality.net, or call Ray Burger at 636-922-2285.