Food Service Technology Center Marks 25th Year With Anniversary Seminar

More than 200 friends and colleagues, including manufacturers, operators, consultants and media reps, gathered at the Marriott in San Ramon, Calif., Aug. 1-3 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pacific Gas & Electric’s Food Service Technology Center.

In 1986, PG&E’s Bettie Jean Davis realized that while the utility giant was focused on energy efficiency in buildings, energy use in commercial kitchens was virtually ignored. She strongly suspected these kitchens were major energy consumers and was frustrated that not one standard method existed to test the energy usage or measure the energy efficiency of foodservice equipment. She convinced V.P. Carl Weinberg to let her pull together an advisory group to explore the idea of funding a third-party testing lab for commercial foodservice equipment. Part of that group was Don Fisher, and in 1987 the FSTC was created. Today, we rely on more than 40 recognized test methods, compelling rebate incentives and myriad best practices for optimizing efficiency in commercial kitchens.

The anniversary seminar, using state-of-the-art, interactive technologies, ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday with exceptional presentations from Fisher-Nickel principals, including Don Fisher, Judy Nickel, Richard Young, Dave Zabrowski, Todd Bell, Amin Delagah and contract energy engineer Vern Smith. Topics included what’s ahead in cooking lines, refrigeration, lighting, sanitation, energy management systems and more. Friday’s open house at the FSTC allowed attendees to walk-through and discuss cutting-edge equipment with company representatives. Foodservice Equipment Reports Publisher Robin Ashton was asked to present a condensed version of his 2013 Industry Economic Forecast during the open house.

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