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Why restaurants are being encouraged to switch from gas to electric appliances

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

If you've ever worked in a commercial kitchen, then you probably cooked on a gas stove. Now some cities want to nudge restaurants away from stoves that run on fossil fuels to help meet their climate goals. This week, NPR is looking at how the climate affects what we eat and how what we eat affects the climate. So Colorado Public Radio's Sam Brasch talked with chefs in Denver who are considering the switch.

SAM BRASCH, BYLINE: It's about an hour before the lunch rush hits Dragonfly Noodle, a ramen shop in downtown Denver. In the kitchen, owner Edwin Zoe preps for a quick demonstration.

EDWIN ZOE: And we just grab a little bit of water.

BRASCH: He puts a pan on one of the restaurant's electric induction burners, and the water boils in a matter of seconds.

ZOE: That's extremely fast. It's faster than gas.

BRASCH: Yeah.

Faster than a standard natural gas stove. Instead of the flame on a gas burner, induction uses electricity and magnetism to create heat inside a pan. It's super efficient, so less heat escapes, and the kitchen stays cooler. That appealed to Zoe when he opened up his first restaurant 14 years ago because his first employee was his mom.

ZOE: She was the cook and chef, and I wanted her to have a really comfortable environment that's also safe.

BRASCH: Since then, Zoe has become a kind of electric cooking evangelist. Today, he's demonstrating the equipment for two other Denver restaurant owners. Brothers Jeremy and Darren Song are planning to expand their award-winning poke shop, and they're thinking of going electric. Here's Darren.

DARREN SONG: Yeah, it's a decision we're still yet to make, but we're really interested, and we'd like to see how it goes.

BRASCH: Zoe explains the benefits of induction over gas - less fire risk, less indoor air pollution and way easier cleanup. Plus, it's better for the climate. Natural gas is a fossil fuel driving global warming. Electric cooking, on the other hand, can run on a grid shifting towards renewables. It's all very appealing to the Songs, but induction comes with a high up-front cost, and they have a tight budget.

SONG: That's always been our approach, as far as sustainability goes. It needs to fit into where you can survive and thrive as a business.

BRASCH: The restaurant industry has raised similar concerns as cities try to meet ambitious climate goals. Denver, for example, has set deadlines for buildings to hit energy efficiency targets, and kitchens tend to use more energy than any other type of commercial space. Colin Larson is the policy director for the Colorado Restaurant Association. He worries the plan will require a shift away from gas and force restaurants to pick up the tab.

COLIN LARSON: It's not so much that we're against making this transition. It's just that we have not seen any of these public policy proposals recognize the costs that are being foisted onto small business.

BRASCH: Larson's group is now suing Denver over the policy, and restaurants are leading the fight against similar plans across the country. A federal court tossed out a landmark gas ban in Berkeley, Calif., after a lawsuit from the California Restaurant Association. And Larson says restaurants aren't just concerned about the cost of electric cooking. Some chefs worry about the food itself.

LARSON: To ask them to switch to electric, they're just not going to be able to replicate the same techniques and experiences that they can do on a gas stove.

BRASCH: Techniques like searing a steak or heating a wok for Asian cooking. But the Song brothers have heard electric cooking gear is getting better. To see some in action, they stopped by a demonstration put on by Hans Andersen (ph), a sales rep at a local equipment retailer.

HANS ANDERSEN: This will do 85% of all the cooking processes that you do in your restaurant. The only thing it can't do is deep fry.

BRASCH: Andersen shows off a combi oven, a high-tech combo steam and convection oven. He cooks three different taco meats at the same time. Darren Song is blown away by the results.

SONG: That steak is cooked perfectly.

BRASCH: The Song brothers now think electric equipment could work for their new space, but climate change isn't the biggest reason they're interested. They really just like the idea of a cool, comfortable workplace.

SONG: You're a small business. You're spending a lot of time in your own building, in your own kitchen. It's not just for your staff, but also for your own working environment.

BRASCH: And if Denver really wants to push electric cooking as a climate solution, Song says the key ingredient might be a few helpful financial incentives.

For NPR News, I'm Sam Brasch in Denver, Colo. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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