Water conservation is a must!

When we talk about water conservation, waste, and scarcity, images of dried mud cracked lakes, and empty wells are often conjured up. Typically we put it on climate change or think it’s a third world problem. According to studies, by 2071 almost half of the 204 freshwater basins in America may not accommodate monthly demands. In 1974, congress required that an assessment of US renewable resources be published every 10 years in the Resources Planning Act (RPA). What is rarely pictured, or thought of, is a wasteful practice of thawing food products in the restaurant industry. Health departments require commercial kitchens to thaw foods by one of two methods. Either under refrigeration or submerged under cool running water. Thawing food under refrigeration takes a lot of space and time. Neither of which restaurants have an abundance. And, to be honest, some restaurants might not have the fortitude to create a thaw program.

So, a quicker, easier way is often the go-to method. Workers will throw packaged frozen food into a bucket or tub, place it in the sink, turn the cold water on and walk away for several hours. It goes without saying, this is very wasteful and expensive. When I met Chef Chris Starkuss at a trade show a few years ago, he approached me about Boss Defrost, an appliance that thaws food products following health department guidelines, all the while, not using much water. It struck me as genius! Chef Starkuss had been working as the chef at Urban Farmer in Denver. He and his team starting using Boss Defrost, and it wasn’t long before he was so deeply impacted by the convenience and sensibilities of Boss Defrost that he left the industry to become a partner and Chief Sales Officer for this amazing product. I was on board immediately, and thus became a Certified Sales Retailer.

We carry the units at Element Knife Company and have a working display at our shop inside Stanley Marketpalce. It’s just a matter of time before water shortages affect America. These effects will impact U.S. agriculture and have implications that ultimately affect restaurants negatively. If restaurants do their part starting now, they can play a role in  greatly reducing future water shortages. Additionally, restaurants will save money. The metrics of using a Boss Defrost unit for an average of 5 hours a day, translates to making the investment back in 4 to 6 weeks. This will create a savings for the restaurant of at least $3,300.00 a year on their water bill.

Boss Defrost’s mission ~ “Thawing food with the traditional running water method is a hidden water waste stream in food prep across the United States.  Boss Defrost was invented to address this waste.

Boss Defrost reduces average water use for thawing by 98.5%.

Our goal is to give food service operations everywhere the power to make a positive impact on the world by preserving fresh water — our Earth’s most valuable resource — while reducing monthly water bills.”

Thaw foods and meats quickly! If you’re in the restaurant industry, a restaurant owner, a chef, a cook, or a home chef, check out Boss Defrost and join our community, become a water boss!