Energy Efficient Cooking

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been helping to run my family’s diner in downtown Pittsburgh. The local steelworkers and other blue-collar types are fond of calling it their “favorite greasy spoon” in the whole city. Now that I’ve worked my way up in the restaurant from bus boy to host to short-order cook and beyond, I’ve started thinking about ways to make the place even more profitable.

Just glancing around the kitchen a few months ago would have given most restaurateurs nausea. The refrigerator was leaking, the griddle was layered with what seemed like years of dried debris, and a rat or cockroach wouldn’t have seemed out of place. I decided to use some of our profits to upgrade the restaurant equipment, but first it was necessary to declare war on unsanitary conditions. I scrubbed down every inch of the kitchen and tried to instill a new set of standards as well.