Chinese Restaurant Owners Explore Smart Kitchen Solutions to Boost Efficiency

Energy efficiency was the topic of the day at a recent gathering of approximately 30 Chinese restaurant owners from the San Francisco Bay Area. Frontier Energy’s Food Service Technology Center in Pleasanton and PG&E hosted a special event, focused on modernizing commercial kitchens. This unique visit aimed at helping restaurant owners discover new ways to save energy, cut costs and upgrade their cooking operations with the latest technology. 

The test kitchen is recognized across North America for its work in restaurant energy and water efficiency, and partners closely with PG&E. The center sets national standards, evaluates commercial appliances and trains foodservice professionals to design kitchens that are high-performing and resource-friendly. 

“We’re pleased to partner with Frontier Energy’s FSTC to help local restaurant owners learn about the many options they have to create smarter, more efficient kitchens," said Jake Zigelman, PG&E Bay Area Region vice president. "Whether it’s a new setup or retrofit of an existing kitchen, these strategies often help make daily operations safer and more cost-effective. It’s rewarding to help our small business customers thrive."

The restaurant owners dove into “Smart Kitchens 101.” This session covered how to choose, install and use smart devices in commercial kitchens. The center's director explained how these advanced tools help manage energy better, improve the cooking routine and boost overall efficiency. 

“They're exposed to a lot of the latest, greatest technologies, specifically in restaurants. Especially for legacy restaurants, that have been doing things a certain way for a long period of time, energy costs, whether it be gas or electric, are rising significantly,” said Daniel Opine, PG&E Customer Relationship manager.


Participants received a guided tour of the center, including demonstration rooms and an independent laboratory recognized by the EPA. Here, they got a hands-on experience with a variety of commercial kitchen equipment, including ventilation systems, and saw how these technologies are tested for performance and energy efficiency.

The final demonstration showcased the advantages of induction cooktops. Induction cooking is known for its speed, energy efficiency and safety. Owners learned how this advanced technology can help them save money and improve their kitchens, making cooking faster and cleaner, and even got to test out the equipment.

“A lot of the Chinatown restaurants are using woks; they're using old equipment. This is about the time to change to new ones,” said Ed Siu, president of the Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco. “The demonstration today is to help them when remodeling or when to change all kind of equipment or how to save money. I’m glad that PG&E is offering this opportunity to encourage restaurant owners to become more innovative to reduce their operational costs.”

Throughout the event, restaurant owners learned practical strategies to lower energy and water usage, including information about equipment loaner programs and 0% energy-efficiency financing. These resources make it easier for small businesses to upgrade their kitchens without large upfront costs. Attendees left with new ideas and tools to help their restaurants thrive in a competitive market. 

“Any time that we can have a small part of helping our customers save a significant amount of money to help our businesses thrive in the community, I mean, that's what it's all about,” said Opine. “I believe that serving our neighborhoods is at the heart of everything we do.”