Green F&B might be described as one color, but there are many shades, depending on how committed a hotel is to environmentally sound practices. A property that could be categorized as “deep green” is the 400-room Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino in Lakeside, California, near San Diego. With a major focus on the hotel’s 14 kitchens, it has won five awards for water conservation and recycling since 2005.

“It’s easy for everyone to feel good and talk about saving energy, but it doesn’t last without follow-through,” says Duncan Firth, Barona’s chef de cuisine. Some of the follow-through that has been incorporated at Barona includes:

• Using sustainable, seasonal menus, partially sourced through an onsite garden.
• Disposing of used fryer oil to be recycled into biofuel.
• Collecting and processing rain and wastewater at Barona’s private water reclamation centers, for use throughout the property.
• Replacing kitchen equipment with more energy-efficient models.
• Moving cold prep to non-peak hours, when ovens and other fixtures are running at reduced levels.

Barona may have a modern approach to sustainable F&B practices, but it’s actually rooted in several hundred years of tradition. The property is owned by the Barona Band of Mission Indians, and the casino/resort was built on their land.

CARETAKERS OF THE LAND
Firth says the Barona Band of Mission Indians decided in the early ‘90s that the hotel needed to get back to basics from an environmental standpoint. “Taking care of the land is a large part of their culture. But there was a disconnect between what the tribe said and what was happening at the resort, which was run just like any other resort in terms of resources” Firth says.

A property-wide “green sweep” started with the construction of the resort’s first water treatment facility in 1994 and blossomed into its current award-winning programs.

WATER CONSERVATION
All water at Barona comes from the property itself. There are no incoming pipes supplying water from outside sources. Therefore, it relies on two multi-million dollar water reclamation and treatment plants to purify well water, rain, and waste-water for use in the property’s operations. In the kitchen, purified well water is used, and instead of disappearing down the drain, it returns to a treatment center and is applied to the hotel’s golf course and gardens.

“The recycled kitchen water helps Barona have a golf course and extensive gardens, which it couldn’t sustain otherwise,” Firth says.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY EVERYWHERE
Much of the older kitchen equipment at Barona has been replaced with more energy-efficient pieces, such as induction burners, jacketed steam kettles, combi ovens, and specially insulated ovens. Firth says that, with 14 kitchens, it’s still a work in progress.

“You have to replace equipment anyway, either because the property is growing or because it’s getting older. It makes sense to purchase energy-efficient equipment, but that hasn’t always been the mindset in our industry,” Firth says.

Another consideration frequently overlooked at many properties is how much the equipment is used during non-peak hours. “In every kitchen I’ve worked in before, the first thing you did was turn everything on full blast...fryers, ovens, you name it,” says Firth. In addition to being more conscious of Barona’s energy usage, he says he reorganized the prep schedule “to use less power and water during the day, when the equipment isn’t used and staffing levels are low, by shifting some of the more intensive prep to the evening when the ovens, tilt skillets, and fryers are on anyway.”

SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY
Using local vendors to supply ingredients isn’t just environmentally conscious, it’s increasingly financially sound. Many purveyors tack surcharges onto deliveries due to the high cost of fuel, so the shorter the distance the food has to travel, the less expensive it can be.

Barona takes the idea of locally sourced one step further with its onsite Chef’s Garden, which measures 40 feet by 60 feet and produces more than 20 varieties of organic vegetables and herbs. During peak tomato season, it supplies 80 percent of the tomatoes used at the Barona Oaks Steakhouse.

“It’s a definite point of pride for the whole property,” says Jim Phillips, executive sous chef at Barona. “It’s usually my job to collect the day’s harvest, and I make it a point to walk down the hall so everyone can see it.”

POLLUTION PREVENTION
The days when all kitchen waste simply went into the garbage are over at Barona. Used fryer oil is now picked up by an offsite company to be converted into biofuel, and uncooked vegetable waste is sent to Barona’s gardener for composting. The property has also stopped using Styrofoam to-go containers and has asked its produce and seafood purveyors not to use Styrofoam packaging. There are recycling bins in all 14 kitchens, and the staff has reduced the use of Cryovac packaging in favor of simple butcher paper.

“Plastic bags are not environmentally friendly, and they’re also expensive because of the high cost of petroleum. We were sealing meat in Cryovac bags and then opening them three hours later. So we’ve switched to more efficient butcher paper, which is cheaper when the product is used the same day,” Firth says.

EDUCATION
Traditional kitchen culture in a high-volume atmosphere means cranking the equipment as high as it goes and keeping it there until the kitchen closes. As an operation moves to more environmentally sound practices, it may take time for some employees to develop new habits.

“Someone might say, ‘Hey, I’ve been cooking for 20 years, and I always turn the grill on all the way. What’s the problem?’ We must get them to understand it in pocketbook terms,” Firth says. “Ask them why they leave the gas on full blast here, but don’t do it when they’re at home all day.”

The resort also reinforces its green guidelines through the Barona Culinary Institute, which offers weekly classes to all employees and trains them in the basics of Barona’s food and beverage outlets.

Educating the staff is one thing, but educating the diner is another. Going green costs more upfront and sometimes results in higher menu prices. The ongoing spike in gas prices has more customers aware of environmental issues, but Firth says that doesn’t mean everyone accepts green food and beverage without explanation.

“We have a newsletter that goes to our regular customers, and we highlight our green initiatives in it. Because we’re in the business of pleasure, we can only do so much before we turn some people off,” Firth says.

As for Barona’s kitchen staff, Phillips says the commitment to green is ongoing and intense. “There is never going to be a day where we say, ‘Okay, we’re all done.’ It’s an evolution, and there is always something we can do to make it better.”

Michael Costa is industry relations editor for HOTEL F&B.