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Photo Credit: Great American Tent & Party

Party tents is of utmost importance to an event rental company. Not only do they extend a typical event season to include spring and fall – but they also can mean enormous revenue potential for an event rental company. Party tents are not inexpensive though and with investments for these event staples soaring into the hundred-thousand’s, it is of even greater importance to ensure the tents are well maintained. We like to be considered a trusted partner and because of this we’re interested in providing business value to our customers. While we don’t personally sell tents or tent washing machines, we do sell high-quality event equipment to the event rental sector across Canada – so we know a thing or two about the category. While there are some party rental companies that use large commercial washing machines or choose to get their employees to scrub the tents manually, there exists on the market automatic party tent washing machines. They’re like commercial washing machines on steroids! We’ve crowdsourced the best party tent washing machines so you don’t have to do that work – and you know it’s coming from an unbiased source. Check out the best below:

Teeco

Based in Missouri, Teeco is the industry leader in tent washing machines. They started as a tent rental originally so they understand the pain points that exist with getting tents clean. Their machines designed to wash both sides of large sections of material regardless of shape, and can completely clean webbing and straps. Cycle times range from 20 minutes to 1 hr depending on the dirtiness of the tent being washed. It gives uninterrupted time to re-deploy your labour to work on other tasks while the machines do the heavy lifting. They sell 5 models that wash from up to 900 square feet to up to 5000 square feet. They also have a 3 part guarantee – 1) if you use the machine for 90 days and can’t see an improvement, they will provide a 100% refund 2) if you have the machine for a year and want to trade up, they guarantee 100% trade in value and 3) if you have a part within 5 years that fails, they’ll replace the part for free.

CCC Tent Washers Inc (A Division of Charnecke Tents)

CCC Tent Washers Inc is a division of Charnecke Tents that has been in business since 1929. They are a tent manufacturing and rental company. They have 3 separate tent washer models – with a range in capacity from up to 1000 square feet to up to 3000 square feet. Each model includes both an automatic or manual setting so you can wash your tent quickly or as little or as long as you like depending on how dirty your tent is. The washers feature dual 250 gallon water tanks allowing the reuse of water to reduce spending and cut down on waste. The BK1000 and BK2000 are both portable for added convenience. All units can be wired for either a single phase service, or a 3 phase service. No additional hook up is needed.

A couple weeks ago I was browsing Reddit and stumbled across a fantastic question from an apprentice chef asking other chefs what their favourite cooking YouTube channels were. There were some fantastic suggestions that I thought was worth mentioning. So often when creative people are constantly brainstorming innovative ways of doing things – whether it be writing a new blog post, or developing a new recipe it can be hard to stay inspired. Creative blocks can be stressful and anxiety ridden and one of the best ways to unstick your head is learning something new. YouTube offers us content that can help us get out of our heads and force us to see a new perspective on our craft. Here are some chef-sourced favourite YouTube cooking channels sure to inspire a new and wonderful recipe for your next daily or monthly special.

Food Wishes

Food Wishes is an allrecipes production boasting more than 1 million subscribers and starring Chef John. The channel posts 2-3 new recipes a week designed to improve culinary skills and make viewers laugh. The food is the star on this channel – with Chef John acting as the voice instead of the talent. This channel has been around since 2007 and boasts 1134 videos and counting. The most popular video on this channel is the inside-out grilled cheese sandwich with over 6.5 million views.

Cooking with Dog

Cooking with Dog is a YouTube cooking show featuring 975,000 subscribers which stars the cutest canine host Francis and a mysterious Japanese Chef whose real name is not disclosed. While Chef cooks a variety of popular dishes in Japan, Francis calmly sits next to her and narrates the recipes step-by-step in English. This channel has been around since 2007 and has 238 videos and counting. They post a video every weekend with the most popular being how to make a bento lunch box with over 5 million views. Redditers say the cooking show has a hilarious narrator though some of the western-influenced plates are a hot mess. Look to this show for Japanese staples.

The RIVESTAURANT

Though not a professional, The RIVESTAURANT, featuring Chris Rivest has over 26,000 subscribers and has been active since 2008 with 51 videos and growing. Redditor Chahles88 says he’s highly entertaining and a lot of his techniques are pretty good (though not a professional). The most popular video on the channel is the slow larry – a bacon and cheese stuffed burger with over 475,000 views. *drool* Note that there’s a lot of swearing in this series.

Stella Culinary

A great resource for novice chefs, Stella Culinary features a ton of videos that teach you tips and techniques on how to cook as a professional chef. With over 27,000 subscribers, and 170 videos including food science, prep, knife skills, butchery & meal fabrication, cooking techniques etc., there’s something for everyone. The most popular video on Stella Culinary is how to lay out a simple fruit platter with over 1.3 million views.

My Drunk Kitchen

Honestly the most entertaining (well except for Francis the dog) channel when you need some much needed laughs after a long shift. Featuring guests such as Jamie Oliver, Whoopi Goldberg and more, the always fantastically hilarious Hannah Hart brings puns, optimism and a healthy dose of entertainment to her cooking show. With 1.9 million followers, a cookbook and a place to buy her swag, Hannah has over 630 videos to be entertained with. The most popular video on My Drunk Kitchen (MDK) is Episode 1 of MDK is Butter Yo Shit with 3.6 million views.

We’ve had such great success with our event linens over the past year that we’ve begun expanding our existing wholesale tablecloths to include a wider variety of sizes for spandex cocktail table covers as well as starting to stock spun polyester table cloths. We’ve also been getting inquiries for a while for banquet chair covers and knew it was a hot item for weddings and events – as well as being a great way for party rental companies and banquet halls to up-sell their customers and prolong their event chair investment.

I’m pleased to announce we now stock spandex chair covers for round back banquet chairs.

Available in white or black, our spandex banquet chair covers are made with 190 gsm spandex fabric and offer a clean, modern look to banquet chairs. They offer brides a sleek contemporary look to complement their wedding décor.

Additional Details:

• No ironing required
• Reinforced same-colour chair feet pockets ensure chair cover stays in place
• Fits a banquet chair with round back only.
• Model Banquet Chair measures approximately: Chair back: 36 in. height (from floor to top of chair) x 15 5/8 in. width. Chair seat: 15 1/2 in. length x 15 ½ in. width -Chair legs: 17 in. height

In celebration of Cinco de Mayo we’re busting out our margarita glasses and providing our restauranteurs and chefs with some of the must-have margarita recipes for your menu. We’re willing to taste test for you as well!

The Proper Margarita Recipe (or as Chow’s Senior Editor says “the only way to make margaritas”)

Photo Source: Chow

What you need:

• Salt for rimming
• Margarita Glass or Rocks Glass
• Ice
• 1 ½ oz 100 percent agave tequila
• 1 oz freshly squeeze lime juice
• ½ oz Cointreau (not Triple Sec)

For complete instructions head over to Chow.com for the play by play.

The Best Coconut Margarita Recipe (that’s a lot of margarita’s one had to drink to lay claim to “the best”)

Photo credit: foodiecrush.com

What you need:

• Margarita Glass or Rocks Glass
• 1½ ounces Patron reposado tequila
• ½ ounce cointreau
• 1 ounce coconut cream
• 1 ounce coconut milk
• ½ ounce fresh lime juice
• Splash of half and half
• Splash of simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar, ½ cup water brought to a boil until sugar dissolved, then cooled.)
• lime wedges for garnish

This recipe looks absolutely divine and the story behind the Patron Tequila Express train along with images is a great read and visual experience! To read the full story and get the instructions, head on over to Foodiecrush.com.

Skinny Marg’s Recipe

Photo credit: Shape.com

What you need:

• Margarita Glass or Rocks Glass
• 1 ounce añejo tequila
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• ½ ounce lime juice
• 1 pinch pink Himalayan salt
• Polar® Ginger Lemonade Seltzer

For the health conscious guest, here’s a margarita lighter on the waistline but heavy on the flavour. For instructions on how to make, head over to Shape.com.

Blood Orange Margarita Recipe

What you need:

• Margarita Glass or Rocks Glass
• 3 oz juice from a freshly squeezed blood orange
• 2 oz 100% agave tequila
• 1 oz Triple Sec orange flavoured liqueur
• splash of agave syrup (optional yet recommended by recipe creators Todd Porter & Diane Cu)

Todd Porter & Diane Cu’s blood orange margarita recipe is making my mouth water as I write this post. Check out their recipe, full instructions to produce this gorgeously hued drink along with their fantastic and famous food photography at whiteonricecouple.com.

Strawberry Margarita Mocktail Recipe

Photo credit: everydaysouthwest.com

What you need:

• Margarita Glass or Rocks Glass
• 10 oz frozen strawberries, thawed
• 6 oz can frozen limeade concentrate
• ½ cup orange juice
• 20 oz lemon-lime soda, chilled
• 3 cups of crushed ice
• Fresh strawberries for garnish (optional)

Let’s be honest – not everyone can or wants to indulge in alcoholic libations so I’ve included a mockarita (?)… mocktail margarita (?) …whatever you want to call it for those wanting to live on the edge without the edge in the drink! For full recipe and instructions, head over to everydaysouthwest.com.

What are your favourite recipes? Let us know in the comments!

Photo courtesy of: Champion Industries

Anyone working at a foodservice establishment that sells beverages, whether it be a pub, bar, club, quick-service, fast casual or full service restaurant, knows the importance of finding a glass washer that can quickly and sanitarily turn-around all shapes and sizes of bar glasses. Whenever I am in the process of purchasing a product, I’m interested in finding the best for what I’m willing to pay. Because of this, I thought it was worth rounding up the best glass washers available in Canada for foodservice operators.

Check out the companies selling glass washers below:

Champion Industries, Inc.

Champion touts themselves as the dishwashing and glasswashing machine specialists which isn’t hard to see why. They specialize almost exclusively in warewashing machines. They sell a wide range of glass washers including rotary or pass through glass washing machines. Their machines clean and sanitize up to 2000 glasses per hour with clearances of up to 12” for taller stemware. They feature a 3-pump injection system for precise dispensing.

Hobart

Hobart is a well-known foodservice brand that manufactures foodservice equipment for warewashing, cooking, food preparation and waste treatment. They manufacture four different kinds of glass washers all glass rack models. They can clean and sanitize between 770 – 2160 glasses per hour depending on the model purchased. All can fit under bar or counter and all feature no escaping steam upon opening of the glass washer door. Their larger models allow double racks effectively doubling the capacity. They boast being the first commercial glass washer in the world with active drying technology to remove moisture from the glass.

CMA Dishmachines

CMA Dishmachines is another company that specializes exclusively in glass & warewashing equipment. Their machines can clean and sanitize between 600 to 1000 glasses per hour depending on the machine. They have both rotary (carousel) and glass rack with door models. They have an energy star rated model, and the ability of a pumped drain allowing for flexible installations with no floor drain required.

Fagor (Sold through Hendrix Restaurant Equipment)

Fagor specializes in warewashing, combi ovens and refrigeration. Their undercounter glass washer features capacity for 972 glasses per hour, one year parts warranty, and high temperature sanitation to protect your glasses and have them come out cleaner and dryer than traditional sanitation methods. Their machine also doubles as a dishwasher should you need it to.