COMMENTARY

MORE INDUSTRY CHALLENGES ON THE HORIZON Food and ice – it’s a wonderful combination when it comes to glitzy banquets and high-end black tie dinners etc. Questions have been raised by the food safety people however, and health departments everywhere are beginning to look more closely at what is acceptable and what isn’t. Some safety people are more aggressive than others while some turn a blind eye to the situation. But the outcome will undoubtedly be more rules and regulations governing the use of ice for serving dishes and food displays. The message was hammered home recently when the local Department of Health had been contacted by it’s head office to find out if our plant was inspected regularly.

 GENERAL INTEREST

WE LIKED WHAT WE SAW

Ketel One vodka  was served over this 8 ft ice bar which supported four luges at the Super Bowl in Miami this year.  

                                                     

 BUSINESS 

FIVE BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS

I LEARNED THE HARD WAY

By Tim Berry, President
Palo Alto Software, CA

Two days ago I had the pleasure of being interviewed by John Caddell, founder of the Mistake Bank, for a podcast focusing on mistakes.

That made me think about some of the things I learned that came from the business mistakes I’ve made. This is over the more than 27 years since I was last an employee, and 22 years of running my own business. And despite a fancy business degree.

Your employees can’t also be your friends.  Most business owners want to treat employees like friends. We hire people we think we like, we work with them, we share values, so it’s only natural. But I’ve found, I’m afraid, that it doesn’t work.

Sometimes friends become employees, and sometimes former employees become friends, but don’t kid yourself. People you pay aren’t really friends.

And business requires management, which means goals and tracking and accountability and feedback, which, ultimately, means you aren’t equal. You can’t be both equal and effective.      

 PRODUCT

MOLDED ICE SCULPTURES

ARE STILL POPULAR  

A few years back, ice molds were all the rage. Those carvers that still do mold some sculptures swear by them. And molds have often helped many expand their businesses without having to hire extra staff.

Molds are probably more popular with hotels where they are used mostly to produce designs for a food presentation on a buffet display.

Molding ice sculptures has come a long way. At first, ice molds produced a white product, but even so, the finished sculptures were still in demand, especially when they were colored. And believe it or not, there are some cultures that prefer a tinted sculpture to the crystal clear sculpture.

Molds that produce crystal clear sculptures are harder to find. The Fitzgerald molds developed by Dennis Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Ice., Spokane, WA are no longer available but there are quite a few still in use today.  

 GENERAL INTEREST

ICE BAR MADRID HAS

AN ARCTIC THEME

Much More than an Attraction –
An Education Center, too  

A fish-eye lens provides an unusual look to the interior of the Ice Bar Madrid, Spain, a compact, 70 square meter, two-room installation in the heart of the major tourist area of the city. The lounge is only 200 meters from the Puerta del Sol and Plaza Mayor.

Entrepreneur, Luis Martinez opened the new ice lounge in June with a special celebration which attracted more than 200 guests. The layout is simple, yet contains enough ice components to satisfy visitors and expose them to the ‘ice experience’.

An arctic theme is carried throughout the lounge and excellent photographs, and information about the arctic region, including beautiful images of Greenland, will certainly excite visitors and help counteract the extreme heat of the Spanish summer. Even a stuffed polar bear in the reception area adds authenticity to the lounge. 

 GENERAL INTEREST

TORONTO CELEBRATES SUCCESS OF

RUSSIAN STANDARD IN CANADA

Russian Standard vodka entered the Canadian market six months ago and at a private party at Hazelton Hotel’s One restaurant in Toronto to celebrate its success, billionaire, Roustam Tariko entertained 200 special guests to sample his new brand. 











One restaurant was decked out as a smooth cocktail lounge for the occasion with a 16 ft long ice bar standing in front of a 10 ft high sculpture of the Russian Standard logo.

The ice for the project took an Iceculture team 30 hours to complete and a further six hours to assemble on site. More than four tons of ice were used in the project.