Luke Green

Q&A with Luke

Honors:

• Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Magazine DSR of the Year 2017.
• Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Magazine Facility Design of the Month.
• Foodservice Equipment & Supplies Magazine DSR of the Month Award – July 2016.

How long have you been with Rapids?

Since 2005.

What was your favorite project? Why?

I have a lot of projects that have been fun to work on, but the Zombie Burger projects in Des Moines have stood out the most. Meeting all the great people that are involved, listening to the Chef’s come up with new ideas for an off-the-wall burger, and watching a blank space become something iconic is a lot of fun.

What was your most challenging project? Why? 

Trinity United Methodist Church in Des Moines, IA. The kitchen was in the basement of a historical building so we had a lot of pre-planning in the design to make sure we could get everything down stairs. They also have a before and after school program with CFUM, as wells as serving free meals each day, so they had to remain open during construction with a temporary kitchen.

What was your solution?

We designed several pieces of equipment that could be used in the temp kitchen, and then be brought over to the new kitchen. I.E. we utilized a (2) compartment sink with a drainboard on the right and a (1) compartment sink with a drainboard on the left as a three compartment sink with a custom built bracket to hold the two pieces together and seal the gap between the tables. Once the new kitchen was completed, we undid the work and moved them into the final locations.

Since we were in the basement, we were unable to demo wall and move them as we saw fit. There were several brainstorming meetings with the Architect and Owner on how to accomplish everything they wanted along with a few design changes. In the end, we were able to give them a large cookline with all the equipment they had asked, a large prep area with enough space for 12 carts to be stored under the stairs, and a large dishroom separate from the rest of the kitchen with a new door type dish machine that they didn’t have before.

What do you like to do on a Sunday afternoon?

Sunday’s are my days to knock things off the honey-do list at home. You can usually find me outside doing yard work, in the garage tinkering on something, or working on refurbishing my MasterCraft Ski Boat from the early 80’s. I also like to cook large meals on Sunday’s, either in the house, or outside in the smoker & grill, and spend time with my wife and newborn son.

What is your best dish?

I always like to experiment – I have gotten pretty good with smoking a rack of ribs, although I am still working on my rub. Briskets, pulled pork, turkeys, aged & reverse seared steaks are all meals that I continuously get compliments on.

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