Giugno, 2022

We recently opened our all-electric Bay View campus, which also marked the debut of our largest electric kitchen. As our biggest blueprint for fully carbon-free cafes and kitchens yet, Bay View will help advance our commitment to operate on 24/7 carbon-free energy across all of our campuses by 2030.

Still, any big change comes with a learning curve. So whether you’re a professional chef or an at-home cook, here are six lessons we’ve learned to help you make the switch to electric:

Electric is way faster. The benefits of electric kitchens go beyond climate impact, starting with speed. The first time I ever cooked on induction (electric) equipment, the biggest surprise was just how incredibly fast it is. In fact, induction boils water twice as fast as traditional gas equipment and is far more efficient — because unlike a flame, electric heat has nowhere to escape. At Bay View, our training programs help Google chefs appreciate and adjust to the new pace of induction. The speed truly opens up whole new ways of cooking.

It’s also safer, simpler and cooler. Compared to traditional gas equipment, induction equipment is safer because there’s very little heat transfer after you remove a vessel, reducing burn risk. Cleanup is a simple wipe-down versus removing stainless steel grates that stay at hundreds of degrees for hours. We also think — and we’re collecting data at Bay View to confirm — that electric kitchens will be more comfortable to work in, because they’re potentially cooler (you don’t need to leave the heat on high) and quieter (you don’t need the hood fans as often).

The end result is delicious. You can cook world-class food with induction equipment, and many Michelin 3-star restaurants already do. At Bay View, we did a full recipe review to match our same great flavor profiles using induction equipment. Turns out if you have the right brines, marinades, seasoning and technique, you can easily adapt recipes to electric equipment without compromising taste. For example, you can achieve the smoky taste of grilled asparagus on induction simply by giving it time in a smoker or adding smoked salt.

Great equipment is available and affordable. If you haven’t seen induction cooking equipment in a while, you might still imagine a flimsy old hot plate. Not even close. You can now match every piece of gas equipment with a well-designed (and increasingly affordable) electric equivalent, including skillets, chargrills and woks. At Bay View, we even have electric pizza ovens! At home, a lot of your old equipment will carry over: Common cast iron, stainless steel and non-stick pans are all induction friendly if they have a magnetic base. Just try sticking on a magnet!

You still get that sizzle. Many chefs — both professional and at home — equate a gas flame with “real” cooking. But you don’t need fire to do a great job in the kitchen. For instance, you can sear proteins to enhance flavor on induction the same way you would on gas, and you still get that nice sizzle when you drop food in the pan. At Bay View (and across our cafes), we’ve leaned heavily into electric kitchen training sessions to help inspire our cooks, share best practices and give them the tools to do their best work.

There are creative ways to manage the electrical load. Cooking aside, all-electric kitchens do tend to increase a building’s electrical load — but technology and planning can help manage that need. For example, as we’ve found across many of our electric cafes, smart circuit controls can automatically power down certain kitchen equipment if electricity loads get too high. At Bay View, we added spare circuits into our electrical panels for more flexibility, making it easier to accommodate changes in kitchen equipment use over time.

These lessons apply far beyond Bay View, to kitchens big and small, and I hope they inspire others to make the move to electric. What’s been most rewarding to find at Bay View, and at our other electric kitchens, is that you don’t have to choose between creating something delicious and protecting the planet — you can do both.

Photo of Stonewall Inn facade taken by CyArk during a documentation project in March, 2017. Learn more about the Stonewall Inn with CyArk on Google Arts & Culture

The Stonewall Inn is known around the world as the site of the Stonewall Riots, which ignited the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in 1969 in New York City. But at the time of the rebellion, the Stonewall Inn actually consisted of what is now two locations: 53 Christopher Street, the current location of the Stonewall Inn bar, and 51 Christopher Street next door. Over the years, as rents rose, the two sites were separated, and there was little evidence left that 51 Christopher Street played such a vital role in the heritage of the LGBTQ+ rights movement.

On Friday, this all changed. LGBTQ+ activists, with Google’s support, joined local elected officials to break ground on the new Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, reuniting the two sites.

Scheduled to officially open in the summer of 2024, the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center’s mission is to preserve, advance and celebrate the legacy of the Stonewall Rebellion. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama designated the 0.19-acre area, formerly known as Christopher Park, and the surrounding Christopher Street as the Stonewall National Monument, making it the first U.S. national monument dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community and their fight for equal rights.

Through a grant of $1 million from Google.org to help acquire the lease, Google is helping make this dream a reality. Visitors to the center will discover an immersive experience that takes them on a tour of LGBTQ+ history and culture. The center will host in-person and virtual tours, lectures, exhibitions and visual arts. It will also be the home base for the National Park Service Rangers who maintain the Stonewall National Monument.

Google has been deeply invested with preserving and sharing the history of the Stonewall Riots for many years. In 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, we provided support for Stonewall Forever, an interactive “living monument” sharing 50 years of LGBTQ+ history. With a $1.5 million grant from Google.org and volunteers from Google’s Creative Lab, the LGBT Community Center of New York City (The Center) launched the living monument which connects diverse voices from the Stonewall era to the stories of millions of LGBTQ+ people today. The living monument contains countless colorful pieces that people can click on to view digitized historical artifacts, oral histories and interviews from today. In the years since, participation in Stonewall Forever has grown as thousands of people have added their history by uploading photos, messages and stories.

Supporting the LGBTQ+ community has been a longstanding commitment from Google. By supporting the reunification of the Stonewall Inn and the development of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, we’re proud to do our part to preserve and commemorate the achievements of the past and to take big steps toward a brighter, more equitable future.