Some of the biggest kitchen headaches have nothing to do with cooking. They come from walking back and forth for ingredients, hauling product by hand, squeezing around stationary equipment, or trying to clean spaces you can barely reach.
For Chef Brandon Jackson, solving those everyday problems starts with making the back of house easier to move through—and making the equipment more mobile, too.
For our ongoing series, The Equipment I Can’t Live Without, New Age Industrial Director of Marketing & E-Commerce Megan Keiswetter sat down with Brandon, Corporate Chef & Sales Associate at Curren Solutions. A Johnson & Wales University graduate with a decade of fine-dining experience, Brandon brings a true operator’s perspective to food safety, workflow, labor, and the equipment that quietly keeps a kitchen running.
Transitioning From the Line to the Rep Side
Brandon’s introduction to cooking started early. Growing up with two younger twin sisters, he often found himself responsible for making meals while they were babysitting. “Around 12 or so I developed an interest in food and spent basically all of my years at home after that cooking for them—and for myself just to experiment,” Chef Brandon shared.
By the end of high school, that experimenting had turned into a career plan. Brandon attended Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island and spent the next decade working in professional kitchens, especially enjoying his time at small mom-and-pop bistros where he could give real attention to every plate. As Chef Brandon recalled, “I loved working for small mom and pop bistros where we would have 30-50 covers a night on average. I could really care for each plate I was putting out.”
After having children, Brandon eventually pivoted from restaurant life to the foodservice rep side, joining Curren Solutions in 2020. He brought with him years of actual experience working the line, prepping for service, cleaning after service, and seeing firsthand what happens when a kitchen—or its equipment—doesn’t work the way it should.
The Bare-Bones Kitchen: A Chef's Essentials
If Brandon had to open a kitchen tomorrow with only a handful of core pieces, his list starts with three familiar essentials:
- Gas range
- Convection oven
- Commercial refrigeration
Then comes the piece he says would now be very hard to give up: a blast chiller/freezer.
“Now that I’ve had some experience with equipment, it would be hard not to want a blast chiller freezer,” Chef Brandon noted. “It virtually eliminated the ‘danger zone’ window between hot food cooling down, maintains quality, and gives the option to freeze in-season product to save for wintertime. I love these things.”
For Brandon, it’s a piece of equipment that combines food safety, product quality, and flexibility—three things every busy kitchen can appreciate.
The Equipment He Really Can’t Live Without? Check His Pockets.
Some of Brandon’s favorite tools are also the simplest. His number one unsung hero? A cake tester. “A cake tester, hands down. Just a small, straightened piece of steel you can keep in your chef coat pocket,” Chef Brandon explained. He uses it to gauge heat at the center of meat, fish, and rethermed foods without having to slice into the product.
His runner-up is an oversized short-handled serving spoon—a habit he picked up from watching a French chef who refused to use tongs. “Watching him work with it was crazy. Flip meat, sauce the plate, portion ingredients as you cook. I don’t hold a candle to him with my spoon work, but it lives in my coat pocket as well.”
It’s a good reminder that the equipment you depend on most isn’t always the newest or most complicated. Sometimes it’s simply the tool that does several jobs well and is always exactly where you need it.
Eliminating the "Constant Pilgrimage" to the Walk-In
When the conversation turns to workflow, Brandon immediately hones in on mobility. “I’ve worked a lot of places where you are constantly making trips to and from the walk-in. During service and prep, doesn’t matter—it’s a constant pilgrimage.”
Multiply those steps across every cook, prep employee, and shift, and the wasted motion adds up fast. His solution is refreshingly simple: bring the product to the employee. “I would grab a speed rack, load up everything I need to work on that day, then wheel the thing to my prep station and get working.”
A mobile rack acts as an ingredient station during prep, moves product closer to the line during service, and rolls away for restocking or cleaning afterward. Brandon believes the same “everything has a place” mentality chefs use for mise en place should extend to mobile equipment. Carts, racks, dollies, and stands need a designated home, so mobility improves workflow rather than creating another obstacle.
💡 Chef Brandon’s Pro Tip to Eliminate Wasted Steps: Stop making the constant pilgrimage to the walk-in. If you want to eliminate wasted motion and reduce labor fatigue during prep and service, don't make your team carry product by hand—bring the product to the employee with a mobile speed rack or utility cart.
Why Mobility Matters
When we asked whether New Age Industrial equipment had genuinely solved kitchen problems for him, Brandon kept it straightforward.
“Anything that increases mobility, like a New Age 1183 truck, is always a problem solver,” Chef Brandon explained. He regularly sees employees carrying product by hand or making repeated trips when a simple platform on wheels could handle the work.
The New Age Industrial Model 1183 Low Boy Stock Cart is just one example. But his philosophy goes well beyond a single cart. “In our test kitchen if the equipment doesn’t come with casters—we have it on a New Age equipment stand. I couldn’t imagine working in a kitchen where everything was static now.”
That flexibility matters because kitchens don’t stay the same: menus change, prep needs shift, volume fluctuates, and staffing evolves. Equipment that moves allows an operation to adapt without a complete redesign.
🎥 Want to see more stock trucks and carts in action? Watch our Platform Trucks Demo or our Folding Carts Demo to see how heavy-duty aluminum transport tools handle high-volume kitchen demands.
Cleanability Is Part of Durability
Commercial kitchens are hard on equipment. Heat, moisture, grease, impact, constant use, and constant cleaning all take their toll. When we asked Chef Brandon what red flags he looks for that will tell him whether a piece of equipment is going to hold up in that environment, his answer pointed to something surprisingly simple.
“That’s a tough one, only because I see a lot of examples of this but it’s hard to find an easy trend between them. Honestly, I would say cleanliness. If a kitchen isn’t kept clean, the odds that the staff would even take a few seconds to consider a dusty compressor or an overloaded planetary mixer pretty much goes out the window.”
He isn’t just talking about major sanitation problems.
“Of course, by dirty I don’t necessarily mean unsanitary to the point of concern, but you’ll frequently see grease build-up on sides of equipment, uncleaned pullout-trays under ranges, dirty back splashes behind the service line, etc. Little things like that that won’t affect food sanitation but will wear on equipment.”
Brandon remembers those end-of-week deep cleans from his restaurant days well—usually on Saturday night, when everyone was already more than ready to go home.
“Most places I’ve worked do a deep clean at the end of the week (normally Saturday night). I always hated how much longer it extended out my last shift for the week, but it was always refreshing coming back in the next week to a sparkling kitchen.”
That’s also where the right equipment can make life easier. Mobility is part of it. Equipment that rolls can be moved away from walls, out of corners, and off hard-to-reach areas so crews can actually clean around and underneath it instead of working around a permanent obstacle.
Construction matters, too. New Age Industrial’s all-welded aluminum equipment helps eliminate many of the seams, cracks, and connection points where food particles, grease, and debris can collect. Fewer places for buildup means fewer places crews have to fight to keep clean.
💡 Chef Brandon’s Pro Tip For Choosing All-Welded Equipment: Durability isn’t just about whether a cart or stand can take a heavy beating—it’s about whether your team can realistically keep it clean and sanitary. Choosing all-welded aluminum equipment eliminates the tiny cracks and crevices where grease and food particles hide, making end-of-week deep cleans infinitely faster.
Aluminum itself is also a natural fit for foodservice. It resists rust and corrosion without relying on galvanizing, paint, or protective coatings that can chip, peel, or flake over time. It is easy to wash and sanitize and holds up well in the moisture, humidity, and temperature extremes common in commercial kitchens, coolers, and walk-in freezers.
For an operation that cleans equipment every single day, those details matter. Because durability isn’t just about whether a cart, rack, or stand can take a beating. It’s also about whether your team can realistically keep it clean, sanitary, and ready for the next shift.
New Age Industrial offers mobile foodservice equipment designed with that reality in mind—equipment built to move, built to clean, and built to keep working in demanding foodservice environments.
📖 Related Reading: Read New Age Industrial’s Guide on Equipment Durability and Replacement Cycles to learn how choosing the right materials protects your bottom line over time and how often you should replace your equipment.
The “Duh” Innovations
Brandon doesn’t think innovation always has to mean inventing something completely new. Sometimes the smartest equipment simply combines useful functions into one footprint.
Chef Brandon pointed out, “There are so many examples of innovations where you think, ‘Duh! Why didn’t I think of that?’” Think steam added to a convection oven to create a combi. A platen added to a griddle. Microwave technology added to an oven for high-speed cooking. For kitchens being asked to do more in limited square footage, multifunctional equipment can be especially valuable.
And if Brandon had a blank check to invent any piece of equipment he wanted? Forget futuristic cooking technology. He wants an easier way to clean the hood. “It’s not really anything to innovate cooking, but I’ve worked in a few places where we would have to get up and scrub our hood. If I could create some kind of panelized hood cover that can mostly be put into a dish machine or 3-comp sink—I think I can make a lot of line cooks happy.”
That might be the most veteran-chef answer of the entire interview.
A Chef’s Perspective: “It’s Not That Serious”
Brandon also has a healthy sense of humor about chef culture. He said if his culinary career became a movie, he’d call it “It’s Not That Serious.” And maybe Paul Rudd would play him. He said, “I never understood why chefs pretend they’re out there saving lives when we’re just cooking food. I guess it would be the antithesis of The Bear.”
Naturally, working with food for a decade brings out some personal quirks and culinary opinions. When asked about his secret weapon in the kitchen, Chef Brandon shares a stealthy favorite:
“No one wants to hear ‘there’s anchovies in this’ but everyone loves Caesar dressing. There are a few fish-based ingredients like fish sauce, dashi, bonito flakes, anchovies, etc. that add a ton of umami/flavor without being over-powering in the right quantities. I can say I’ve successfully converted a few people who ‘don’t like fish’ with a puttanesca pasta.”
And what about childhood aversions turned professional staples?
“That’s hard to answer because I’ve always been an adventurous eater. But I never really enjoyed fruit and cheese together. I know it’s a classic pairing but never did it for me. Now I love it. Funny enough it also took me a long time to enjoy peanut butter and jelly together. I never really liked sweet and savory combined for some reason.”
His jokes and lighthearted insights fit his practical equipment philosophy perfectly: kitchens already have enough complications. The equipment around your staff should help solve problems—not create more of them. It’s as simple as this:
- Take the food seriously.
- Do the job well.
- Keep the operation moving.
Advice for Operators
When we asked Brandon for the professional advice he continues to carry with him, he came back to a simple line: “You’re only as good as your last plate.” For Brandon, it’s a reminder that quality has to be practiced every day. He continues, “It keeps you humble and hopeful. Don’t get too impressed by your own history – quality is something that needs to be practiced every day, every minute.”
And when it comes to purchasing equipment, he encourages operators to think beyond the initial price tag. “Labor is always going to end up being one of the more expensive operating costs over the life of a kitchen. There are so many pieces of equipment that will either save you money on your staff’s labor, or the labor from a technician.”
Then he gave us an analogy every chef understands: “It’s like buying a good pair of chef shoes—you’re going to use them every day so invest in something that will benefit you in the long run.”
That same thinking applies to racks, carts, stands, shelving, dollies, and other support equipment. They may not always be the most exciting purchases in the kitchen, but your employees are going to push them, load them, unload them, clean them, and depend on them every day.
And when asked what comes to mind when he hears New Age Industrial, Brandon didn’t hesitate: “Solid, sturdy, dependable, the industry standard, and completely customizable.” He especially appreciates the ability to bring New Age a challenge or a loose custom concept and work with the engineering team to turn it into equipment that fits the operation. “New Age has always been a great partner for Curren Solutions.”
Put the Equipment to the Test
Today, Brandon takes the lessons he learned in restaurant kitchens and uses them to help other operators through Curren Solutions. He also helped spearhead the opening of Curren Solutions’ Innovation Kitchen, where foodservice professionals can move beyond a spec sheet and actually experience equipment in a realistic environment.
Operators can test equipment, work through menu ideas, evaluate workflow and ergonomics, and think about how a piece will function before making a major investment.
- Does it move easily?
- Can employees work around it?
- Is it easy to clean?
- Does it fit the workflow?
- Could one piece accomplish the job of two?
Because kitchens don’t succeed simply because something looked good in a catalog. They succeed because the equipment works when the tickets start printing.
About Our Partner: Curren Solutions
At New Age Industrial, we know that manufacturing heavy-duty aluminum equipment is only half the battle—commercial operators also need elite culinary consulting, portfolio strategy, and operational design to bring a space to life. That is why we are incredibly proud to partner with Curren Solutions, one of the premier foodservice manufacturers' representative agencies in the country.
For decades, Curren Solutions has set the gold standard for operational consulting, matching top-tier equipment brands with independent restaurants, major chains, and non-commercial facilities to optimize their workflow and menu execution.
Experience Innovation: Curren Solutions' State-of-the-Art Culinary Centers
Curren Solutions doesn't just ask chefs and owners to look at paper spec sheets; they invite them to test-drive equipment in real-time. At their elite, fully live Innovation Kitchen & Culinary Center, operators can experiment with menu development, test product throughput, evaluate back-of-house ergonomics, and view heavy-duty material handling layouts in person before making a single capital expenditure.
Whether you need to map out how mobile nesting racks can save space in a shrinking footprint, evaluate standard work table durability, or see equipment innovation in action, Curren Solutions' interactive centers bridge the gap between manufacturer engineering and real-world culinary execution.
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Connect with Curren Solutions To learn more about optimizing your commercial kitchen layout, expanding your equipment portfolio, or scheduling an interactive session at a premier Curren Solutions Culinary Center, visit the official Curren Solutions Website.
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📖 Related Reads: Want more insights from top foodservice chefs? Check out these interviews from “The Equipment I Can’t Live Without” Series:
- Read our conversation with Chef David Ash from Zink Foodservice on Designing for the Dinner Rush.
- Catch up with Chef Danny Cerqueda from The Hansen Group on Why the Ultimate Kitchen Workhorse Doesn't Plug In.
