How to Hit Your ESG Goals: Sustainable Solutions in Food & Beverage | with Diana Geseking

The Modern Hotelier #67: How to Hit Your ESG Goals: Sustainable Solutions in Food & Beverage | with Diana Geseking === Steve Carran [00:00:00]: We're very excited about this episode with Diana Guest King. David, what were some of the takeaways that you got from this episode? David Millili [00:00:07]: Well, other than being a great guest and a Jersey girl, I thought the episode was fantastic. We touched on points where, you know, the restaurant technologies, in my opinion, the path they're taking will make a bigger impact on the environment than the electric car. And she just did a great job of explaining how Restaurant Technologies works, and I I I just thought it was a great episode. Steve Carran [00:00:29]: Yeah. I agree. And, also, how they're helping, you know, the employees with safety, dealing with hot oil and things like that. And not only helping them with safety, but also helping them be more sustainable as well. It is it's a great business plan, and, you know, the partnership with Chevron, I feel like, really David Millili [00:00:47]: Incredible. Steve Carran [00:00:47]: Is is a great aspect of that as well. So really excited this episode, and enjoy. Enjoy. David Millili [00:00:55]: Welcome to the Modern Hotelier. Both hosts were honored as top 100 influential people in hospitality. We're bringing you interviews with industry experts, thought leaders, and innovators who are shaping the future of hospitality. Whether you're a seasoned hotel professional or just stepping into the industry, Welcome to The Modern Hotelier. I'm your host, David Maloley. Steve Carran [00:01:27]: I'm your co host, Steve Care. Jon Bumhoffer [00:01:29]: And I'm the producer, John Boomhofer. Voice Over [00:01:31]: This episode is brought to you by Restaurant Technologies. Restaurant Technologies is the leader in automated commercial kitchen solutions. Their total oil management solution is an end to end automated oil management system that delivers, filters, monitors, and recycles cooking oil, leading to safer, more efficient, and more sustainable food service operations. Last year, restaurant technologies converted over 300,000,000 pounds of used cooking oil into renewable fuel, creating a more sustainable business with its 40,000 customers nationwide. Control the kitchen chaos with Restaurant Technologies, Total Oil Management, and Auto Mist Solutions. To learn more, visit rtiinc.com or call 888-779-5314 to get started. David Millili [00:02:19]: Steve, who do we have on the program today? Steve Carran [00:02:22]: Yeah, David. Today, we have on Diana Gaskin. Diana is the general counsel at Restaurant Technologies. There, she's responsible for all the legal affairs as well as the company's ESG initiatives, risk management, and regulatory activities. Prior to Restaurant Technologies, she was the general counsel of the Americas for Dyson. Welcome to the show, Diana. Diana Geseking [00:02:44]: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. David Millili [00:02:46]: So today, we're gonna go through 3 areas of the podcast. We're gonna talk about a little bit of a lightning round to get to know you better. We're gonna get into your career, and then we're gonna get into industry thoughts. Sound good? Diana Geseking [00:03:00]: Sounds great. David Millili [00:03:01]: Okay. So what was your first job? Diana Geseking [00:03:04]: My first job ever was actually, working in the office for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. I know that sounds a little long winded, and from a lawyer, probably not surprising, but it was really it was a stagehand union in Philly. And I got to work in the office. And then, occasionally, I got to actually go out on some of the gigs and the takedowns and put ups at concerts. David Millili [00:03:27]: What's your favorite city? Diana Geseking [00:03:29]: My favorite city is San Francisco. It made my soul happy, and I don't mean to diminish any other city that I've lived in. But if I had a bad day at work, I could walk outside and I could see the mountains and the water, and I was really grateful for the fact that I got to live there. David Millili [00:03:43]: So what's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Diana Geseking [00:03:46]: The best piece of advice probably has to do with when you're taking things a little too seriously at work or something really gets under your skin. And I had somebody sit me down once, and they said, you know what? We're not brain surgeons. We're not saving lives here. And as much as you wanna take it to heart, don't. Because at the end of the day, your family, your friends, the people in your life, that's really what matters and what's important. David Millili [00:04:12]: You could trade places with somebody for a day. Who would you trade places with? Diana Geseking [00:04:16]: Probably somebody who is in space, and I cannot for the life of me. I couldn't tell you, an astronaut right now that's currently in space or on a space station. But I think that's something that I would never do myself. I'm not somebody who wants to buy a ticket to go up on SpaceX or anything like that. But if I was there and I was in space and I just woke up as that person that day, I think that would be one of the most phenomenal experiences to see the world from that perspective. David Millili [00:04:48]: So this might have covered this one, but what's on your bucket list? Diana Geseking [00:04:51]: Definitely not going to space. Right. But bucket list is really for me all about travel. It's about going to countries that I haven't been to, experiences, cultures. That's something I've gotten a good amount of travel in, and I'm very lucky and grateful to have done so. That I wanna get to in the world. Do you have a secret getting everywhere that I that I wanna get to in the world. David Millili [00:05:19]: Do you have a secret talent that people don't know you have? Diana Geseking [00:05:23]: I can tie a cherry stalk into a knot with my tongue. My kids get a really big kick out of that. It's not something that most people know that I can do. But every time we go to a burger restaurant, my kids really love to get those maraschino cherries, and they just hand me stock after stock after stock, and they want to see me tied into a knot with my tongue. So it's a little known. David Millili [00:05:47]: It's like a say a Shirley Temple or a roger if you're old. So if you had a late night talk show, who would your first guest be? Diana Geseking [00:05:57]: My first guest? Oh, man. That is a hard one. I would I would probably say Taylor Swift because the ratings would be through the roof, honestly. Uh-huh. I mean, you get Taylor Swift on there. Every single person, every Swifty out there in the world is gonna be watching you. So David Millili [00:06:12]: Alright. This is the last one. So if you had a time machine, you can either go into the future, go into the past. Which way are you going, and what year are you going to? Diana Geseking [00:06:21]: I would go into the future, and I would go and I would wanna see I guess, I mean, it's not I would wanna go after I was dead, And I would wanna see the lives of my children and their children and grandchildren. I just I think I'd wanna see what they're doing if they're still here, if the world exists, if we've all been consumed by the oceans. Perhaps if that's the case, then I'm floating on a boat somewhere, if there are boats. So I think I would just really wanna see everything that I'm going to miss out on. Because you can read about the past, you can't know and experience it, but you'll never know what you're not gonna know from the future. So I'd wanna see that. David Millili [00:07:03]: That is the most interesting answer we've gotten at season 3 on that question. So that was a good answer. Steve Carran [00:07:09]: I feel like you just wanna keep an eye on your kids too. David Millili [00:07:11]: Yeah. Steve Carran [00:07:13]: That was great. Now we're gonna move into a little bit more about you and your personal background. So you grew up in New Jersey. Right? Diana Geseking [00:07:21]: I did. South Jersey. I can tell you the exit off the the parkway and and everything like that that I grew up off of. So, yeah, the South Jersey, Cherry Hill area outside of Philly. Steve Carran [00:07:33]: That's great. So how did growing up in South Jersey shape you into who you are today? Diana Geseking [00:07:39]: Well, it definitely made me pronounce words a certain way. I will tell you that much. People always say, oh, where you are not from Minnesota or you are not from Chicago, and yet you're also not from Jersey mafia, soprano style that we also were expecting to hear. So New Jersey and South Jersey specifically was a great place to grow up. I grew up in the time without cell phones, without technology. It still baffles me today that I would get on a bike with my friends, and we would go riding all day and come home. And my parents have no idea where I was. Right? You're just you're you're riding miles and miles. Diana Geseking [00:08:17]: You're out playing, and then you roll in, and you're covered in dirt, and nobody asks any questions, and you have some food. And so it was it was that kind of, you know, not idyllic, but it was that kind of a childhood and growing up in a place like that. Plus, also getting to go down the shore, That was amazing. The and I take my kids back every summer. We go to Ocean City, New Jersey, and it is wonderful. The boardwalk, the rides, the pizza, I mean, the food, the bagels. I could talk a lot about food as which is good because I work for Rational Technologies. Right? And so and so growing up and being able to have that right there, the ocean, and being able to get there every summer and on the weekends was a really wonderful opportunity. David Millili [00:08:59]: Yes. Steve hates this part, but I'm from I'm from Doylestown, Pennsylvania. So I've been I I go to Ocean City with my my kids and my wife every year. We stay at. There's like a condo above Bob's at the end of the boardwalk. Diana Geseking [00:09:13]: Yes. David Millili [00:09:14]: We stay there. And it's amazing because you just don't If you've never done it, you should do it because it's just one of those places, and I am drinking my water. So Diana Geseking [00:09:24]: Right. I can get water. When you get a bedding and and you and pour some milk in your in your cereal. But Bob's is a place where we stay at 14th and Asbury, which is walks right up and is right there by Bob's. So we see it. They got some really good donuts as well in the morning. David Millili [00:09:37]: Yeah. That's the tough part. Being here in Phoenix, like, it sounds silly to people who are from the area, but, like, going to Wawa is like me going to a Michelin restaurant. It is like the it's the the greatest thing in the world. Like, I'm like, my parents will be like, oh, we we have coffee. I'm like, no. No. No. David Millili [00:09:52]: I'm going to Wawa for coffee. Don't put your coffee away. Anyway, hot Diana Geseking [00:09:56]: hang out at Wawa's. Yeah. We would hang out at Wawa's. That was the place where you just kinda stood on the corner and and would see what was happening. So I know David Millili [00:10:03]: And great technology for probably 20 plus years, touchscreen. It's gonna tie it back into the podcast, but it's it's great. I mean, they had touchscreens when nobody even knew what the heck that was. You just go and get your hokey. So you went to Amherst College. You got your degree in psychology and also women and gender studies. What caused you to choose that degree? And tell us about being a assistant to the campus police. Diana Geseking [00:10:29]: Oh my goodness. You guys dug deep. Alright. So Amherst College, which was a fabulous, experience. Psychology, women, and gender studies, honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. A lot of my friends wanted to do psychology. That seemed interesting. Women and gender studies, definitely right up my alley is something that I'm passionate about in general. Diana Geseking [00:10:50]: Maybe I should have been a history major as well, but, I mean, honestly, it was all for naught because once you go to law school, it doesn't matter what you did for your undergrad. I had I cannot tell you that I could have used psychology or my women and gender studies degrees since graduating from college. So but being on the working for campus police, that was a highlight because and people thought that I was kind of this narc. And so we would be at a party, and they would say, oh, no. What you know, she's here. She know what's gonna happen? And the truth was is that I actually knew all of the campus police officers, and so my parties were the ones that didn't get broken up. And I don't know if you guys I'm I'm dating myself, but you'd had a keg. And if your keg got And if your keg got confiscated, you were out 75, $80 because you couldn't get your deposit back. Diana Geseking [00:11:39]: But they would just say, oh, hey. Oh, hi. They'd see the keg, and they would just keep on walking. And so for me, it was a great experience. I also and I probably shouldn't say this, but there was the opportunity to if you parked on campus, you would get tickets. And these were expensive, $50 a pop. Right? And you're a poor college kid, and you're struggling and everything like that. But, again, because they knew me and they knew my car, my friends and I got to park using my car on campus all the time, and we were lazy when we were in college. Diana Geseking [00:12:10]: And instead of walking 30 feet to the dining room, we would drive, and then they would just leave me funny notes instead of tickets on my car. So, honestly, sweet gig. Sweet, sweet gig. Steve Carran [00:12:22]: That's true. I actually was part of the campus police too in college, and it was the best job in college. It was awesome. So I'm with you on that. So like you said, you got your law degree at Michigan, and you actually were a college rugby player as well, which I absolutely love. And freshman year, you you broke your leg and, still played the rest of the the rest of the time in college. Right? Tell us more about that. Diana Geseking [00:12:49]: I did. So Amherst was where I played rugby, and it was funny because we were this really, really tiny, small liberal arts college, d three school. And then we would play. We were in a division 1 for rugby just because I think we were grandfathered in when it started. And so we were playing UConn and Penn State and UMass. And so UMass was right down the road from us. And they they crushed us all the time. We were small, and and they had 30,000 people. Diana Geseking [00:13:16]: And so my freshman year, I was I was aback, and I was in the open field. I didn't even have the ball, and this this girl from UMass just came out and tackled me and cracked my leg. So that was fun. I thought it was a bone bruise. I was like, I could totally walk this off. This is easy. And then I went to the emergency room, and they did an X-ray, and there was just a line right through my bone. And I was like, that's not I can't walk on that. Diana Geseking [00:13:39]: But the best part of that was was our senior year. We had a phenomenal team, and you play in this fall and spring. And our fall season, we were 3rd in the northeast, and we actually beat UMass. And I can tell you, I mean, it was a low scoring game, and I think we just you know, I don't think anybody even scored a try, but we held on and we beat them, and that was one of the greatest moments, just beating a school like that. The other great moments were every time that we beat Williams, which was often. And just so if you don't know, when you beat Williams so Williams and Amherst, huge rivalry. And our CEO actually went to Williams, so we have a little bit of a rivalry there. And so you wear your b side jersey for the game. Diana Geseking [00:14:23]: And after the game, the losing team has to take their jersey off on the field and hand it over to the winning team. And you pay for these yourselves. So every season, you're thinking, oh my gosh. Am I gonna have to pony up for this b side jersey? Am I gonna lose it? And the Williams team, they would sleep in theirs. They would rub it in dirt and beer and make it smell and be so gross. I said, what do you is it because you know you're gonna have to turn it over? I mean, what's going on here? And so I had I had a countless number of Williams jerseys. We we were always, the upper hand there. I think I only lost 1 or 2 of my jerseys, so that was love. Steve Carran [00:14:57]: Was there a college that was kind of, I guess, maybe a little dirty on the field? Was it Williams, or was there another college that was always kind of a little tough to play? Diana Geseking [00:15:06]: It was not Williams. They it was probably the Williams was the most times that we had the, the ambulance on the field. But Boston College and, you know, again, nothing against them, but this is just the girls that we played. They used to put Vaseline on their exposed skin to make them slippery. So when you tried to tackle them, you would slip through your grasp, and they also really like to pinch. Anytime you got into a rock or a mall, and they would just, you know, grab some skin and just pinch and try to hurt you secretly. So they weren't my favorite. Steve Carran [00:15:43]: I I can see why. I can see why. So that's great. So now we're gonna go into your career a little bit. So after Michigan, after law school, you became an associate at Sedgwick LLP. Then you went to Dyson where you worked your way up to the General Counsel of the Americas. What did you learn in those roles that helps you today? Diana Geseking [00:16:04]: So as an associate at a law firm, so that's what Cedric was, and I initially went from Michigan, and then I went out to San Francisco, which was, as we talked about earlier, my favorite city. And so I'm licensed in California, and then I transferred to Chicago. So also licensed licensed in Illinois. And now I live in Minnesota. So I'm licensed in Minnesota. I can tell you, I never thought I would be licensed in 3 states, but here we are. So life takes you in strange paths. And so what I learned as an associate at a law firm is just really good writing. Diana Geseking [00:16:36]: You sit, you research, you write all the time, and I had a lot of really good mentors who could critique and edit my work. You also just really learn how to roll up your sleeves and get stuff done. I mean, you're pole punching. You're putting briefs together. This was early on in the days of electronic filings and things like that. Of course, going to court learning how to argue. And then at Dyson, that really shaped my career as an in house counsel. Because when you're at a law firm, you have to specialize. Diana Geseking [00:17:03]: You have to focus on insurance or product liability or, specifically, litigation versus contracts. In house and at Dyson, they really gave me the opportunity to be a generalist. I got to experience areas of law that I never knew existed, such as advertising and marketing, which was super fun. I love that area of the law. And then also employment law plus contracts. Plus, what was great about going in house is you get to work with nonlawyers, And you get to be in those meetings where you're talking about strategy and creative and development, things that you didn't really get as as an associate at a law firm. So, I really honed my ability to become a business partner, as long as well as a legal strategist as I had the opportunities at Dyson. David Millili [00:17:54]: So now you're vice president general counsel at Restaurant Technologies. Can you tell us more on your focus and what Restaurant Technologies is all about? Diana Geseking [00:18:04]: Of course. So I had the opportunity to come to Restaurant Technologies, and previously, Dyson was the CPG, consumer packaged goods. And then moving over to Rational Technologies, it was purely b to b. So we have this fabulous technology, our total oil management system, and we primarily work with restaurants. And so back of the house kitchens that we do hospitals, hotels, resorts, casinos, mom and pop shops, quick service, you name it, including also c stores. Like, we don't have Wawa yet. I can can I do a little wink there on that one? Would we like to have Wawa? Sure. But places like Wawa, Sheets, and and, Quick Trips and things like that, if you want me to get into the details of it, which I can talk for hours about. Diana Geseking [00:18:55]: But our total oil management system, it's our it's our main system, and we deliver the fresh cooking oil to all of the restaurants. And then we also collect that used cooking oil. And a 100% of the used cooking oil that we collect gets recycled into biodiesel or renewable diesel. So we really we help our restaurants control the kitchen chaos. And so we like to come in. We like to automate it, clean up the dirtiest jobs of the kitchen, and make it easier for employees to focus on serving the great food to all of their customers. Steve Carran [00:19:24]: That is awesome. And you're also involved with a with a and if I blow this name, like, I'm sorry, Keitel language program. You're the vice chair, board of directors there as well. Can you tell us more about that program? Diana Geseking [00:19:42]: Sure. So Keitel is a nonprofit Spanish language program for elementary and middle school age children. It is in Minnesota, and it's headquartered here. And so, both of my kids are actually part of the program, and it is a wonderful opportunity. It's after school, and they get this incredible immersive experience from native Spanish speaking teachers and educators. And so it's just a way for them to learn about Spanish, the culture, history, the language, and to do so in a really fun and engaging environment. Steve Carran [00:20:14]: Very cool. You can tell I never took Spanish. Diana Geseking [00:20:18]: Basic high school Spanish. My kids come home, and they sing songs, and they talk Spanish, and I say, mhmm. Yes. Yeah. Hola. That's Steve Carran [00:20:28]: we're on the same page on that. So that's great. Now we're gonna dive into more of the industry thoughts and a little bit more about how Restaurant Technologies is what their role is. So Restaurant Technologies, you mentioned, you know, being converted into renewable diesel and renewable diesel. You have a partnership with Chevron to do that, and you've had a partnership with them for around 10 years. Can you tell us more about, a, the process of this and the partnership with Chevron as well? Diana Geseking [00:21:00]: Sure. So we've actually been with them for almost 20 years. And so doing this doing this before was cool. Right? And and that's that's the fun part is when I started getting into the ESG world at Rational Technologies, we always had this really phenomenal story, and we've been doing it almost since the inception of our company, where there's this byproduct of cooking chicken and French fries and everything like that. It's the used cooking oil, and it is this incredibly valuable resource that can get converted by companies like Chevron Renewable Energy Group and others into biodiesel and renewable diesel that can go right back into trucks, cars, etcetera, vehicles on the road, one day, potentially, also the sustainable aviation fuel, which everybody is talking about these days. And so when we realized, okay, hey. We have these fabulous systems where not only are our customers receiving the benefit because we have these tanks that we put on the site. We have 2 tanks, a fresh oil tank and a used cooking oil tank. Diana Geseking [00:22:05]: We deliver automatically and, at the same time, take away the used cooking oil. So there's no need for a customer to use the plastic single use plastic jibs. If you think you could think of like a jug. Right? Holding up that jug, pouring that into the fryer, unpackaging it, the cardboard, the plastic, throwing that out. And, you know, you're never gonna get all the last little bit of oil in that jug. It's like a shampoo bottle where you just you turn it upside down. You sit there for days. You try to get the last bit out. Diana Geseking [00:22:34]: So that extra oil is getting tossed into a big trash bin. It's going to landfills. It's all getting leaked into the soil. So that's gone, totally gone. And then, of course, we have our filtration monitoring, which is also awesome because it allows you to know really how often you have to filter instead of just being on a schedule. Maybe you had a really busy day. Maybe you didn't use it that much. It keeps the oil really fresh and makes the food taste better in my opinion. Diana Geseking [00:23:02]: And so then, of course, that gets used, and some use more than others. That is that is really interesting, the amount of oil depending on what you're cooking. And so you get all that used cooking oil. I think last year, it was over £300,000,000 of used cooking oil that we collected. And, like, it's been £314,100,000. Alright. I mean, I've been around. I've used it's it was a lot. Diana Geseking [00:23:26]: It was a lot of used cooking oil, and we are crushing our, you know, our we hit that over 300 mark. We're, you know, 290 the year before. It's just gonna keep going up. And like I said, all of that goes to companies like Chevron Renewable Energy Group, and they have the technology and facilities to convert it into biodiesel, renewable diesel. And then what we've been trying to do recently also is use that in our own trucks. We have a fleet of about 600 vehicles. And as much as we can, we are also incorporating using that biodiesel and renewable diesel into our own fleet. David Millili [00:23:59]: That's a great segue. So the the next question is around your sustainability report. And one of the stats that jumped out to us that you touched on was the 3314,000,000 pounds. So what else impressed you about that report? Diana Geseking [00:24:12]: I I think what's fun about a report like that and, you know, I could talk about this many pounds of c o two emissions and this and this and this. But when you relate it to something that is more tangible to the average person and not an ESG nerd like me, and you see things like, oh, it was nearly, you know, over 900,000,000 coffee cups. I think that's the equivalent, right, of the emissions that we avoided or taking over a 100000 cars off the road. Things like that, I think resonate better with people because they can say, wow, that's a lot of cars not being on the road or that's that would take me a lot of coffee drinks to get up to over 900,000,000. And that's the equivalent of what we're saving from putting, you know, those carbon emissions into the environment. Steve Carran [00:25:00]: The one that got me was 64 Olympic sized swimming pools, which is a lot. So that's great. So you're also helping, you know, these restaurants, hotels, these companies achieve their environmental social government or ESG goals to help create a cleaner, more livable planet. For those not familiar with ESG goals as much, what ways are you helping the hotels with those ESG goals? Diana Geseking [00:25:29]: So when we talked about before how we're avoiding all that single use plastic from the jibs, that's the traditional oil cooking oils delivered in, that's plastic and cardboard savings. So that's eliminating that kind of waste right there. And so if you have a customer, and we have a lot of customers and they have their own goals. Right? They wanna reduce their carbon footprint. They wanna lower all of the emissions that they're putting out there into the world just by operating. Utilizing our system, our total oil management system enables them to do that. We have a sustainability calculator, and based on the amount of oil that they use down to their store location, that's how how we can calculate it. We can tell you how much carbon emissions you're gonna be saving by using our system versus the traditional system. Diana Geseking [00:26:14]: And then add on top of that, they get the benefit of the emissions saved by converting the cooking oil, the used cooking oil into diesel, biodiesel, and renewable diesel. And so again, that goes right back to them as a way that they can lower their impact on the environment. David Millili [00:26:30]: That's great. So I have I have a question and a comment. So the question is you you've mentioned sustainability is obviously what you guys guys are all about. You've mentioned build upon our success and reach new heights in the years ahead. 1, do you have a goal in mind? And 2, it seems like people should be talking more about what you're doing than actually even electric cars because the the amount that goes into building these cars, you know, there's a lot of debate. So it see just seems like you guys are doing something that's much more impactful than, I'm gonna say it, Tesla, but yet you don't hear about it in our arm you don't hear about it a lot. Diana Geseking [00:27:06]: Honestly, I didn't know about it until I started working for the company. And then I didn't know about it even, you know, a year or so in until we started digging into the numbers and just saying, hey. This is this is a thing. This is happening. And so we have our own goals as well. Right? We want to reduce our own carbon footprint. We want to increase the use of biodiesel in our own fleet. We want to reduce our own single use of plastic from water bottles and things like that. Diana Geseking [00:27:32]: We have one of our our employees found these gloves that are plastic gloves that are fully biodegradable. So we've incorporated doing things like that, which is wonderful. But the more customers that we can serve, the better. Because that means that by using our systems and eliminating that plastic and that cardboard and having that used cooking oil collected instead of I don't know how often you've been in the back of the house, the kitchen, or worked in 1. But taking that hot cooking oil, the hot used cooking oil, and carrying it out, dumping it in the back, whether you dump it on the ground, which you shouldn't, or you dump it in a dumpster. I'm not kidding. I was in Florida, and I saw these 2 guys carrying this big metal tub. I knew exactly what they were doing, and they just opened up the dumpster out back and threw it in. Diana Geseking [00:28:23]: And so instead of that, instead of taking that used cooking oil, that really dangerous, slippery oil, making it safer for the employees of the kitchens and taking all of that and converting it to biodiesel or renewable diesel, then sky's the limit there. David Millili [00:28:39]: Yeah. And you'll appreciate this being from South Jersey. That was the chicken guy at Royal Rogers. So in high school, I made the chicken. And so now for the it scarred me for the rest of my life because every anytime I get anything that's fried, I'm a god. They didn't change the oil. I'm like, this is dirty oil. They they're just getting lazy back there. David Millili [00:28:54]: But yeah. Diana Geseking [00:28:55]: Yeah. Anyway And that's what our system also, we have the fryer filtration monitoring so that you know live on Right. The system, you can see, does it need to be changed, how bad is it, how dirty is it. So it's it's really nice because David Millili [00:29:08]: That's cool. Diana Geseking [00:29:08]: Now they have to know and they have to change it. Steve Carran [00:29:10]: And, you know, you kinda let into the next point right here. There is a social aspect to this as well and kinda like you were talking about. These are manual jobs, almost dirty jobs of changing this oil and things like that. So you're not only helping your customers be more sustainable, but there's also that social and safety aspect of it as well. Like, you kinda talked about it a little bit, but do you wanna go into a little bit more detail? Diana Geseking [00:29:35]: A 100%. Safety is huge. And, again, it's eliminating those dirty, dangerous jobs in the kitchen and hauling that oil, the slips, the trips, the falls, instead of having to pour the jib and it could spill somewhere. It's, you know, the touch of a button on a wand and it fills up your fryer. Another touch of a button, and that goes right into our used cooking oil tank. So it really automates that back of the house work. And I have to mention, because I would be remiss if I didn't, but I have to mention I know we're talking about sustainability in oil, but our other product is our Automist hood and flue cleaning system and similarly has a very similar impact where previously you'd have to get up there into the hood and flue and shut down the restaurant and get up there and clean it. Because when you have that grease build up, hood and flue, it's a real risk of fire. Diana Geseking [00:30:20]: That's kind of what can catch on fire from the fryers. And And so our system is automated. It cleans it daily, and it sprays it. Again, you don't have to get up there. You don't have that manual work of having to clean it. And so it really helps reduce that risk of buildup and fires. And, of course, there's the opportunity that we've seen is that you can actually save on insurance premiums because you have that safety aspect. You're eliminating that work, the potential fires, the risks, the slips, the falls, the injuries to the employees. Diana Geseking [00:30:59]: So that's been a really nice benefit to our customers as well. David Millili [00:31:02]: That's great. So last question in this part of the the the episode, what advice would you give to restaurants just really with their efforts around sustainability and ESG goals? What advice would you give to somebody who's, say, opening a restaurant right now? Diana Geseking [00:31:17]: I mean, obviously, you should, you know, contract for our systems. I mean, that's that's the number one piece of advice. Definitely, total oil management system and auto mist in your restaurant. We're very good with new builds. Good. Get all the permits you need. So, really, it's it's about evaluating what's important to your customers. It's evaluating what you can do. Diana Geseking [00:31:38]: There are really small things that you can do, which have a huge impact because they build upon each other. So for us, right, not having single use plastic water bottles at corporate, not having those plastic gloves that sit in a landfill everywhere. So maybe it's using at your restaurant, napkins, which are recyclable made from recyclable materials. Maybe it's, you know, figuring out your water usage and monitoring that using if you have straws, and nobody really loves the paper straws because they kind of get gross and melt, but there's a ton of other plant based plastic straws and things like that. So in addition to using our systems, there's things that are are small that you don't think has an impact. But when you add it up, how many napkins you use, how many straws you use, how much water you use, it really can have a huge environmental impact and help these smaller customers or larger customers meet their sustainability goals. Steve Carran [00:32:38]: That's great. So we've been asking you questions the whole time. So now we're gonna turn the tables a little bit, and we're gonna let you ask David and I So Diana Geseking [00:32:49]: Each or Steve Carran [00:32:50]: Just one question, and we get to answer it. Diana Geseking [00:32:53]: Alright. Favorite fried food? Steve Carran [00:32:58]: McDonald's french fries. And I I actually was the fry guy at McDonald's, so that's saying a lot to see kind of the oil that was used when I was, you know, 13 years old wasn't probably the best, but, yeah, I'd say McDonald's french fries. David Millili [00:33:13]: Yeah. If I could go back, it would be I used to take when I made the chicken at Royal Rogers, I would double, like, double dip, like, do 2 egg, like, egg, batter, egg batter, and it would be, like, super crunchy and, like, that so that's my favorite fried food. And I learned early on that you have actually have to lift the chicken out before you serve it because I was serving it with all the grease and oil. Oh my gosh. Steve Carran [00:33:37]: And if you're a fan of fried food and ever make it down to Wisconsin State Fair, you will have you will have a day. We we fry everything at the Wisconsin State Fair from Oreos to ice cream, I saw. It is everything. So Wisconsin State Fair. There you go. Big fried big fried food place. I'm sure in Minnesota, it's probably similar. Diana Geseking [00:33:58]: It is. The cheese curds, I I think the cheese also has a part of the That's the answer. Right. Steve Carran [00:34:02]: It's cheese curds. It's cheese curds. David Millili [00:34:03]: You can't go back. You said McDonald's. You can't go back. Diana Geseking [00:34:05]: I don't love McDonald's. You did say but but it has to be the kind of fried cheese curd too. I don't love the ones that are heavily breaded. I like the light breading where the cheese comes through, and it's got a light fry on it. Those are good. Steve Carran [00:34:19]: Yes. I agree. I agree a 100%. I can't talk too much about cheese curds. Otherwise, this episode will go another 30 minutes. So, this has been great. Another Midwest guy, John, our producer, he's been listening this whole time. He's gonna ask you one final question here before we head out. Jon Bumhoffer [00:34:36]: You didn't really ask me, but my favorite fried food would be Cheez Forts or a, like, Tide For First fried pickles. And I've also been to the Minnesota State Fair, so I I know what that's all about. David Millili [00:34:48]: Because I Jon Bumhoffer [00:34:49]: used to I lived in Saint Paul for quite a few years. Diana Geseking [00:34:52]: Oh, awesome. Jon Bumhoffer [00:34:53]: My question is more I'm just looking for camaraderie because this is probably the greatest moment of my life was when Michigan won the national championship because I'm from born and raised in Michigan, been a Michigan Wolverine fan my whole my whole life. So I don't know if it meant anything to you, but if it did mean anything to you because you graduated, your from Michigan Law School, tell me about what that what that was like. Diana Geseking [00:35:15]: Oh, that was incredible. So my husband and I met playing Michigan alumni flag football in Chicago. So my husband went to Michigan. We hold season tickets. We take our kids to a game every season, and I think except for COVID. And if you walked down our stairs, you would start seeing the Michigan paraphernalia. We do have the sign that says those who stay will be champions, and my husband actually took our son, who is 9, to the national championship in Houston. And so we sold a couple kidneys, got them their kids. Diana Geseking [00:35:52]: And I remember just stress pacing that game until the Q4. You look at the final score, and it it is not is not actually It was a lot closer right up to the interception, right at the end in Q4. And so I didn't get to go, but I have that is what led me to go to the University of Michigan. It was football. It was before I was even accepted. Going out there, we beat Ohio State. We were going to the Rose Bowl. This was way back over 2 decades ago. Diana Geseking [00:36:24]: And I rushed the field, and I said, I'm here. I'm done. This is where I'm going to law school. And I went to college again for another 3 years, and it was amazing. So we we we we bleed maize and blue in our house. David Millili [00:36:35]: Awesome. That does it for another episode of the Modern Hotelier. This is where you get a chance to plug away, let people know how they can find out about restaurant technologies and how they can connect with you via LinkedIn or email. So plug away. Diana Geseking [00:36:48]: Awesome. Yes. Please check out our website. It's www.rtidashinc.com. It is chock full of so much information, videos, testimonials, information about our products, how to order, what they do, how to use them, of course, our sustainability efforts as well and our values. And so please check that out. Me? I'm not as interesting as as Restaurant Technologies. So you can find me on LinkedIn. Diana Geseking [00:37:16]: You can Google me. There's not a whole lot of Diana Gessickings out there in the world. But please definitely check out Restaurant Technologies. Such a great system, products for all the restaurants and back of the house kitchens out there. David Millili [00:37:28]: That does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier. So whether you're listening or watching, we appreciate you, and we'll see you soon. Thank you. Diana Geseking [00:37:36]: Thank you, guys, so much for having me. Steve Carran [00:37:38]: Thank you. Thank you. You made it to the end of the Modern Hotelier. Thanks for listening. The Modern Hotelier is produced by Make More Media. Make sure to like and subscribe if you're listening on YouTube or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. If you know a guest or sponsor that would be a good fit, feel free to email us at hello at the modern hotelier.com. If you'd like to get some Modern Hotelier merch, click the merch button on Modern Hotelier.com or click the link below. Steve Carran [00:38:09]: Thanks and have a great day.