In Gas vs. Electric Stove Debate, Culinary Chef Instructor Chris Douglass Sees Promise in New Practices
Recent years have seen restaurants increasingly pivot from preparing meals on traditional gas stoves to electric ones, as concerns about emissions and climate change climb. In fact, Massachusetts cities like Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, and Newton have either enacted or announced plans to ban the use of fossil fuels in new buildings and significant renovations.
But there are roadblocks to adopting electric stoves as the new standard. It is expensive, restauranters say, and as Chris Douglass—who teaches in MET’s Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts, part of BU’s Programs in Food & Wine—sees it, there’s a learning curve to using electric induction stoves instead of the familiar thermal ones.
“Learning induction is a hurdle,” Douglass, also chef-owner of Tavolo, told the Boston Globe in a recent story spotlighting the trend. While he still prefers to use gas, he says that mastering electric results in precise cooking, and that he expects food professionals to eventually embrace the new technology. “I think induction is inevitable and has some great qualities,” he says.
Read more in the Boston Globe