Natural gas is fueling homes, small businesses and the Kansas City economy

 

Chefs around Kansas City rely on affordable, reliable and clean natural gas for feeding families and fueling their businesses. Hear from chef Jasper Mirabile on how natural gas provides value for his business. 

To the Kansas City small business community:

"My family has had the pleasure of feeding people throughout the Kansas City community for more than 68 years. And while many things have changed, people have counted on me and my family to consistently deliver the food that they know and love each time they visit.

We’re proud to use natural gas to fuel our business, prepare our meals and feed our guests. Because it’s affordable, reliable, efficient and clean. And the precision and control it provides is superior.

But with our community looking at eliminating people’s ability to choose natural gas, I’m concerned. Not just because of the value natural gas brings to our business, but to the value that it brings to other restaurants and kitchens, other small businesses – and to people’s homes. 

Natural gas fuels what’s important to our business – consistency and excellence, perfectly timed

Natural gas is essential to Italian cuisine – and it’s essential to our business.  Only natural gas stoves and equipment provide the temperature consistency and precision that’s needed. And that translates to the taste our customers expect. 

Nearly all of the 200-300 meals we prepare each night are cooked to order and timed for natural gas cooking. Taking away our family’s energy choice and changing that now would be beyond challenging for our business.

I choose natural gas because it’s essential to my business – in an industry where consistency is important

As a chef for over 40 years, if you take away my gas stove, I can’t create and offer our guests the same product. It’s not going to finish the same, it’s not going to look the same, and it’s not going to taste the same.  Natural gas provides the precision and control when developing a superior chocolate ganache like the one for our famous Death by Chocolate dessert. And it’s essential to infusing the flavor of the shrimp into the sauce of our Scampi alla Livornese. Simply put – you cannot finish my sauces, or any of the mother sauces – on anything but natural gas. Any classically trained chef knows this - it just doesn’t taste the same.

Limiting natural gas for small businesses would be limiting to Kansas City’s growth and economy

There’s no doubt in my mind that if you tell other Kansas City chefs, restaurant owners or managers that you are going to take away their gas stoves, as a city and as a food destination, we’re going to lose. And we’re going to lose new restaurants from opening here. Small businesses, restaurant groups – they’ll look past Kansas City.

People have been coming to our restaurant for the last 68 years – and they expect the same thing every time. If there’s one change, my customers are going to notice it. My hands and my stove are my tools. If you take away half of that by taking away natural gas, I’m lost.  I can’t continue to provide the same experience and excellence to the Kansas City community.

That’s why I’m encouraging you to get engaged and have a voice in our city’s energy future – and speak up about the importance of a balanced energy approach that includes natural gas."

Spire Missouri sponsored this message.

Jasper Mirabile
Chef and restaurateur