Podcast Summary: Streamlining the Dirtiest Job in the Kitchen with RTI

Podcast: Restaurant Strategy
Host: Chip Klose
Guest: Ron Cardwell, Director of Commodity Strategy at RTI
Date: December 25, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into one of the most underappreciated yet crucial aspects of restaurant back-of-house operations: managing cooking oil. Host Chip Klose sits down with Ron Cardwell (“self-proclaimed oil nerd”) from Restaurant Technologies Inc. (RTI) to demystify how cooking oil selection, monitoring, handling, and disposal can be streamlined—making kitchens safer, more efficient, and more profitable. The conversation highlights why proper oil management isn’t only for large chains, dispels industry myths, and shines a light on RTI’s innovative, hands-off approach that benefits restaurants of all sizes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. RTI’s Role in Restaurant Operations

• Mission: RTI handles all cooking oil needs, from supply, handling, and filtration to safe disposal, letting operators “take the chaos out of the kitchen.” (03:57)
  • “Really what we do is we give you what you need without you even having to do anything.” — Ron Cardwell [04:18]
• Scale: RTI serves over 50,000 restaurants of all sizes across the country, not just big chains.

2. Ron’s Background: An Oil Nerd’s Journey

• Began in agricultural processing (soybean, corn, canola oils) and renewable fuels.
• Offers deep industry knowledge, approaching restaurant oil management from a scientific and supply chain perspective.
  • “It’s really been a full spectrum of what can we do with vegetable oil? That’s been my career.” — Ron Cardwell [05:23]

3. Demystifying Cooking Oil Choices

• Types of Oils: Most US restaurants use soybean, canola, or corn oil, often in blends. The choice depends on flavor profile, performance, and cost. (06:15)
• Key Considerations: Flavor impact, oil cost, and longevity in the fryer.

4. True Cost of Oil: Beyond the Commodity Price

• Obvious Cost: Price per pound/gallon.
• Hidden Costs: Cheap oil can require more frequent changes, raising the real cost. Proper handling and filtering extend oil life, saving money.
  • “If you have to change that oil three times as fast, but it's half as expensive, you're really spending more money than you need to.” — Ron Cardwell [07:48]
• Secondary Costs: Labor (handling hot oil), safety hazards, insurance risk reduction, product consistency.

5. RTI for Every Size Restaurant: Breaking Myths

• Accessible to Small Operators: Even restaurants using as little as five jugs a month can use RTI’s services, previously thought to be “for the big guys.”
  • “We have restaurants that use as little as that, that we can come in and help.” — Ron Cardwell [10:19]
• Customized Solutions: No one-size-fits-all; oil and system recommendations tailored to each operator’s menu, preferences, and budget.

6. How RTI Works: The Hands-Off Solution

• Automated Monitoring and Delivery: RTI installs tanks (about the size of a home water heater) connected to fryers by lines. Telemetry monitors levels, and RTI delivers and removes oil as needed, even at night—no order calls required.
  • “We have a telemetry system on those tanks...it'll send a message to our local depot. They'll put it on the schedule and they'll get oil delivered out.” — Ron Cardwell [14:12]
• No More Dumps: Spent oil is collected for recycling—no more greasy dumpsters.
  • “You have no more nasty dumpster out back...that's taken care of too.” — Ron Cardwell [25:35]
• Safety and Efficiency: Reduces staff injuries, insurance issues, and lets kitchen staff focus on food.

7. Navigating Oil Trends & Preferences

• Seed Oils vs. Tallow: Customer demand fluctuates, but RTI remains “oil agnostic”—they supply whatever fits the chef’s needs.
  • “Tallow is fantastic...holds up really, really well under frying conditions.... But [it’s] more expensive than soybean or canola oil and sometimes tough to get.” — Ron Cardwell [16:14]
• Fine Dining Complexity: RTI can accommodate multiple tanks for different fryer oils if justified by volume or necessity; their setup is customizable.
  • “We could put an additional tank in and just deliver two different types of oils. If that volume justifies it, then we certainly can.” — Ron Cardwell [19:51; 20:40]
• Emphasis: Respect for the chef’s or operator’s specific requirements—RTI won’t push a “universal” solution if the menu requires diversity.

8. RTI’s Philosophy: Every Kitchen Is Unique

• Not all restaurant problems are as unique as operators think—but the solutions are tailor-made.
  • “We may have seen your problems before, but they're unique for you. And you're a new unique vendor and we'll treat you that way.” — Ron Cardwell [23:03]
• Custom installation, personalized training for staff, and a focus on hospitality.

9. Getting Started with RTI

• Simple Onboarding: Reach out via website or phone. Local reps discuss needs, visit, and map a solution—information is free.
  • “At the very least, we can give you some information on email or on a phone call. Not very difficult at all.” — Ron Cardwell [25:07]
• Value of Conversation: Even if you don’t use RTI, understanding your options is worthwhile.

10. Memorable Closing Moments

• Best parting advice from Ron:
  • “Eat more fries. That’s what we say.” — Ron Cardwell [26:52]
  • Chip: “That’s probably the best answer.... Eat more fries. That’s their motto.” [27:02]

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On RTI’s Value:
  “We take the chaos out of the kitchen. Give you one less thing to worry about.”
  — Ron Cardwell [04:18]
• On Oil Cost vs. Performance:
  “If it’s wrong, everything will be wrong.”
  — Ron Cardwell [06:28]
• On Being Oil Agnostic:
  “It is not about us trying to sell an oil to you. It’s really us trying to sell a solution.”
  — Ron Cardwell [12:16]
• On Service for All Sizes:
  “You don’t have to have 25 different locations... It can be as simple as going through maybe five jugs of oil a month.”
  — Ron Cardwell [10:11]
• On Service Philosophy:
  “We have almost 50,000 restaurants that we serve... So we may have solutions for what you’re looking at that you didn’t realize were out there.”
  — Ron Cardwell [21:47]
• On Unique Installations:
  “Our technicians are just top notch and getting it out of the way in a place where you can get to it and you don’t see it, you don’t know about it.”
  — Ron Cardwell [24:21]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:57 — What is RTI and what do they do?
• 04:55 — Ron Cardwell’s unique career journey
• 06:15 — Most common oils and why selection matters
• 07:27 — Breaking down oil costs: seen and unseen
• 10:07 — RTI serves restaurants of all sizes
• 13:33 — How RTI’s monitoring/service system works
• 16:14 — Trends: seed oils vs. beef tallow
• 19:51 — Managing multiple fryer oils in complex kitchens
• 23:00 — Custom solutions & national reach
• 24:55 — How to start with RTI
• 26:52 — Closing wisdom: “Eat more fries.”

Takeaways for Restaurant Operators

• Oil management impacts your menu, safety, labor, and profit much more than you probably realize.
• RTI offers a low-labor, high-safety solution for oil handling, tailored individually, even for small operations.
• Don’t be afraid to have a vendor conversation about mundane or messy parts of your business—it could save time, money, and headaches.
• And, in the words of Ron Cardwell: “Eat more fries.”