
When it comes to running a food business, only in-depth knowledge of food won't cut it. Even the most efficient staff, the most extravagant menu, and the most exotic ingredients won't increase your efficiency if your kitchen isn't working as a perfect symphony. Let's find out the main components of a commercial kitchen that will aid you in your quest for a harmonious food business.
The Right equipment
If you thought expenses only included the cooking ingredients and a good area on a lease, think again. At the end of the day, customers want great food; but they also want it on time.
All the machines that go into the commercial kitchen run the show as they increase efficiency and speed. A significant chunk of your investment will include spending on these primary machines like an oven, dishwashers, cooking ranges, deep fryers, juicers, mixers, and grinders.
The key, of course, is to spend on the essentials first. When business volume looks up, you can invest in more expensive machinery. Repairs might be a more budget-friendly option instead of buying brand new equipment. Get your commercial oven or commercial dishwasher repaired or installed easily from us.
Efficient cooking areas
Needless to say, it's both essential and tough to create a food preparation area that doesn't have people bumping into each other and getting burnt. However, you can't have unused space as well. The idea is to keep the preparation area divided according to the food preparation procedure. For instance, there should be sinks and cutting areas for the fresh produce to be washed, peeled, and cut. You'll have the cooking ranges next to this, where the actual magic happens. You'll want plenty of counter space next to the ranges to keep finished and raw products. Ideally, all your counters should be stainless steel. Depending on what you're cutting, the cutting station should have plenty of cutting boards in the right colour—for instance, blue for fish, green for veggies, and red for meat.
If you have an extensive menu with a variety of cooking methods, you might even consider different stations. For instance, a sauté station, a deep frying station, and a pizza station with a commercial oven will all contribute to an organised workflow.
Your kitchen should work like a well-oiled machine if you've got the cooking area right.
Plenty of thoughtful storage
You might think storage is just a cupboard that you stuff up to the brim and take what you need. However, efficient storage can play a significant role in your day-to-day operations. An organised storage area can increase the speed of operations. When inventory and storage are done right, it can also prevent wastage of food and excess pilferage. Dry storage will be separate from cold storage like walk-ins and deep freezers. Deep freezers and walk-ins can help you on a busy day since you can make high-demand products like sauces beforehand and freeze them.
There will also be a non-food storage area that will house any disposables, dishes, backup equipment, machine spare parts, and other miscellaneous items.
A neat cleaning area
Of course, this would be near the entrance of the kitchen so waiters can quickly drop off the dishes. It will feature large sinks, dishwashers, drying racks, and dishwashing soap. It would help if you had plenty of rubber mats in this area to prevent slippage. Of course, a commercial dishwasher will prevent a large amount of wet mess that manual dishwashing brings.
A service station
A service station will again be near the entrance of the kitchen and be where the final garnishing is done on stainless steel countertops. The kitchen order ticket machine is usually propped here, and the chef reads out orders as they come. This area should be free of any hurdles, as you don't want any finished product toppling over the last minute. It's also essential this area is kept as clean as possible.
A chef's office
This might be an optional addition to have, but it's preferred. The head chef or sous chef can plan out the day's operations here. They can also create schedules for the week and take a closer look at what is and isn't working in the menu. Any meetings are usually held here for the kitchen staff, and the notice board outside indicates any reminders or intimations for the future.
Great staff
You might be thinking this is an obvious one, but the great staff is not all about skill when it comes to commercial kitchens. Commercial kitchens require patience and problem-solving abilities, but skill and experience are just as important. Often kitchens can have a huge turnover if the staff isn't appropriately appreciated. Make sure to keep them happy and teach lessons that they can embody in their work ethic.
While these are the main physical components of a commercial kitchen, it is essential to remember a good design and layout are key to smooth operations. Here are some possible layouts you can use according to the type of restaurant you have:
An Open kitchen
An open kitchen is getting more popular due to the attractive theatrics it offers the guests. In the age of social media, it gives the customers a chance to post stories on social media. Thus, it attracts plenty of crowds. Examples may include sushi restaurants, ice cream places as well as pizza parlours where the food is prepared right in front of you. A salad bar or Subway place is a perfect example of a signature Open kitchen where the theatrics of preparing food involve the customer in the process and makes them feel special too.
Assembly line
These are designed to increase speed and efficiency, and thus, counters are placed in lines. Each chef remains stationary, simply doing the one job they have been assigned multiple times. The advantage is that you get an organized workflow. But the downside remains your workers will soon get bored of acting on a conveyor belt, and your product might diminish in quality.
However, fast-food restaurants follow an assembly line, and the result is the same each time. This is because products are pre-prepared and need only be finished.
Zone style
This layout of the kitchen puts all cooking methods in separate zones. This creates an organization that isn't repetitive and keeps all workstations clean and standardized. For instance, in a health food café, you would have a different station for salads and another one for steaming vegetables and chicken. While this may seem like the perfect model, it might leave room for accidents if there is too much movement from one station to the next. You should keep related zones together to keep the movement to a minimum. For example, the frying station should be next to the sauté station and so on.
That's it, folks!
We hope you have learned all about the main components of successful commercial kitchens. Apart from physical components, systematic future planning, a good work ethic, and plenty of hard work are also what will drive your kitchen to success. If you are just getting started and want to install a new commercial kitchen, check out our services.