A vital benchmark of any commercial kitchen enterprise is the resources that are consumed during the operation. An increasing number of restaurants are going the green route, and the benefits have been multifold. In this blog, we’d like to talk about some of the practices that these commercial kitchen planner’s Follow for sustainable restaurants.
Making Things Last:
Making the switch to reusable materials in the kitchen and dining sections of your business can have a lasting impact. Not only does this reduce costs over the long term, but it also ensures that you make the best out of whatever exists already, as opposed to repeatedly having to procure new equipment. And the changes in equipment can be as simple as switching to metal water bottles (and using a water filter) as opposed to serving plastic water bottles.
Another elegant practice that you can try and implement for kitchen produce is composting: Making use of every last scrap for a good cause. Compost can be repurposed by the restaurants, or sold at a marginal price to farmers, who don’t have to rely on artificial fertilizers for production.
Clean Resource Usage:
It’s no surprise that resources in restaurants are usually used to maximum capacity. From the cooking equipment to the dining section, and everything in between, immense amounts of electricity, gas, and water are used every hour. So where to cut down?
There are quite a few unique solutions. Commercial kitchen design and planning can help conceptualize things for you here. For instance, investing in an energy management system (EMS) can help identify where there are weak spots in the current energy map of the premises, which can then be fixed. If you have the space for it, making a switch to renewable forms of energy is beneficial.
Azurmendi, a Michelin-starred hilltop restaurant in Spain, has won multiple accolades for its sustainable practices such as rainwater harvesting, using natural light throughout the premises, and switching to solar and wind energy.
Food For Thought:
The same can apply to produce as well. Procuring organic produce consumed quickly makes for a more holistic experience for the customers, and also reduces overheads in terms of storage space or preservatives. Of course, this requires land, which can become an overhead. In such cases, simply buying directly from farmers daily is a great community engaging solution.
The world of sustainability is hugely diverse, and it helps to have someone with expertise on board. We at HPG Consulting have inhouse commercial kitchen planners to help you make the right choices towards saving our planet.