Before you begin building your restaurant’s kitchen, consider the workflow and necessary kitchen items, as each restaurant’s design will have different requirements. A restaurant kitchen that is poorly planned might produce chaos and even accidents. As a result, when opening a new restaurant or redesigning an existing one, you should carefully consider your kitchen design. We design commercial kitchen layouts that suit your requirements.
A contemporary bistro, for example, will require different equipment and designs than a fast-food restaurant. As a result, when you begin designing kitchen layouts, think about all of the equipment your restaurant will require, as well as all of the necessary stations and how food will flow through your kitchen.
6 Principles of Commercial Kitchen Design
There are various goals for correctly constructing a kitchen, regardless of what type of foodservice operation you have. There are six standards to follow when designing a commercial kitchen, according to the Certified Food Service Professionals handbook:
- Modularity and Flexibility
Because a commercial kitchen is a dynamic environment, its layout should be flexible. Perhaps you updated the menu and introduced new items, or you recruited a new executive chef with a different approach than the previous one. Multi-use workstations or portable equipment could provide an adjustable work environment.
- Simplicity
Kitchens are prone to clutter, which causes confusion and poor cleanliness, all of which are detrimental to a food service company. Consider designing a kitchen with minimalism in mind to maximize space and efficiency. For example, placing server stations near the kitchen reduces trips across the dining room. At the same time, modular or drop-in equipment eliminates some corners and edges, as well as redundant shelves. Furthermore, picking the appropriate equipment and only the required accessories can save you both room and money.
- Material and Personnel flow
Although a kitchen is a bustling environment, it does not have to be chaotic. A kitchen organized around the flow of materials and staff will have a logical structure with no backtracking of employees or materials. In other words, the kitchen will work circularly.
Refrigerated and dry storage rooms, for example, should be close to the receiving area. In contrast, trash disposal and ware-washing areas should be kept distinct from the food preparation and meal cooking areas. Completed dinners will exit one side of the kitchen, while dirty dishes will enter the other.
- Ease of Sanitation
Restaurant personnel spends most of their time cleaning the kitchen. Thus having a kitchen designed for sanitation is essential. Installing wheels on your work tables and equipment, so you can move them when washing the floors and walls is a terrific method to make your kitchen easier to clean.
The most essential thing, however, is the food safety and sanitary regulations that must be followed by every food service facility. Hand washing stations must be provided in every location where food is prepared. However, they must be cleaned regularly and should not be utilized for storage. Waste disposal areas are in the same boat. To ensure that your kitchen complies with local codes, do some research.
- Ease of Supervision
When it comes to kitchen management, the executive chef has a lot on his plate. In addition to overseeing the kitchen crew, they finish dishes, prepare menus, order supplies, supervise food quality, and ensure that equipment is working correctly. An open kitchen with few or no walls or partitions allows for improved visibility, movement, and communication, making supervision easier for your executive chef or general manager.
- Efficiency of space
Because most restaurants have limited cooking space, you’ll need to figure out how to fit all of the necessary equipment into your small kitchen. Countertop equipment and other tiny products are required when creating a small kitchen for food trucks or concession stalls.
Consider which pieces of equipment are required in standard-sized kitchens with limited space. A light-duty countertop fryer, for example, is better than a large floor type if you’ll only be frying dishes a few times a day. Take care not to go too far with space-saving since a kitchen lacking the necessary equipment would drastically impede your productivity.
Developing a well-thought-out kitchen design before acquiring equipment and planning a layout will help your business succeed. A well-designed restaurant kitchen can make your employees’ jobs easier, improve the flow of your kitchen, and even avoid accidents.