Choosing the Right Commercial Kitchen Refrigeration
There’s a huge range of different refrigeration systems, and choosing the right fridge for your setting can be overwhelming. Therefore, we will explore cold rooms and freezers so you can make an informed decision about what suits your commercial kitchen best.
Understanding Cold Rooms
Let’s start with cold rooms. Essentially, a cold room is a space that remains cool or chilled. Depending on your establishment’s size, cold rooms can range from a small cupboard to a full-sized room used for storage and prep. Typically, a small settings panel on the outside allows you to adjust the temperature and internal settings.
The main type of cold room is a walk-in. As the name suggests, you can physically walk into this chilled room. Walk-ins are generally used for storage and offer enough floor space for one or two people to move around comfortably. Some walk-ins are spacious enough to accommodate a trolley or storage cart. Shelves on each wall allow you to stack produce efficiently.
If you need something more advanced, consider combi and industrial cold rooms. Combi cold rooms have internal divisions, allowing different temperatures and settings in each section while remaining a single unit. This setup is perfect if you need to store various types of produce but lack space for multiple cold rooms with different temperatures.
An industrial cold room is a large space designed to keep a massive amount of stock and produce chilled simultaneously. These rooms are large enough for forklift trucks and pallets, providing ample space for manoeuvring. While rare in restaurants, they are more common in warehouses and food production factories.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is the modular cold room. Unlike traditional rooms, these panel-based ‘rooms’ can be built on-site and moved as needed. They fit practically any space, and if you need more room, you can connect multiple modular rooms.
Commercial Freezer Equipment
While cold rooms keep things chilled, commercial freezers are necessary for anything below 0 degrees. Many freezers operate at -16 degrees but can drop to -50 degrees, depending on storage needs.
Standard restaurants might not require such freezers. However, if you store food in front of the house for customers to see, you’ll need a display freezer. You often find these behind bars or in bakeries and cafes. They’re economical, with a low carbon footprint and cost-effective operation.
Blast chillers and freezers rapidly chill foods to prevent ice crystals when frozen. These are essential for storing pre-packaged foods like ready meals and desserts. As with most freezers, they come in various sizes and energy efficiency ratings.
For standard freezers, you have two options: cabinets and counters. Cabinets come in different sizes, from full-height to under-counter units. They feature shelves that you can arrange to store various products.
Counter freezers are multifunctional, serving as refrigerated prep stations. Like all the freezers above, they offer a choice of sizes to fit perfectly in your commercial kitchen.
Selecting the Right Refrigeration System
Every kitchen has unique needs. A bakery’s requirements differ from a pizzeria’s, just as a cafe’s needs differ from a steakhouse’s. It’s crucial to find the right refrigeration system for your business.
If you seek advice and high-quality commercial kitchen refrigeration units, consider NWCE Foodservice Equipment. They are a catering engineering company with teams that handle every aspect of the commercial kitchen, including refrigeration, ventilation, and fabrication.
