Top Tips for Commercial Kitchen Design and Installation | NWCE
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Top tips for commercial kitchen design and installation

Top tips for commercial kitchen design and installation

When planning a commercial kitchen, there are a few specific things that need to be considered. You need a layout that is not only efficient, but somewhere that is safe for all staff to work  and somewhere that produces minimal wastage of not only space but materials as well. 

Every kitchen will have different needs, so it’s important to remember that some of the designs in this article may not  be relevant to your specific commercial kitchen set up. 

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN DESIGN

Before you dive into how you’re going to decorate the customer facing side of your business or you start thinking about all the fancy new pieces of catering equipment you’re going to buy, you first need to think abut these three things. 

  • Health and Safety

Commercial kitchens are subjected to a massive amount of different health and safety rules and regulations. It’s important to understand how your kitchen needs to be set out and ran in order to tick all of the official boxes that need to be ticked. 

  • Essential Equipment

We have seen it time and time again where brand new kitchens go out and buy every single piece of catering equipment out there that they think they might need, then when it comes to it, there will only be a few key pieces that you will need on a daily basis. Look at the space you have available, the budget you have and really think about what you will use and what you might be planning on buying just for buying’s sake. 

  • Layout 

Having a successful layout will not only help with the efficiency and speed of your kitchen, but it also ensures that everyone working in and around your kitchen is working safely. Think about how your staff will be moving around the kitchen and set in out in a way that would benefit them. 

Talking about layout, there are 5 key areas that need to be included in your commercial kitchen set up. 

  • Food Prep 

You need a separate section for any preparation of foods to avoid cross contamination.  Your raw food and cooked food prep areas need to be separated. The prep areas are normally placed in between any storage and  the main cooking area for efficiency. 

  • Food Service 

The food service area is in place to store food prior to service. The compartments can either be heated or chilled to accommodate all food types. 

  • Cleaning Areas 

Dishwashers, warewashers, sink etc are all a part of your cleaning area. You will need to keep your cleaning area distant to your waste disposal areas, again to avoid any cross contamination. 

  • Storage Areas 

It’s standard to have different chilled storage spaces for different produce. That way nothing gets contaminated and you know where each different produce will be stored. Dried goods need to be stored somewhere that has a ventilation system to avoid any damp issues.

  • Ventilation Systems 

Depending on the layout of your kitchen equipment and whether you chose to use gas equipment, your ventilation system will need to be tailored to that. There are very strict rules surrounding ventilation systems, so it’s worth ensuring that you are meeting all of these rules. 

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN INSTALLATION

When it comes to materials, the standard metal used in commercial kitchen fabrication is stainless steel and that’s for good reason. Not only is it hard wearing and durable, it is safe to use during food preparation and it can withstand high temperatures which is key in a busy commercial kitchen. You can use stainless steel in practically every single section of your kitchen, from prep tables, to sinks to your commercial equipment.  

Stainless steel is a low carbon metal which means it’s gives you protection against any corrosion and stains. And when it comes to cleaning stainless steel, you don’t need to use harsh chemical cleaning solutions, simple soapy water does the job. Due to non porous properties of stainless steel, there is no risk of any harmful bacteria being  left over on the surfaces. 

When it comes to maintenance, stainless steel is a material that requires very little maintenance. You may find that your surfaces have small scratches or small signs of wear and tear after intensive usage, but these can be removed with a soft cloth and an appropriate metal cleaner. 

Commercial Kitchen Designers 

After that overload of information, you may be wondering where do you start with planning a commercial kitchen design? Well why not get in contact with a catering engineering company such as NWCE Foodservice Equipment? They are a full service team of commercial catering engineers who will be able to guide you through the entire kitchen creation process. They have a sales and design team that have been in the foodservice industry for decade! 

The process begins with a meeting at a time that suits you and your kitchen team. You can then talk through the features that you would like in you commercial kitchen, the budget you have available and any other feature that you think will be important to talk about at this first stage. The team will then measure up your available space and go and create some drawings so that you can get an idea of what your future kitchen set up will look like. 

Once the go ahead has been given, then the fabrication team will come in to do the hard work. They will fit all surfaces, catering equipment and any accessories that you have asked for. Once it’s all fitted, the fully trained catering engineers will be able to connect all the equipment up to any gas lines or electricity supplies. They really do all the work for you, all you and you kitchen team have to do is come in, ready and prepared to create some amazing food for your new customers. 

If you’re looking into creating a brand new kitchen, or maybe your current kitchen just needs to be updated, then restaurant kitchen designers such NWCE Foodservice Equipment are always on hand to help! 

CHECK OUT OUR RELATED BLOGS!

WHAT YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHEN PLANNING A COMMERCIAL KITCHEN DESIGN

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO KITCHEN VENTILATION AND EXTRACTION SYSTEMS

HOW TO MAKE YOUR COMMERCIAL KITCHEN WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR YOUR KITCHEN

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN DESIGN 101

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