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Crucial Design Areas in a Commercial Kitchen

Kitchen Design AreasThe kitchen is the beating heart of your restaurant. If it is not designed with efficiency and safety in mind, it will affect the productivity of your business.

There are a few critical areas, which can help to ensure that your kitchen is efficient.

 

Crucial Kitchen Design Areas

The Menu

One of the most crucial factors that will determine the design of your kitchen is the menu. If you are not the chef, consult with the chef about what equipment they require to process meals. After discussing the equipment needed, meet with the design team and have him or her share their vision. It will help you decide where to place a specific piece of equipment.

The Floor Plan

When designing a commercial kitchen, you need to ensure that the floor plan is functional. Take time to consider where everything should be. Think about how everyone will work in the kitchen and they will be moving in the kitchen. Besides that, think about the pieces of equipment that need to be used together.

 

Some of the areas in the floor plan that you need to think about are:

The Preparation Area

The holding stations and the worktables will determine the size and position of the preparation area. The worktables at most kitchens are made of stainless steel to meet the health standards for cleanliness and sanitation. It is the area where the chef chops, slices, cuts, and peels food. This area is usually found in the middle of the kitchen to keep traffic flowing. Holding stations in this area include the cabinets and refrigerators. Food is prepared and returning to the holding cabinets as it waits to be served to guests.

The Cooking Area

The choice of the stove is usually determined by the function, design, and food hygiene regulations. The most common stove design is a gas stove. Most chefs prefer this since it is easy to control the flame. Whatever stove you decide to use, ensure that it has a sufficient ventilation system and it does not slow down food traffic.

The Food Service Area

Ensure that you have enough space for the pepared dishes and service staff. It is essential to make an accurate assessment of how much space you will need in this area.

The Washing Area

This area needs to be as close to the dining area as possible. It ensures that dishes can be cleared with ease. The cleaned dishes can then be moved from the dishwasher back to the kitchen service area.

 

The other design factors that will influence your commercial kitchen are:

Ventilation

In a business kitchen, having adequate airflow is essential. The reason for this is that the kitchen is a source of steam, gas, and heat. Some of the ventilation systems can be ceiling mounted while others are wall mounted. Also, others are installed on an island. Whichever ventilation system you decide to use, ensure that you understand the grease filters it utilizes.

The Flooring Materials

Health and safety regulations limit the type and style of flooring material you can use. The most common option is sheet vinyl. This material does not have seams where bacteria can grow. Besides that, it is quite easy to mop and dry. Another popular option is rubber floors because of their non-slip characteristic.

The Countertops and Cabinets

The most common option is stainless steel countertops. Ensure that you double-check the kind of material allowed if you are planning to set up a commercial kitchen. Ensure that you have enough storage in your cabinets or storage areas.

The Lighting

Having great lighting is essential for a functional kitchen. Without the right light, it can be hard to determine if food has been adequately prepared. Add canopy hood lighting above cooking areas, worktables and service areas.

The Fire Extinguisher

Having the correct amount of fire extinguishers for your kitchen size is crucial. Ensure that they are placed within easy reach and that members of staff know how to use them. A fire assessment is often required by law, and it should be carried out by a qualified assessor. If it isn’t, the assessment may not be valid. During the assessment, a professional will go through your kitchen and identify any potential fire hazards. You will also learn what steps to take to keep a fire from breaking out.

The Inspection

Before you begin building your kitchen, take the plans to a qualified planning regulation contractor. Discuss whether your plans are likely to be approved or not. If any issues are raised with the design, give them serious consideration.

 

The Design Principles

If you are thinking of upgrading a commercial kitchen, these principles can prove quite useful. Think about them when creating the kitchen of your dreams.

Modularity and Flexibility

The restaurant kitchen is going to be quite dynamic. Thus, any design you come up with should be able to accommodate any future changes. For instance, if add new dishes or hire a new chef that prefers to use specific equipment, you may need to make changes. Otherwise, if your kitchen is not modular and flexible, future adjustments may prove quite expensive.

The Flow of Personnel and Material

The kitchen is going to be quite busy. Thus, you need to ensure that material and people can flow with ease. In short, your kitchen should operate in a cyclic system. It will mean things come in through one point and exit through the other without causing any snarl-ups. Not only does it help to keep the kitchen safe, but it also minimizes time wastage.

Simplicity

Clutter and kitchens go hand in hand. However, clutter confuses and leads to time wastage. Whichever design you choose, simplicity must be at its core. Not only will it ensure efficiency, but it will also help you save money.

Sanitation

This activity takes the second most amount of time in the kitchen besides cooking. It is thus essential to optimize the hygiene to save as much time as possible. Use finishes that make it easy to clean. Besides that, your food hygiene has to meet set regulated standards. It helps to keep the food safe for guests. Waste disposal is also necessary. All kitchen waste must be disposed of in a manner that does not lead to contamination of the fresh food.

The Ease of Supervision

The head chef will have to inspect what everyone is doing in the kitchen. His job includes monitoring food quality, finishing dishes, designing the menu, controlling the supply of materials and ensuring all equipment is working. To make things easy for the chef, design a kitchen that makes it easy for him or her to supervise staff. Thus, he/she does not have to spend almost all of his time trying to babysit the team. Instead, he can focus on other aspects of the kitchen.

There are many other aspects of designing your commercial kitchen. However, the factors mentioned above and principles are at the core of a great kitchen. Take time to go over all of them if you are planning to establish a restaurant with an excellent cuisine.