Building a restaurant kitchen is like to putting together a large puzzle. To get the desired outcomes, it takes time and careful consideration, and all of the pieces must fit together precisely. It will be simple to see if any of the pieces are missing or placed incorrectly, and the finished product will suffer as a result. The equipment is one of the most critical pieces of the puzzle that is your restaurant’s kitchen. Each gear, from large appliances like freezers and ovens to smaller appliances like food processors and mixers, plays an important part in transforming ingredients into delectable dishes for your customers.
With so much riding on these purchases, it’s only natural to seek out as much information as possible to aid in your decision-making. That’s why we’ve put together a list of some of the most crucial things to think about when buying restaurant equipment.
- Involving the Chef
So much of what a restaurant kitchen will need in terms of equipment will be determined by the menu, and you’ll have a difficult time finding someone who knows the menu better than the chef who created it or will be executing it once the kitchen is up and running.
Your chef should at the at least provide a list of necessary equipment, but it would be even better if you could acquire their opinion on certain models or brands. Their knowledge will be useful while comparing different features and functionalities. They might even be able to save you money by preventing you from overspending on a feature that you won’t need once you get started cooking!
2. Prioritizing Your Equipment
Starting the equipment acquisition process without a defined strategy for allocating your cash can rapidly result in a price tag that is significantly greater than you anticipated.
Organizing your equipment list by which items are the most important will help you decide which items are worth investing in and which aren’t. This is a situation where your chef’s advice will be very useful.
3. Energy Efficiency
When planning a budget for new restaurant equipment, don’t merely think about the cost of each component up front. It’s also crucial to consider the long-term costs of running them, as well as the amount of energy they’ll consume.
This is especially true when choosing the items that consume the most energy, such as your refrigeration equipment, which will be on all the time! Even if it takes spending a little more up front, choosing a model that is more energy efficient will undoubtedly save you money in the long run.
4. Your Kitchen Measurements
Although the big refrigeration unit you’re considering is a great option and may even be within your budget, will it fit in your restaurant’s kitchen?
Make sure you have a clear idea of how much space you have for each piece before you start shopping, and stick to it! You might be tempted to change the overall layout of your kitchen to accommodate the unit you want, but this will almost certainly trigger a chain reaction of changes that will make the process of designing the kitchen much more difficult.
5. Your Kitchen’s Processes
Depending on the type of service provided, the flow of activity in a kitchen will vary. The cooking equipment you choose must be compatible with such activities.
Consider how food and staff will move through the kitchen and which pieces of equipment will help them do so more efficiently. For example, a normal oven may be adequate for bringing menu items to the required temperature, but it may not be the best option for a quick service restaurant with an assembly line arrangement. In this case, a conveyor oven may be the greatest option for keeping food moving in an organized fashion while it cooks.
For each important piece of equipment, use a similar thought approach. To examine how each key piece of equipment in your kitchen will add to the kitchen’s overall efficiency, use a similar thought process.
Henson Kitchens has been serving clients with commercial kitchen equipment design, supply and installations since we opened our doors more. Explore our portfolio or Contact Us for personalized help with all of your restaurant equipment needs.
Thanks for pointing out the need to have an idea about the space that you have in your kitchen before shopping for equipment. This is something that must be shared with restaurant owners, especially when they need to shop for a commercial refrigeration unit for their processes. I could imagine how they could do your tips to ensure that they won’t have a cooking area with restricted space.