What Equipment Do You Need For A Commercial Kitchen?

Starting or renovating a restaurant kitchen is both an exciting and stressful task. Every restaurant owner knows that the success of a business depends on the kitchen. Kitchen equipment provides the opportunity to meet these business needs.

What equipment is needed for a commercial kitchen?  Some must-have equipment for a commercial kitchen is cooking ranges, refrigeration, food processor, dishwashers, kitchen benches & storage, cookware, crockery, ventilation, and safety appliances. 

In the planning, carefully consider the place of essential cooking equipment, because at times, with the managing pressure, it is relatively easy to overlook the vital kitchen equipment. To prevent this, we have put a list of kitchen equipment and appliances to make the job easier. 

Equipments for Commercial A Kitchen

01. Ovens & Ranges

Ovens are an essential part of any kitchen, and the type of range depends on the type of restaurant and the food you are offering. Selecting the right oven is a long process, so consider the following factors for choosing a range.

• Size: The available space in the kitchen determines the right size you are looking for. Planning for the kitchen layout and food preparation during service will help you know the oven’s space. 
• Quality: Ranges and ovens are essential equipment in the kitchen, so choosing a durable can make a big difference between success and failure. Please take a look at the reviews, warranty, and service agreement that come with it. 
• Function: It mainly depends on the type of food you are offering at the restaurant. The first step is to decide on a gas or electric oven. Second, if you need it for a bakery or coffee shop, then your requirements will differ from a restaurant.
• Types: Before choosing a type of oven, make a list of serving foods; this will filter the choices. Most restaurants need a standard commercial oven that is ideal for even cooking and baked dishes. A convection oven is suitable for bakeries and ideal for baking pastries, cookies, and bread. 

Besides, a conveyor is ideal for a pizza or a sandwich shop. In this type of oven, food passes through a belt and gets cooked at a certain temperature. 

02. Burners

Burners come in different designs and variations. Commercial burners have more firmness, are convenient, and are easy to clean. For choosing the right one, keep in mind the current and future needs.  

03. Grills

Grills are designed to meet the needs of a busy commercial kitchen, available in gas and charcoal, and both are quick, durable, and strong. Also available in stand or countertop variations. 

Commercial grills are available in four following different variations.

Flat Grills: The flat grills can be placed on the counters, moved around if needed, and are ideal for the kitchen without a gas facility. 

Charbroilers: Available in electric, gas, and liquid propane types and three size variations. The medium size is perfect for a low-to-medium size restaurant, and heavy-duty is designed for high-volume restaurants.

Panini Grills: These grills are available in Aluminum, cast iron, and non-stick material plates. Aluminum will heat up quickly and is suitable for small restaurants. Cast iron takes more time to heat up and keep heat for a long time. For convenience and ease, use non-stick grills to avoid food from sticking. 

Outdoor Grills: These grills come with an extra add-on shelf, and a dome cover retains the heat inside for more even cooking. It has an outdoor cover to protect the elements. Moreover, wind guards and removable legs make it a more convenient piece of equipment for the restaurant.

04. Griddles

Griddles are also an essential part of a kitchen. Available in three variations on their function bases.

• Teppanyaki: These are ideal for cooking hibachi style food as heat is in the middle of the cooking surface for even distribution. 
• Drop-in: These griddles work well on countertops to act as convenient cooking space.
• Outdoor: Outdoor griddles give a flat cooking surface for cooking foods in the restaurant or outside for the events.

05. Deep Fryers

Floor and countertop fryers are most popular nowadays; both are available liquid propane and natural gas.

They have an automatic top-off to keep an oil level even and ready to cook. Basket lift, raise the basket to ensure that food is perfectly cooked. To increase the lifespan of oil, use a built-in filtration system.

06. Refrigeration

Refrigeration is necessary to keep the food fresh and to avoid any health & safety violations. Always invest in quality refrigeration appliances.

Freezers 

There are many types of freezers to fulfill the needs of a commercial kitchen, which balance function and space, following are some categories of the freezer based on their structure.

• Chest: They have spring-loaded lids used in the kitchen that require a specific freezer potential and have a capacity of hundreds of litres.
• Upright: These are the solutions for the kitchen where space is essential and accessible to food items.
• Under-Counter: Ideal for space-saving and easy to access frozen food items, work well in a busy kitchen, durable and also available in multi or single doors.
• Counter: These freezers provide extra space by adding preparation or storage in the kitchen. 

Fridges

In a commercial kitchen space matters a lot: fortunately, refrigerators are designed to meet these needs. There are four following types.

• Upright fridges are best for small kitchens, which come in different varieties of single, double and colours.
• Counter fridges provide productive refrigeration with the benefit of increasing space.  
• Best for limited kitchen spaces, as it is practical, reliable and additional equipment like ovens and grills can be placed on it.

Ice Makers

A commercial kitchen is not complete without an ice-maker, because it will be helpful to serve cold drinks on a large scale. This equipment makes ice continuously, so it is ready to use and serve anytime. It can be divided into portions according to the kitchen plan into an ice bin or a soda fountain.

This refrigeration equipment can also be used to make ice drinks like slushies, smoothies, and margaritas. 

07. Ventilation

Sometimes, commercial kitchens can be uncomfortable or filled with too many people or things. A ventilation system helps to control temperature and manage airflow throughout the kitchen, and create a pleasant, healthy, and clean environment. 

Keep in mind the following factors when choosing a ventilation system:

• Static Pressure: This is the resistance against moving air through the ventilation system. Static pressure is the key to maintaining proper airflow, and also saves energy.
• Air Flow Rate: The rate of air which flows through the ducts. Grilling and cooking on open flame requires more ventilation than making pasta.
• Energy Efficiency: Choosing the optimal balance with the fan’s power is necessary for attaining efficiency. If the fan’s motor has less power, it will burn out quickly. But if the motor is overpowered, it will waste too much energy.
• Noise: Ventilation system can be noisy and add noise to an already noisy kitchen. Loudness is measured in “sones”, and an optimal ventilation loudness should be 7-21 sones. Indeed, the loudness of a fan should also be considered when you are choosing a ventilation system.
• Size: To place a ventilation system also depends on the available space in the kitchen. Also remember that the size of the kitchen for the ventilation system, this should be part of the kitchen layout plan.

08. Food Processor

A food processor is used for shredding, chopping, slicing, pureeing, and grinding various food items. These are three main types of food processors that are very valuable for a commercial kitchen. 

• Buffalo Chopper: These metallic and heavy-duty processors can quickly process meat; this is not recommended for all of the kitchens.  
• Continuous Feed Processor: In this type of processor, you can add more items while it is running and processed food goes into another bowl- this is an ideal choice for every commercial kitchen. 
• Batch Bowl Processor: The most common type of processor, usually used in homes, it gathers food as it’s processed. You can drop food vertically and choose your desired cut type.  Moreover, you can remove the bowl and empty its stuff.

09. Mixers

If you are providing dessert or bread, you need a commercial mixer for making them. Choosing the right mixer for your kitchen depends on the food volume and usage.

• Countertop Mixer: Countertop mixers are perfect for bakeries, small restaurants and homes. These are great for small space and low-volume kitchens. 
• Floor Mixer: The floor mixer is famous for the commercial setting. These are so powerful that you can mix large amounts of food in a short time. Floor mixers are perfect for the high-volume kitchens that are planning to use it regularly. 
• Hand Mixer: A hand mixer or blender is also known as an immersion blender or stick mixer. Since these mixers are handheld and are suitable for blending sauces and soups, with the help of a hand mixer you can mix or chop food speedily. 

10. Slicers

Slicers are excellent equipment for slicing cheese and meat. These are not needed in every kitchen. It will be convenient if you are offering anything like a sandwich or platters.

Consider the following points in mind when buying a slicer for your kitchen.

• Light, medium or heavy-duty
• Manual or automatic
• Horsepower
• Blade size

11. Food Prep Cutting Boards & Counters

Prep counters, tables, and cutting boards are crucial elements for any restaurant kitchen. They are used continuously to prepare different types of food, so you need something that is multi-purpose and durable. 

Stainless steel counters are best for prep counters, as they are strong, won’t absorb any bacteria, and are resistant to any cleaning product you throw on them.

As far as the cutting board is concerned, plastic will be the best, because plastic is not full of pores like wood and makes it difficult to hide bacteria in these pores. Plastic cutting boards are convenient, easy-to-clean and prevent cross-contamination. 

Tip- Color-code these cutting boards based on the food you prepare on it, like one for vegetables and one for meat. 

12. Safety Equipment

Health and safety is the priority in this business, to ensure the safety of staff and customers stock a large amount of following essential safety items.

• Fire extinguishers 
• First aid kits 
• Rubber floor mats 
• Wet floor signs 
• Apron 
• Oven mitts 
• Hairnets

13. Storage & Shelving

Every kitchen needs shelves and storage space for utensils, food, and other items. Your storage space should be based on importance and reliability, because this is not such a thing you can change or replace, so your priority should be choosing the right material.

You have various material choices from wire, epoxy, coated, chrome and stainless steel. These choices depend on the usage, preference and budget.

If mobility is necessary, then choose a mobile storage rack instead of fixed or combination of both, this will be very convenient if you need to move storage racks.

Also, arrange the storage shelves and racks properly so that you can find desired items easily. 

14. Cooking Equipment

In a busy kitchen, you do not have time to wash a tasting spoon again and again. You should have arranged enough quantity in a shift. Make sure you have the following cooking items to carry out a change without washing dishes:

• Mixing and tasting spoons
• Pans and pots
• Mixing bowls
• Chef Knives
• Spatulas
• Tongs
• Baking pans
• Rags
• Towels

Just imagine your kitchen sink breaks down and all the utensils are dirty, so you need that in the right quantity.

15. Servingware

Every good chef knows that you need the right utensils to serve food. You need to store bowls of all shapes and sizes, cups, glasses, cutlery, and plates you need. Be prepared for any eventual breakage.

These are essential serving ware that you need to purchase for the commercial kitchen:

• Dishware: platters, plates, bowls and serving dishes.
• Glassware:  drinks, water, cocktail, and dessert.
• Flatware: knives, spoons and forks.
• Linens: napkins and tablecloths.
• Displayware: baskets, tasting dishes and appetizers.

The quantity of serving ware depends on the restaurant size and type of dishes you are offering. 

Consider the following points before ordering dishware. 

• Table turnover rate
• Available seats in the restaurant
• Serving dishes
• Most popular dishes
• How many customers do you expect?

16. Storage Container

The success of a restaurant depends on minimizing food wastage; this means that you should have proper food storage containers and establish best practices. For different types of foods, you should have a variety of storage containers. 

For all of those reasons, store these items:

• Vegetable crisper to keep the food fresh
• Large bins to store dry items like flour
• Canisters for storing a small number of items like sugar or coffee
• Dough Box for keeping the unbaked dough

Moreover, stock up these things with sharpies or label tape, so it will become convenient for you to identify their best before the expiry date.

17. Sinks

There are three primary purposes of the sink in commercial kitchen dishwashing, handwashing and food preparation. To meet the health and safety regulations, you need certain types of sinks and dishwashers.

These are the types of sinks you need in your kitchen:

• Compartment sink: These sinks are available in different varieties, and if you are choosing a multi-compartment, you can use each compartment for a specific task like hand washing or dishwashing. 
• Bar sink: Bar sinks are generally placed on a lower level for convenience and used to empty drinks or other activities. It has a speed rack that helps easy access during drink prep.  
• Hand Wash sink: These small sinks are generally designed to wash hands, so your staff do not contaminate other sinks.  
• Mop sink: These sinks can be placed on the floors; these sinks are also known as janitorial sinks and used for filling buckets and drain mops. 
• Portable sink: They are used outside of the restaurant and come without a faucet or hand washing carts. 

18. Washing Equipment

If you want to keep your kitchen neat and clean, just soap and water are not necessary for the commercial kitchen. Store these items to ensure that your kitchen is up to date on every shift. 

• Mops
• Rags
• Sponges
• Brushes
• Cleaning chemicals

How to source these essential kitchen equipment?

Kitchen equipment is costly, and the costs can increase if you buy large appliances first. To keep the prices low, most restaurant owners prefer to buy used kitchen equipment. Like other things in this restaurant business, there are pros and cons of each option.

Advantages of buying used kitchen equipment

• Low cost because of attenuate
• You can get barely used items with a great deal. 
• Easy to find used items on low prices

Disadvantages of buying used kitchen equipment

• It includes unseen damage with no warranty.
• You are responsible for any damage.
• Less quantity and selection problem

Conclusion

Each commercial kitchen is different from others and has particular needs depending on the type of food and customers. When you are looking for equipment as a manager or owner, keep in mind personal needs and priorities. 

Before buying expensive products like refrigerators and ovens do research, compare it with others and also look for reviews will be the best way.