Setting up a commercial kitchen for your business can be a big challenge. Whether you are becoming a caterer or opening a restaurant of your own, a kitchen needs to be fully functional and have specific elements to make it stand out from the crowd. Here are just some of the things you will need to think about when creating a kitchen for commercial use this year.
The cuisine
It might seem like the cuisine you choose to cook won’t matter, however different cuisines require vastly different cooking methods and this can mean that you need specific equipment to create your dishes. For example Italian Cuisine will often include pizza, and to make the best quality pizzas you will need to have a pizza oven or a pizza stone to use. For a lot of American style food you will need to make sure that you have a barbecue grill of some kind as this is often used. Make sure you properly research the cuisine you plan to make and source the best materials for it.
Set a budget
As with any other business, building a commercial kitchen will cost you money and you will need to set a budget for yourself to make sure that you are able to afford the equipment you need. Commercial cookers and freezer rooms are expensive to create so be sure to always be on the lookout for bargains and second hand pieces which you can utilise in the space.
Be aware of safety
As you will be aware, safety and hygiene is a huge part of running a kitchen and to make sure that your food is the best standard it can be, your kitchen needs to be easy to clean and sealed off from the outside to stop vermin being able to enter. Be sure that you have clear exits available for your staff because you will be working around a lot of heat and flames and this of course can be dangerous. If you can get a fire safety inspector to come and help you arrange your kitchen, this would be ideal. Make sure that you fully inspect any equipment which is already in the kitchen when you buy it, and invest in 24 hour furnace repair and boiler repair if you need it.
Quality over quantity
Make sure when you are looking into setting up a kitchen that you go for quality over quantity. Cooking equipment is the most crucial part of the kitchen and you will need to look for the best cookers, pans and pots that you can. It is better to buy less and have better facilities than to buy lots of cheap items.
Be open and visible
If you really want to pull people in to your restaurant and make them interested in your food, it can be a good idea to have an open kitchen. This will allow people to see what you are doing and it can bring an element of trust to your business.