A well-designed commercial kitchen layout will help your chefs produce high-quality meals as soon as the orders come in. It also helps your entire team’s speed and efficiency which helps you get the maximum out of your commercial kitchen.
It doesn't matter if you are opening a new restaurant or updating an older one – you need to plan carefully to get a fully functional commercial kitchen. From analysing the space you can allocate to fitting all the necessary elements in the kitchen – a good fit-out design is essential to boost your restaurant’s productivity.
In this blog, we will help you design your dream commercial kitchen – from start to end. Let’s dive in:
First, let’s look at the things you should consider while designing the kitchen layout:
- Consider Your Menu
Depending on your menu type and cuisine – you need to understand how the ingredients are stored, prepared and cooked. To have a full idea, talk to your chefs to know about their needs. They help you list the ingredients they use so that you can understand how the kitchen flow should be. - Understand the Space You Have
Not all restaurants are equipped with large kitchens. However, as a general rule of thumb, you should have a ratio of dining room to kitchen space of 60:40.
Make sure you take the measurements of your kitchen and consider where you want to have windows, electrical outlets, fire escape doors, emergency exits, and more. - Know Your Local Health Codes and Safety Regulations
Always check with the local health codes and safety regulations before you start planning the kitchen layout. Also, you need to secure proper restaurant licenses and permits like wastewater permits and dumpster placement permits before you plan your commercial kitchen.
Key Elements That Every Commercial Kitchen Should Have:
- Storage for Ingredients and Utensils
Depending on the amount of food you prepare daily, you should have a storage space to store all the ingredients and utensils. They also should be easily accessible to all the chefs who prepare the food. The more accessible they are, the faster they can prepare meals and complete your orders.
While planning a layout, consider enough space to store pantries for dry goods, commercial freezers and fridges, and cupboards to store glasses, plates, utensils and linens. - Areas for Food Preparation Must be Clean and Suitable for Multiple Tasks
The type of menu will decide the areas of food preparation in your kitchen. You should also consider guests that have certain allergies or strict dietary requirements. Accordingly, you should organise the cooking space.
While designing, you should have enough counter space, cutting tools, and storage for additional tools. You should also have separate washing areas for food so that they don’t come in contact with the food-prepping area. - Placement and Location of the Cooking Equipment Must be Optimised
The action is where the cooking station is. The prepping area should be near the cooking station and all the equipment used for cooking should be easily accessible to chefs. The cooking area should include commercial fryers, ovens, stoves, and any other things that are used by your chefs. It should also have space for additional cooking equipment for special dishes. - Staff Must have Rapid and Safe Access
All the staff in your kitchen should have rapid and safe access to different areas without causing any kind of disruption. The kitchen would get busier in peak hours so everyone should be able to roam properly without bumping into each other. The layout should be in such a way that all the staff including cleaning people should have enough room to walk around. - Adequate Space for Sorting and Handling Dishes
Finally, the layout should have adequate space for sorting and handling dishes and other dining items. Depending on the volume of food you prepare, the size of the dishes varies. You should have space to accommodate every dish and utensil you use in the kitchen.
Final Thoughts
A lot of planning goes into the design of a commercial kitchen. The fit-out contractors will help you design the perfect kitchen that satisfies all your needs. Call the best ones near your area and start planning what your commercial kitchen should look like. Hope this blog gave you an idea of where to start the planning process.
