Commercial Kitchen Must Have Features & Appliances

When starting a new business or renovating an existing commercial kitchen, it’s important to remember that everything has a purpose. 

The kitchen will be the driving force that will determine the success of your business and therefore the fit-out must accommodate all the work that is going to be involved.

A common mistake majority of restaurant owner and designers make is spending too much time, effort and budget on the dining section rather than focusing on the money maker — the kitchen.

A successful commercial kitchen is one that has been strategically put together using specific features and appliances that have been organised to allow for maximum efficiency, flow and performance. 

A good commercial kitchen is a convenient kitchen.

If you’re planning to design, renovate or buy an existing restaurant, here are the must have features and appliances, as well as some useful tips to increase efficiency, reduce risk, and ultimately run a successful kitchen.

Ergonomic design

Before we dive into the essentials it’s important to plan the entire layout of your kitchen before you start purchasing and installing. 

Ergonomic design is another way of saying ‘designed for efficiency’ and will help minimise unnecessary movement of staff while they carry out their regular duties.

If a waiter has to walk through the entire kitchen to grab a plate that’s ready to go out you’re going to have issues. Carefully consider the location of primary cooking equipment, prep and food storage areas, washbasins as well as dish and glasswashers.

Focusing on an ergonomic design maximises worker output, limits time wasted on unnecessary movement and therefore minimise accidents such as slipping and falling, food spills and accidental breakage. 

Consider where your food prep and meal cooking will take place, where food will be stored, and where the service station will be placed for ease of access.

Happy head chef = less stress = success. For this reason, ergonomic design is one of the most crucial features your kitchen must have.

Kitchen appliances

The list of kitchen appliances is endless and to list them all, well we’d be here all day and we both know neither of us has the time for that. However, what you’ll need to consider when fitting out your kitchen is how to keep it clean and the ease of maintenance. 

What do we mean by this? The material you choose will determine how much cleaning and maintenance you’ll be doing. 

For this reason, we recommend choosing appliances that are sturdy enough to withstand everyday use, but also easy to clean and maintain. High-quality stainless steel appliances and kitchenware that won’t tarnish over time is the easiest way to go.

Main kitchen appliances to consider can include ovens, ranges, burners, grills, griddles, deep fryers, freezers, fridges, food processes, blenders, mixers, slicers, salamanders, toasters and beverage brewers. You will also need to include a commercial kitchen dishwasher and glasswasher. 

Food prep and storage

If there’s one thing that chefs and kitchen staff are always complaining about it would be insufficient bench space and food storage. Inadequate food preparation space slows down the production of food, which means your customers will be kept waiting with hungry stomachs for longer. This is bad for business. 

Once again, this brings us back to the design aspect of your commercial kitchen. Making sure there is adequate food preparation and storage space will result in increased productivity and efficiency. Again, consider stainless steel for your bench tops and storage as it is easy to clean and maintain, resilient to scratches and dents, and has less chance of harbouring harmful bacteria.

Other elements to consider include commercial sinks, drying racks, shelving and cabinetry, food trolleys, and utility carts.

Commercial kitchen flooring

Apart from the daily abuse being hurled across the kitchen by stressed-out staff members, nothing takes more of a beating than your kitchen flooring. Constant spills, heavy industrial cooking equipment, extreme temperatures, steady streams of water, and heavy foot traffic — it’s safe to say when compared to head chefs sputtering, commercial kitchen flooring cops it the most. 

When searching for commercial kitchen flooring, you’ll need to consider the following:

• Safety — a slip-resistant surface 
• Sanitation — easy to clean, low maintenance, stain-resistant
• Infection control — a material that limits the growth of microbes
• Comfort — comfortable for staff to stand on for hours at a time
• Longevity — a floor that won’t disintegrate after a few years of abuse
• Budget and aesthetics — something that integrates with your interior design and branding, whilst supporting your budget

For all your commercial flooring needs

At Jupps, we pride ourselves on our ability to understand our clients requirements and needs in order to deliver solutions that benefit the business and exceed expectations. 

We supply and install a wide range of commercial kitchen flooring including Ceramic Tiles; highly durable, easy to clean and stain/slip resistant, commercial-grade vinyl floors; highly resilient, durable, cost-effective and versatile.

If you want to learn more on how we can improve your commercial kitchen’s efficiency, safety, functionality and appearance with our quality flooring, contact one of our knowledgeable professionals at Jupps Floor Coverings.