Tips For Organizing A Commercial Kitchen

A commercial kitchen needs three things to be a well-oiled machine of prep and creativity: equipment, communication and workflow. This means that the kitchen must be laid out in such a way so that all staff, including the front staff, have great communication ability, the workflow is smooth and the equipment is available. While all kitchens should have those three principles to work properly, smaller commercial kitchens cannot function at all without all three.

According to Richard Keyes, a blogger for Foodservice Equipment and Supplies, working in a commercial kitchen can be stressful and chaotic. You can minimize this by having the proper setup.

Use Wall Space

Even large kitchens have space issues. Since space is at a premium, think outside of the box. Use wall space. Check with your supplier to find shelves that are higher than the standard 6 feet. If you have the head space in a walk-in cooler or freezer, find shelving that is as high as the ceiling.

The only things you need to watch are that you don’t forget spaces against the walls for taller equipment — start the shelving higher; and spaces against the wall for equipment that fits under worktables — be sure the worktables are open underneath so that equipment fits.

Dan Bendall, of Restaurant Hospitality, advocates flexibility. Since storage areas are the areas that tend to suffer when it comes to finding a place for everything, consider using different shelving widths and heights to make additional storage work for you.

Choosing the Proper Equipment

When you pick out equipment for your new kitchen or kitchen upgrade, don’t buy the least expensive you can find. Worktables and workbenches are usually made from stainless steel. Stainless comes in different grades. Stainless with a lower-grade number is thicker than stainless with a higher-grade number. You’ll need something heavy enough to support heavy-duty use every day. Find workstation equipment that is durable so it lasts for years.

Find shelving that fits into spaces. Don’t stick to standard shelves if your space is not standard. You’ll use more space for storage if you can find or make shelving that fits in a non-conventional corner or on a non-conventional wall.

Communication and Workflow

Communication and workflow are not necessarily synonymous. You could have an excellent solution for workflow, but the equipment may hinder communication from the front of the house to the kitchen, or between staff members in the kitchen. Make sure you use equipment that allows the work to flow smoothly between the hot and cold lines, and between the front of the house and the back. If you have more than a hot and cold line — for example, if you have an appetizer line, salad line, fish line, and hot line — your setup must allow all staff to communicate with each other and the front of the house. Keeping that area between each section of the kitchen and between the kitchen and the server area open allows you to keep the lines of communication open between the front of the house and the kitchen — and between the different prep areas in the kitchen.