The format of your business kitchen is a crucial a part of supporting your back-of-house (BOH) and their future workflow throughout busy occasions. Whether or not you are a seasoned restaurant operator beginning a renovation or a brand new proprietor making ready to kickstart their opening plans, your restaurant kitchen format must be particularly designed for each meals security and effectivity.
Not each restaurant has the identical wants. Simply as each menu is exclusive, each kitchen has its personal format options. Apart from bettering the BOH work course of, a well-thought-out business kitchen format additionally streamlines the visitor expertise. From faster turnaround occasions to decreased meal miscommunications, your kitchen format has a huge effect on the standard that comes out of your restaurant.
Prepared to start out designing for restaurant success?
What are the 5 fundamental parts of a business kitchen?
Earlier than you hunker down with design plans and format concepts, you have to take into account the must-haves of your restaurant kitchen. Relying in your restaurant’s distinctive idea, chances are you’ll end up including to this record, nonetheless, these are baseline to start out your planning course of.
These are the parts that your restaurant kitchen must include to operate easily all year long:
1. Cleansing
Nothing goes by dishes as quick as a busy restaurant and if you cannot sustain, cooks will not be capable of get meals out to prospects as rapidly as they will — doubtlessly backing up your entire restaurant.
Make sure that your kitchen has the mandatory gear to assist it run, This contains business dishwashers, drying racks and three-compartment sinks for laundry utensils. Ideally, the cleansing and washing station can be close to the kitchen entrance to make sure that servers can simply drop off used dishes with out strolling by and disrupting the kitchen house.
2. Storage
Your business kitchen will need to have designated areas for storage, which additionally requires further thought attributable to security and meals contamination requirements. Kitchens retailer a variety of things, from meals (perishable and dry items) to cooking gear to cleansing provides. Every of these things wants its personal house.
This implies business fridges and freezers for perishable meals, pantries for dry items and cabinets for kitchen gear. Cleansing provides must be accessible however saved individually from the entire above for security causes.
3. Meals preparation
Meals preparation requires a number of areas attributable to contamination security, buyer meals allergy symptoms and buyer dietary necessities. Every designated meals prep space must have the next:
- Enough counter areas
- Kitchen instruments
- Space for storing
For effectivity, attempt to hold your meals preparation space close to the kitchen fridge. This helps minimize down time as BOH employees go between the 2 to prep elements to your menu. In the meantime, for security causes, hold meals preparation areas additional away from cleansing areas, akin to the place soiled dishes are dropped off.
4. Cooking
That is the place the magic occurs! Relying in your restaurant’s menu, you will want house and designated areas to your essential cooking gear. Most eating places will embrace ovens, stoves and business fryers.
Nonetheless, when you supply distinctive or stylish dishes that want their very own gear, be sure you word that in your restaurant design. For instance, in case your restaurant makes a speciality of shawarma, you will want an space with vertical broiler machines.
Your cooking stations must be damaged down and outlined primarily based on the restaurant menu’s wants (eg, frying, grilling, baking, and many others.).
Apart from business cooking gear, a restaurant proprietor could take into account different cooking equipment to assist BOH employees. One choice is to equip a digital kitchen order system (KDS) to digitally show order tickets. This may help cut back miscommunications and ticket errors between front-of-house (FOH) and BOH groups.
5. Service
As dishes are accomplished, they want a closing space to be plated, garnished and handed off to servers. That is your service station.
Each restaurant proprietor ought to place their service space on the very entrance of the kitchen to streamline the switch of dishes between BOH and FOH employees. This may enhance meals output, cut back foot site visitors within the kitchen and minimize down on time.
As dishes are accomplished for tables, this service space must also be geared up with warmth lamps to maintain plates and meals heat earlier than they’re served.
In case your restaurant follows a buffet-style mannequin, you will must have the right show gear to point out meals choices to prospects. These should embrace heaters or chilled parts to make sure every meals merchandise is correctly saved.
5 restaurant format designs to encourage you
You have constructed out your business kitchen’s fundamental parts, now it is time to take into account the format you’d wish to emulate. What’s the greatest configuration of the principle kitchen parts inside your restaurant ground plan?
Each business kitchen has its personal distinctive quirks and format particulars, however there are established format examples that may allow you to isolate the suitable design to your kitchen.
Get impressed and begin designing primarily based on these 5 traditional restaurant layouts:
1. Island format
The island format facilities the meal cooking within the kitchen and builds all different parts round it. Because the identify implies, any such kitchen has an island in the midst of the ground plan, which accommodates all kitchen gear (eg, grills, ovens, fryers, and many others.).
In the meantime, all non-cooking stations are positioned on the perimeter of the business kitchen. These stations are positioned within the order of the cooking course of (cleansing, storage, meals preparation after which service).
An island format works greatest for a restaurant kitchen that’s square-shaped with ample kitchen house to stop the island from obstructing footpaths. Nonetheless, a restaurant proprietor can customise this format to work for different ground plan shapes.
Many select this format as a result of it streamlines communication (everybody can hold monitor of one another and keep linked) and it is simpler to wash.
2. Open format
You have most likely encountered an open format kitchen many occasions in your life. It is a standout kitchen for purchasers as a result of it, because the identify suggests, is open to the eating room. Prospects can watch meals being made and hold monitor of the entire motion after they enter any such restaurant.
If you happen to’re not already designing for an open kitchen, however need to pursue this feature, it is usually simpler than you assume — only a matter of taking down a wall or two. To make sure buyer security, an open format retains the cooking gear and home equipment within the farthest house from the eating room. As a restaurant proprietor, chances are you’ll select to include a glass partition as an additional precaution between the 2 rooms. This could forestall any spontaneous hygiene points (for instance, a diner with a cough) from getting into the kitchen house.
A serious good thing about this format is that it is basically dinner and a present. Company can order meals, watch or not it’s ready after which benefit from the outcomes. It additionally opens up eating rooms to make them seem bigger and extra welcoming, which is advantageous for smaller restaurant areas.
3. Meeting line format
An meeting line is a superb choice for eating places that must serve massive numbers of individuals rapidly all through their open hours. This sort of business kitchen has a middle island the place all meals preparation to meal cooking to service occurs in a single line. Every station has a delegated employees that’s accountable for a single part on this course of.
In the meantime, cleansing and storage areas might be positioned behind the meeting line to keep away from complicating the cooking workflow.
From begin to end, this design prioritizes pace and effectivity by slicing foot site visitors and serving time. It is best used for menus with related varieties of meals that may be ready merely and systematically. Assume build-your-own pizza eating places and fast-casual eating places like Chipotle.
One of the best a part of an meeting line kitchen format is the effectivity. It really works with the pure movement of meal preparation whereas using a smaller quantity of house.
4. Zone-style format
A zone-style format, additionally known as a zoning format, divides the kitchen into separate zones for every fundamental part. Sometimes, these zones are arrange with every part’s main gear (eg, dishwasher for cleansing) positioned alongside the zone’s partitions.
For greatest follow, the restaurant operator normally locations every part block so as of the cooking course of — think about an island format with out the island. Because the ground plan’s heart is totally empty, BOH group communication and supervision between stations are simple.
This methodology empowers BOH employees to divide into groups relying on every part, permitting them to turn into specialists at their station. It is a super gear kitchen design for eating places with bigger or various menus (eg, accommodations, caterers, and many others.).
That is greatest for these with a bigger kitchen ground plan.
5. Ergonomic format
Ergonomic design is all about consumer consolation and effectivity. How will the house work with the employees and make their duties simpler and extra streamlined?
Each single design component in an ergonomic format kitchen is positioned in an area that makes probably the most sense for the restaurant workers. For instance, this will imply buying taller prep tables to cut back kitchen employees again ache and bodily exertion. It additionally means detailing the place cooks are strolling and the right way to make these distances as small as potential.
If you happen to’re working with a decent finances, this will not be the format for you. Nonetheless, if cash is not a limiting issue, an ergonomic kitchen has enormous advantages for BOH employees wellbeing and effectivity.
As a format, an ergonomic business kitchen will not look the identical as one other. These layouts are grouped collectively attributable to their dedication to ergonomic design.
Why do you have to change your restaurant kitchen design?
Updating your kitchen design format can seem to be a frightening process. However it would not need to be when you use the above design examples and part tips to optimize your restaurant kitchen.
Your business kitchen is the engine that runs your restaurant. If there’s an issue in your kitchen format, it will be mirrored within the meals and the client expertise. By prioritizing a format that enhances your menu and eating wants, you possibly can each make your BOH groups’ jobs simpler whereas additionally bettering the restaurant’s repute.
Who would not desire a kitchen that produces meals faster and on the similar prime quality?
Establishing your kitchen and your corporation for fulfillment with Grubhub
As soon as you have bought your up to date business kitchen prepared and open for enterprise, it is time to see the enhancements in motion — Grubhub might be a part of that journey.
By means of Grubhub, eating places like yours can join immediately with over 33+ million hungry diners searching for their subsequent meal. Along with your kitchen arrange for fulfillment, you are greater than prepared to satisfy these new prospects.
If you accomplice with us, you additionally acquire entry to:
- Consumer-friendly advertising and marketing and promo instruments
- On-line ordering specialists (who may give ideas to enhance operations)
- An expert photograph shoot and menu session — 100% free!
- One-of-a-kind progress alternatives
Be a part of Grubhub at this time and see how one can develop your corporation to match your improved kitchen.