If you want to set up your commercial kitchen, you may take cues from the following guide.
Step 1: Curate a mouth-watering menu that you love
The menu is a crucial part of any kitchen. If your food cannot influence your customers, it is tough to survive in the competitive food industry. Therefore, your menu must include the items you love to prepare and eat. You can develop a menu theme for your customers. It will distinguish you from the competition in your area. Moreover, focus on what you want to achieve through your menu.
To curate a menu for your kitchen, you may ask for help from your head chef. They may help you based on their prior experience. Moreover, keep a short menu as adding more items may confuse your customers. In addition, pay equal attention to the pricing.
As a business in Delhi, you may consult commercial kitchen consultants in Delhi for developing your menu and pricing. You may look at multiple options of consultants online. Alternatively, you may contact Nitin Tandon, one of the renowned commercial kitchen consultants in Delhi.
Step 2: Utilise your kitchen space
It is nice to have an extensive and fully-functional kitchen with modern equipment. However, you can utilise a small kitchen for your benefit. You can use the space appropriately to start your commercial kitchen.
A commercial kitchen follows three design strategies based on your preferences, menu, and the cook's preferences. These design strategies include:
• Zone
A zone kitchen helps in spreading the workforce across different sectors. The kitchen setup is divided into different zones having specific functions. Moreover, the crew working in these zones have specialised knowledge.
Zone kitchens have a lot of space for food prep. The kitchen counters act as a place for measuring ingredients, slicing meat, cutting vegetables, and giving space for other kitchen activities. The cooking zone contains a grill and a fryer for optimal functioning. Moreover, it has a storage area for cold storage, dry storage, and sanitation. In addition, you may choose a separate zone to plate the prepared dishes.
• Assembly line
If you prepare the same type of food in large quantities, you require an assembly kitchen. For example, burger joints, sandwich and pizza shops require an assembly kitchen. The food is prepared faster in such kitchens as less time is needed to complete each step. Moreover, you may arrange the assembly in circles to prepare food.
• Island
It is a variation on both assembly and zone kitchens and works around a centre island hub. Moreover, this kitchen setup also utilises the perimeter for optimal working. You can use the main island for prepping and cooking food. Most cooking equipments are concentrated in this area. However, the border is used for storage and sanitation.
These three kitchen designs can make your kitchen efficient. Moreover, it properly uses the assigned kitchen space. If you are confused about the kitchen layout, you may take help from
kitchen consultants in Delhi. Many professional kitchen consultants provide their services throughout the city and beyond, and can help you set up a commercial kitchen. Try contacting commercial kitchen consultants in Delhi for better layout and design.
Step 3: The essential equipment
It is vital to choose the best equipment for your kitchen. After deciding on the kitchen layout and menu, you must look at the essential equipment. Choosing the right equipment plays a crucial role in the success of your kitchen. The main categories in every kitchen must include:
• Storage
You will need dry and cold storage for your kitchen. For your kitchen, you may choose among walk-in, reach-in, and under-counter refrigerators. If you have to store food in large quantities, you may select a walk-in refrigerator. For more accessible refrigeration, you may choose a worktop refrigerator. Likewise, for dry storage, you may select cabinets and shelves.
• Cooking
The cooking equipment must be made accessible to everyone in the kitchen. If you have little space in your kitchen, you may choose a commercial oven with cooktops. Moreover, this equipment comes with added storage shelves to provide a clean appearance to your kitchen. You may use the space near the cooktop or grill for the frying station. But if your menu lacks fried items, you may use a small countertop fryer. In addition, you may use a floor fryer if you have limited space on the countertop.
The requirements for your kitchen equipment also depends on the menu. For example, some kitchens may require bread ovens, pizza deck ovens, toasters, sandwich grills etc. Moreover, you must invest in heating equipment to keep the food warm.
• Sanitation
Choose a large commercial dishwasher for your kitchen. But if you use disposable plates and cutleries to serve food, you may not require a large dishwasher. They come in different varieties like racked, conveyor, and under-counter. Moreover, you must maintain three sinks in your kitchen.
• Safety
To maintain a safe environment in your kitchen, you must use floor mats. These anti-slip mats provide a clean surface to the kitchen floors. Moreover, you will require proper ventilation in your kitchen to extract the gas and smoke. You must use an exhaust hood over the cooking counter to keep the grease and smoke away. Another crucial piece of kitchen equipment is a fire suppression system. You may keep small fire extinguishers near the cooking area for an accidental grease fire. Finally, follow the local regulations for kitchen safety.
You must consider choosing specialised equipment for your commercial kitchen. If you do not know about kitchen equipment, you may seek help from kitchen consultants in Delhi. For professional help, you may consult Nitin Tandon, one of the best commercial kitchen consultants in Delhi.