2. KITCHEN PLANNING
Kitchen planning involves the allocation of space within the kitchen
based on equipment needs, spatial relationships within the kitchen, and
the need to keep traffic flows within the kitchen to a minimum.
In the kitchen, food is received and processed (prepared) before
cooking, and cooked food is moved to a serving station.
3. KITCHEN PLANNING
When an existing restaurant is bought, the buyers are often too
concerned with survival to think much about changing the layout or the
equipment.
If they have the capital, they may ask a restaurant equipment dealer to
evaluate the current equipment and suggest kitchen layout changes.
Some restaurant equipment dealers are quite knowledgeable about
layout planning. Others are not.
4. KITCHEN PLANNING
An overall objective of layout planning is to minimize the number of
steps waitstaff and kitchen personnel must take. In quick-service
restaurants, equipment is placed so that servers take only a few steps.
The same principle applies in finedining restaurants, even though a
particular dish may pass through five hands before being picked up by
waitstaff.
5. KITCHEN PLANNING
A designer with experience in operations has the advantage of being
able to relate to and anticipate the behaviors of the personnel who will
utilize the facility.
For example, one cannot assume that staff members will understand or
obey the design intent of a facility.
6. TRENDS IN KITCHEN PLANNING
New equipment combines refrigerated bases with kitchen ranges and
grill tops. This enables chefs to have raw foods at hand, so that they
need not turn around to open a refrigerator.
Self-cleaning hoods and ventilators that trap odors and fumes can be
automatically controlled by pumps that spray hot water and detergent
on the hoods during off hours, thereby limiting grease buildup.
7. TRENDS IN KITCHEN PLANNING
Combination oven/steamers allow cooks to use either moist or dry
heat, or a combination of both. Vegetables can be steamed, cookies
can be baked, and meat can be braised with one piece of equipment.
Induction heating, which has been used in the past for exhibition
cooking and in cafeterias, allows chefs to prepare food in full view of
customers while eliminating wild heat, excess grease, and noisy
ventilators.
8. TRENDS IN KITCHEN PLANNING
Kitchen equipment now includes computers that automatically control
ovens. A bakeshop worker can program the oven to bake different
breads at different temperatures and levels of humidity for specific
times. Desired oven temperatures can be saved in the computer’s
memory.
12. “GREEN” BACK OF THE HOUSE
Given the high and increasing cost of electricity, gas, and water, it is
smart to cut utility costs without sacrificing service, quality, style, or
comfort. Induction cooking, which is generally more energy efficient
than gas or conventional electrical heat, is one way of greening the
back of the house; another is by using the innovative high-speed ovens.
13. “GREEN” BACK OF THE HOUSE
According to Energy Star, a branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, as much as 80 percent of the $10 billion annual energy bill for the
commercial foodservice industry does no useful work. These lost energy
dollars are often wasted in the form of excess heat, ventilation, and
refrigeration, or generated by inefficient appliances.
One often overlooked high-energy user is the hood because it sucks up all
the air you just spent lots of dollars to cool down. Thankfully, there is now a
new generation of super-efficient exhaust hoods. These new exhaust
ventilators use high-efficiency filters to take advantage of the flow of
thermal air currents to keep the amount of air wasted to a minimum.
14. OPEN KITCHENS
Open kitchens (also called exhibition kitchens) have their own
equipment and are growing in popularity. By taking down the walls that
separate chefs from diners, restaurants are creating more interactive
and upbeat atmospheres.
“The benefits of having an open kitchen are that it brings energy to the
dining room, creates a show for the customer, like watching a
performance, and it gives the customer a sense of being on the ‘inside,’
similar to a reality TV show.”
15. OPEN KITCHENS
Sometimes an open design focuses on highlighting the kitchen; other
times it could highlight a piece of equipment.
There are also some drawbacks to having an open kitchen. The noise
level of a completely open kitchen must be reduced with washable
acoustic tile in the ceiling.
16. KITCHEN FLOOR COVERINGS
Kitchen floors are usually covered with quarry tile, marble, terrazzo,
asphalt tile, or sealed concrete—materials that are nonabsorbent, easy
to clean, and resistant to the abrasive action of cleaning chemicals.
In areas where water is likely to accumulate (for example, near the
dishwasher), neoprene matting provides traction, making walking and
standing less stressful than they are on hard surfaces.
In all kitchen areas, the surfaces should be covered with nonskid
material. The number-one cause of restaurant accidents is slipping and
falling.
17. KITCHEN FLOOR COVERINGS
Building codes do not permit carpeting in kitchens.
Coving—the curved, sealed edge on kitchen perimeters that eliminates
sharp corners and gaps—is essential.
restaurant is to enforce a rigid rule that anything spilled, including
water, be wiped up at once.
18. SELECTING KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
Selection of kitchen equipment may seem simple or complex,
depending on your level of experience.
Independent restaurants may be copies of existing restaurants, more or
less duplicating kitchen layout and equipment.
Operators taking over an existing restaurant are likely to continue using
the equipment already there.
19. SUSTAINABLE KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
Today, there are advancing trends in sustainable kitchen equipment.
The Energy Star program is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. They help
homes and businesses save money and protect the environment
through energy-efficient products and practices.
20. SUSTAINABLE KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
The National Restaurant Association recommends the following for
reducing water waste:
Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator
Purchase a water-efficient dishwasher and wash only full loads
Soak pots and pans before hand washing
Cook vegetables with a minimum amount of water and use cooking water
for soup stock
Train your staff to turn off the water promptly
21. SUSTAINABLE KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
National Restaurant Association recommends the following for reducing
electricity waste:
Use fluorescent lighting for indoor and outdoor fixtures
Install timers or occupancy sensors
Focus light on areas where it’s most needed
Reduce the burden on your electrical system, don’t turn on all electrical
equipment at the same time
Make sure the size of an appliance suits your needs (and reduce size where
possible)
Reduce the number of times a day you adjust your thermostat
Change dirty air filters on air conditioners
22. CATEGORIES OF KITCHEN EQUIPMENT
Receiving and storing food
Fabricating and preparing food
Preparing and processing food
Assembling, holding, and serving food
Cleaning up and sanitizing the kitchen and kitchenware
23. SELECTING EQUIPMENT
The menu determines the equipment.
Look at the menu, item by item. What equipment is needed to prepare
each item?
24. SELECTING EQUIPMENT
Other variables:
The projected volume of sales for each menu item: What size of
equipment or how many pieces of equipment will be needed? Do not
overequip. Market conditions may force menu changes.
Fixed or changing menu: A fixed menu needs fewer kinds of equipment.
Menu size: Large menus may call for a greater variety of equipment.
25. SELECTING EQUIPMENT
Speed of service desired: Fast service may call for equipment of larger
capacity. Reduced cooking time translates into higher seat turnover in
the dining room.
Nutritional awareness and equipment selected: Interest in nutrition
brings an increased interest in the method of food preparation used.
Frying is avoided to cut down on consumption of fats. Baking, broiling,
and steaming are more healthful ways to prepare meat, fish, and fowl.
26. EQUIPMENT COST
The initial cost of equipment is but one factor in the cost equation.
What about life expectancy and parts replacement? How often must the
magnetrons in a microwave be replaced? How long do the infrared
lamps last? The thermostatic controls in the fryer? Even more important
is the cost of energy each piece of equipment consumes.
Over the period of a year, the operational cost differential becomes an
important factor in the choice of equipment. The initial cost of
upgrading to energy-efficient equipment may be high in the beginning,
but over time you earn that money back in lower utility bills.
27. SELECTING THE MOST EFFICIENT EQUIPMENT
FOR THE PEOPLE AND SKILLS AVAILABLE
Too often a kitchen is loaded with equipment that is seldom or never
used. Select only those pieces of equipment that are most efficient and
necessary for the menu.
28. DE-SKILLING THE JOB WITH EQUIPMENT
Much of the new kitchen equipment is designed to reduce or eliminate
cooking skills.
Cook-chill and sous vide are two techniques that have gained in popularity.
The cook-chill process enables chefs to safely (and efficiently) prepare large
amounts of food for long-term storage in a refrigerated environment. Food
is prepared and rapidly chilled to prevent bacterial growth and is available
in portions of various sizes.
Sous vide is popular in Europe, especially in France, where it was developed.
With this technique, food is prepared in the restaurant kitchen, often during
slack times. It is then individually vacuum packed and refrigerated for future
use. Perhaps the best application of sous vide is for `a la carte menu
restaurants and for a group of restaurants that share a centralized
production kitchen.
30. STOVE/OVEN
Probably the most prominent piece of equipment in the full-service
kitchen is the traditional range, the combination stove and oven, fired
by gas or electricity. These are often also the biggest energy users in
the restaurant.
The kitchen is often planned around the stove/oven. With the
availability of convection ovens, steam-jacketed kettles, and tilting
skillets, some kitchen planners deliberately eliminate the range,
regarding it as cumbersome and inefficient.
31. STOVE/OVEN
Important pieces of cooking equipment are the oven, tilting skillet,
combination convection and microwave oven, convection steam
cooker, the microwave oven, and the deep fryer. The range top stove,
however, is still probably the workhorse of a full-service restaurant
kitchen.
32. DEEP-FRYERS
Manufacturers produce fryers designed for water boiling with
thermostats that go up to 212◦F (as opposed to 390◦F for deep-fat
fryers).
Operators use these deep fryers to boil seafood, vegetables, and pasta
products.
33. LOW-TEMPERATURE OVENS
Low-temperature ovens that permit low-temperature roasting and
baking are widely used in the restaurant business to reduce shrinkage
of meat and to hold meat so that it can be served to order from the
oven.
34. FORCED-AIR CONVECTION OVENS
A forced-air convection oven is similar to a conventional oven except
that a fan or rotor, usually located in the back, makes for rapid
circulation of the air and quicker heating of the food. Preheating and
cooking times are considerably less than with the conventional oven.
35. MICROWAVE OVENS
The cooking chamber of the microwave oven is usually small and of lesser
capacity than that of larger conventional or other types of ovens.
Cooking by microwave relies completely on radiated energy to penetrate
food and set up intermolecular friction, which heats the food.
There is no preheating time, because once the microwaves are produced,
they travel at the speed of light and enter the food almost instantaneously.
Compared with standard ovens, relatively small quantities of food can be
prepared at one time in microwave ovens. However, they are excellent for
reheating small quantities of food.
37. HOT-HOLDING TABLES
Food being held almost always loses quality, but in many restaurants
there is little choice but to hold some of it prior to service. Hot tables
constitute the serving containers in cafeteria service; here, warming
tables patterned after the old bain-marie (water bath) are used. The
bain-marie is simply a tank holding heated water in which hot foods in
pots or crocks are placed to keep food warm and to avoid cooking. The
modern steam table is heated by gas, electric, or steam elements
controlled by a thermostat.
38. REFRIGERATORS & FREEZERS
A refrigerator or freezer can be thought of as two boxes, one inside the
other, separated by insulation.
Large restaurants need considerable refrigerator and freezer space,
usually large enough for a person to walk into; such coolers are called
walk-in boxes.
Refrigerator drawers and under-counter refrigerators permit storage at
point of use. Reach-in refrigerators conserve energy. Multiple rack units
on wheels permit maximum storage and save energy in moving food in
and out of refrigerators. See-through glass or Plexiglas doors reduce
the need for opening.
39. ICE MACHINES
Restaurants need at least one ice machine for producing ice for ice
water and for such beverages as soft drinks, iced tea, and—if liquor is
served—a variety of alcoholic drinks.
40. PASTA MACHINES
A number of restaurants that feature pasta have purchased their own
pasta-making machines and each week produce various types of pasta:
macaroni, vermicelli, fettuccine, and the like.
42. MAINTENANCE
Maintenance of equipment is a little like preventive medicine. By
following certain practices, major problems can be avoided. Moving
parts, when properly oiled, last longer. Removing grease and dirt from
compressors helps ensure that they are not overworked. Clean griddles
operate better than those with grease deposits on their surfaces. Gas
burners adjusted for gas-air mixtures provide more heat. Checking
electric wires for loose connections or frayed insulation can avert fires
and equipment breakdown.
43. MAINTENANCE
Restaurant equipment is generally thought to have a life expectancy of
about 10 years. When properly cared for, however, equipment can last
much longer.
A schedule of maintenance helps and is one of those details that make
a good restaurant both a work of art and a nuts-and-bolts business.
