Are you planning a commercial  kitchen layout? This article looks at the types of commercial kitchen layouts and how to design a commercial  kitchen layout. Commercial kitchen fitting Glasgow, Scotland.

Designing A Commercial Kitchen

The cornerstone of any successful food business or restaurant is how your kitchen is designed. Effective kitchen design and carefully planning your layout will make your operations much smoother. So, before you start monogramming napkins, it's best to plan ahead and create the perfect kitchen layout that suits your business. Three is usually the magic number for most things. However, there are closer to 5 key principles to consider when designing the perfect commercial kitchen:

Storage - all your ingredients must be kept fresh in a contaminant-free container at the right temperatures.

Food Prep - each type of food needs its own preparation area to avoid cross-contamination.

Cooking - the cookline is the very heart of your kitchen and the location of your equipment is essential to efficient service.

Service - giving your front-of-house staff easy access to your pass will also improve efficiency.

Cleaning - giving your KPs enough space to wash plates, glasses and cutlery will also improve your service.

Efficient flow is the thing you want to achieve with your kitchen designer. If your staff have enough space to move around and access everything they need easily, providing a high-quality service will be much easier. The rest of this article will take you through the various considerations you need to make when designing your commercial kitchen. 

Whats The Difference Between Refurbishment And Renovation

Having as few steps as possible between your stations and the equipment or ingredients your staff need is what you are aiming for. The less bending, reaching or walking your staff needs to do, the better. For example, having your fridge and freezer placed together will make retrieving ingredients much easier. This efficiency and planning will also help with your energy costs.

Placing your fridge as far away from your cooking range as possible will save it from overworking, cutting costs on your energy bills. You should also ensure your cooking equipment is placed perfectly under your cooker hoods. You might also want to incorporate a little flexibility into your plans. Trends in commercial cuisine change constantly, and what works today may be outdated tomorrow.

Additionally, if your head chef leaves and you bring in a new leader for the kitchen, they may wish to change the menu. In this case, your kitchen should be able to accommodate their changes. Quick disconnects for gas cookers are a great way to introduce flexibility and mobility. They will also make your cleaning duties much easier. 

Which Commercial Kitchen Layout is Right for You?

Since your kitchen designs will suit your business specifically, there's no one layout to suit everyone. Whatever will maximise the food quality and enhance your diners' experiences is best. With the right strategic designs, you can make it easier for your staff to consistently produce great food.

If you just throw everything together without thinking, things will immediately become more difficult. But the best kitchens and dining experiences are always produced with great thought. So, whether you're just starting out or are looking to upgrade your business, ensure your kitchen designs are right for you. 

Types of commercial kitchen layouts

Now we've covered how important ergonomics are for professional kitchens, we'll take you through some of the most common kitchen layouts. Again, these designs won't suit everyone and you'll want to consider your needs first. But these will give you an idea of what to aim for. 

 Zone-style layout

Zone-style layouts give each duty in the kitchen its own section. This is possibly the most common way commercial kitchens are laid out. You're likely to find a soup and salad station, meat station, baking station and frying station, each with its own designated space. This is the easiest way to organise your kitchen and allows different dishes to be made simultaneously. It can also help with staffing, as you can hire a specialist chef for each station. Rather than hiring a single line cook to do everything.

One drawback is that zone-style kitchens can be very expensive to create. Each station will need its own set of specialised equipment and ventilation. Not only will this push your initial costs up, but maintenance and running costs will also be higher. Also, if you only have a limited menu, there's no point creating a vast kitchen, half of which you won't use. 

 Galley layout

Galley layouts are better suited to smaller kitchens with limited space. Here, all the equipment and cooking stations are placed along two walls facing one another. This leaves a big open space in the middle, allowing for quick movement through the kitchen. This is also ideal if you have multiple cooks working simultaneously in a small space. They can move between stations easily or work at two stations at the same time. This style of kitchen is similar to mobile food trucks. Efficiency and ease of movement are the top priorities.

Lower on the priority list is volume. Galley-style kitchens can't produce large amounts of food at once. Therefore, they won't work for large commercial kitchens in restaurants. They can often become cramped, with multiple people using the same limited space. There's also less room for food prep, meaning your diners may end up wanting longer for their food. 

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