Designing a Commercial Kitchen with Appeal (Steven Browns)

William Arango, a kitchen interior designer, states that "While style counts, emphasis on commercial kitchens largely border functionality." For a very long time, there was hardly any emphasis paid on the designing of the setup of the commercial kitchen. From the smaller to the big kitchens, there has never been any understanding or evaluation on the type or method to be adopted for the procurement of equipments or cost.

There have been multiple times when a design of the commercial kitchen's floor has lead to the complete overhaul of the kitchen. It leads to it being rebuild and finishing. New equipments need to be procured and new chefs hired. This expensive affair is time consuming and thereby hampers the overall building process. For most of the people, there is no difference between the domestic and the commercial kitchen. In reality, there are distinctive features of both these types. While the domestic ones are all about style, the commercial kitchen is more about functionality and ergonomics. Various services like the water, gas, drainage, fire safety, electricity, exhaust system, lighting, HVAC, and ventilation systems. When setting up a commercial kitchen, it is important that everything is got right.

The commercial kitchens are an expensive affair and therefore getting it right at the first go is very important. It is therefore advised that the kitchen designer or expert be consulted before one finally chooses the design and the equipments needed. The following are some of the basic principles that should be taken into account when setting up the commercial kitchen.

The first is the menu, which would enlist the type of food that one would want to cook and serve. This would help in determining the equipments that would be needed and the parameters of the design otherwise required. Depending on the cuisine served, the food preparation areas need to be fixed. The next aspect that should be taken into account is the space available. The general rule of the thumb is that there should five square feet of available floor area for every cover in the restaurant. If the place is limited, then it is time to pay importance to the equipments that are going to be used and the storage space. One can always opt for the custom-made equipments for the kitchen. The third factor that would determine the benefits of the commercial kitchen is the mobility of staff working within the kitchen. This would include the service, chefs and the apprentices that would need to rush and run. The standard rule is that a minimum of five square feet of space is available for each person working in the kitchen. The next aspect that should be seen in a commercial kitchen is designing an ergonomically sound kitchen. It would facilitate in working efficiently without much of walking, bending, turning and reaching. This would reduce the risk of accidents, injury, fatigue and mix-ups. The theory behind such a kitchen is that there are fewer steps that would be needed for the employee to move and complete the task better. Fifthly, the kitchen should be energy efficient that would help in saving critical money by saving on the utility costs. Setting up all cooking elements together would lessen the time in heating the equipments. Keeping all the refrigeration points together would help in saving in energy needed to refrigerate the food. However, the problem is that for an ergonomic kitchen, saving money becomes an issue. Lastly, it is the appeal of the kitchen and the flexibility that it would offer to the staff in working in and around the kitchen.

Once the budget has been fixed and the design settled, it is time to reinvent the commercial kitchen. With a well designed kitchen, one would be bound to save money on utility costs and save energy.

The commercial kitchen should be designed according to the cuisine that is going to be served in the restaurant. To know more about the commercial kitchen or commercial catering, contact firstdegree.com.au