Your kitchen doesn’t have to be large to be effective. However, by carefully planning your small commercial kitchen, you can maximise space and profits by ensuring every square inch is utilised correctly.
Giving careful thought to how you design a small commercial kitchen is crucial if you want to maximise time, efficiency and money.
Designing a commercial kitchen: first steps
When designing your commercial kitchen, you need to take into consideration many factors. First, you need to make sure that the kitchen layout is functional for all of the chefs and cooks who will be working in it.
The layout of a commercial kitchen is one of the most important design considerations when designing a dish area. Several factors should be considered before any final decisions are made on the layout, such as:
– The Work Areas: Work areas should have enough space for people to move around freely and work without being too crowded or cramped. Remember that open doors will change the functional space.
– Aisles: There should be enough aisle space so that people can get from one work area to another without feeling claustrophobic. Individuals also need to be able to move around without bumping into each other, as this could be a serious safety hazard.
– Storage: The amount and type of storage needed for various equipment and supplies need to be taken into consideration.
Choose your layout
A zone style layout is a way to optimise your kitchen for efficiency. For example, you can group your food prep areas or have one prep area for each station. This type of layout is best if you have a lot of staff members who need access to the same equipment and food storage space.
Assembly line layouts are different from zone style layouts. They use stations where everyone has their own designated tasks, and they work on their food in sequence while following a specific order. This type of layout works best in restaurants with limited space and low volumes.
An island layout may not be suitable for a small commercial kitchen layout as it typically requires more space. The prep takes place on the central island, and then the cooking stations are positioned around the edge of the room. This can also be reversed if that meets your requirements.
Make sure that the space allows plenty of room for your kitchen staff to operate efficiently and safely. Understand when your peak service times are going to be, how many staff will be in the kitchen, and how you can best minimise the time it takes to get food from the kitchen to the table.
Safety is a crucial element of your considerations here, and the space needs to allow your kitchen staff to function well without being exposed to health and safety issues. Workers should also have easy access to safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and fire blankets. Make sure these items make their way into your final design.
Let your menu dictate the design
There are a few factors that are important when considering the best place to start your assembly line. For example, what type of food, how many people will be preparing the food, what type of preparation and cooking is required for each food item, and lastly, what tools and equipment do you need?
The first step in setting up an assembly line for any event is determining what types of foods need to be prepared. This will allow you to start building your assembly line. For example, will you have multiple cooks working across the kitchen, or will cooks and front of house servers work in zones to minimise movement?
Put together the menu that you are planning to run with and the type of food storage and preparation areas you will need. Ultimately your menu will determine the equipment you will need and the space you need to prepare it.
Future-proof your menu as much as possible so that you build in what you might plan to do in the future. If you put this thought in now, you are more likely to avoid future changes to equipment and redesign, which could prove expensive.
As a small commercial kitchen venture, you will likely have a niche offering with limited menu items. However, keep in mind that you also need to consider potential future expansion. If space allows, you can start to expand your menu and offer more items further down the road.
Measuring your space
Start taking precise measurements of the equipment you will need for storage, preparation, cooking and refrigeration. At all times, consider the health and safety aspects of your storage and preparation areas so that no cross-contamination takes place between different foods.
Take special note of where windows, doors, air conditioning, plumbing and electrics are located so that you can tailor your design to the space as best you can.
Once you know the size of your space, the equipment you need, and how many workers you will need in the kitchen, you can start designing your commercial kitchen. You can use 3D modelling to mock up the space or keep it simple with a floor plan drawn on paper.
Another great way to visualise your kitchen is to measure out the space and mark the appliances and storage on the floor with masking tape. This will help you to understand how your chefs and servers will move around the space.
Cleaning and hygiene
Prep stations may need their own sinks, while there should also be a dedicated pot wash sink that is only used for this purpose. You are also obligated to provide hand washbasins with soap and hand drying facilities throughout the kitchen to encourage good hand hygiene.
Simple steps like storing the crockery close to where it is washed up will help to minimise the need to move it around the kitchen. This reduces the risk of breakage and also ensures that crockery stays clean until it is needed.
Essentials for small commercial kitchens
- Ventilation, lighting and flooring are also vital elements of your commercial kitchen design and these need to be factored into your planning and your costs. You may also need to think about pest control measures.
- Temperature control is also a key consideration. Kitchen owners are legally obligated to ensure proper ventilation and cooling provisions, so that kitchen staff don’t have to suffer through uncomfortable conditions. Giving your workers a pleasant work environment is about more than just your legal obligation; it also helps to improve morale and increase staff retention.
- Cleaning should also be taken into consideration while designing your space. You need to access all sides of equipment to ensure that everything is cleaned efficiently between services. Deep cleaning plans will play an essential role in your food hygiene rating inspection, so it makes sense to hard-wire this into your design.
All of the above are the immediate priorities in terms of commercial kitchen design. If you need any advice on how to put a design together and get the most out of the space and budget you have available, please do not hesitate to contact us.
