Restaurant Kitchen – Organize it efficiently

When opening a restaurant business, it often happens that little attention is paid to the design of the restaurant’s kitchen.

In the worst case scenario, you only start planning changes when problems arise that affect the correct functioning of the system.

In addition to taking into account how the kitchen works on a daily basis, there are other aspects that must be taken into account according to the structure of the kitchen.

Planning an efficient kitchen includes the staff, the maintenance of the spaces, the time in which the activities will be managed, the places where the food is prepared and the furniture.

Areas present in a kitchen-restaurant

No matter what kind of service you offer in your restaurant, everything needs to be tidy and neat to function properly, like a professional kitchen.

The lack of order in your restaurant’s kitchen affects all the processes carried out in the different work areas.

There should be a natural flow between them, starting from the reception of the command to the dispatch of the dish. It also includes the return of the dish and its respective washing process.

Following the space-process relationship that must be handled in this type of place, we leave you some tips for the organization of each basic area of a restaurant’s kitchen.

We start by getting to know the different areas that are contemplated in a restaurant’s kitchen.

Cold zone

Make no mistake, the cold zone is not where drinks are prepared.

In a professional kitchen, the cold area is used to prepare some starters, salads and sauces that will accompany the dishes that your guests taste.

This area must be located near the refrigerators and coolers.

By following this recommendation you will be more efficient. It allows you to quickly remove the ingredients that are needed, as well as to refrigerate them again so that they do not deteriorate.

Heat zone

This is the most important area in a kitchen-restaurant. This is where the main dishes and some of the starters are prepared.

It is important that you have equipment such as irons, fryers, ovens, stoves and burners nearby.

In addition to the basic equipment of the heating zone, you will also find the pots, pans, casseroles, ladles, pallets, to mention some of the most used.

Intermediate zone between the kitchen and the living room

Better known as the area where the preparations coming out of your kitchen are plastered and assembled.

This part of the kitchen should be located near the exit to the living room or dining room, so that it is easy to take the dishes with you after they are ready.

It should also be equipped with the most commonly used utensils such as dishes, sauce boats, dishes, among others.

Baking and confectionery area

If your restaurant offers a dessert menu, ideally there should be an area dedicated only to its preparation.

By having this space in your kitchen, you will be able to prepare desserts in the shortest time possible. Remember that your customers are waiting.

Within this area you should only have utensils such as moulds, pallets, mixers, spoons, measuring cups, etc.

Washing area

This region of the kitchen is where you wash the dishes, pots, cutlery, crockery and glasses that are used in the living room and kitchen service.

Next to the washing area, you should have the containers for disposing of organic waste left on the plates.

Likewise, it is important that this space is far from the hot zone, so that you can avoid accidents with the dishes.

Cleaning area

The cleaning area should be as far away as possible from food handling areas in the kitchen.

In this area, cleaning products are handled and used to clean the different spaces in your restaurant.

Pantry area

It is usually made up of the warehouse where the products used to prepare the dishes on the menu are kept.

Within this store, there are usually refrigerators and coolers to store the ingredients that require it.

The existence of a warehouse is important for you to keep track of the products that are part of the inventory and which are the ones you must replace.

Other rooms in a kitchen-restaurant

In addition to the main areas that must exist within a kitchen-restaurant, there are other rooms that can form part of your kitchen according to the space you have.

Among these areas we have the following:

Reception of goods

It is a part of the establishment that is exclusively intended for suppliers to unload the goods you order.

These are cargo accesses that have the necessary space and amplitude to allow the distributors to move around without problems.

It is common for them to have scales to verify the weight of the products received and to check their relationship with the order placed.

Plonge

This area is dedicated to the cleaning of the largest kitchen utensils, such as pots and pans.

The people who work in this part of the kitchen have frequent communication with those who form part of the hot zone.

This communication allows you to remove and clean the utensils that have been used.

This space has a deep stainless steel dishwasher, tables to place dirty pots and shelves to store clean pots and pans.

Wardrobe

The dressing room is an area of the establishment where staff change their clothes on entering and leaving their shift.

This place must have ventilation and a shower space for people to clean themselves before and after their workday.

They also need to have individual lockers for each staff member to store their belongings while they do their job.

Staff canteen

In addition to having a space to store belongings and change clothes, the dining room is important in a job that requires several hours in the establishment.

With the use of this space, your team can take a break from the service they are offering and feed themselves without having to leave the restaurant premises.

Organization and equipment

Within the organization of a kitchen-restaurant, it is necessary to have basic equipment to easily perform each of the tasks that are intended for the different spaces that are part of the kitchen.

Among these equipments and services, which are indispensable for a kitchen to work, are

Possibility of expansion

Some entrepreneurs plan to increase the space, so the premises they choose to set up the restaurant must have the capacity to be remodeled and expanded.

In this way, there will be no need to change premises when you have the need to grow. Especially since a change of that style can mean having to start everything from scratch.

Amplitude

When you are looking for an establishment to house your business, you must take into account the dimensions of the place, based on the services you want to offer to the guests.

Generally, the standard measures are used, where the measure of the kitchen is the ¾ parts of the measures that should be handled for the dining room.

Natural clarity and correct artificial light

Good lighting is necessary to prepare the kitchen work. The ideal is to have some compartment of natural light because it does not change the color of the ingredients.

If you do not have natural light inputs, use electric light bulbs that are located in each of the work areas.

There should be several bulbs with enough power to illuminate every corner of your kitchen-restaurant.

Ventilation

Different types of gases and vapours are generated during the operation of the kitchen. To eliminate them, windows that are located at an angle near the ceiling are used.

Extractor hoods are also often used to trap odours, vapours, gases and grease in suspension in the air. This is achieved by a filtering system and the evacuation of the air.

Water supply

The business premises should have a stable and abundant water service. It is advisable to have distribution systems for each area and ensure that they are always in good condition.

The supply of drinking water will always come from the public supply network, springs, wells or springs. Of course, it must always meet all legal requirements.

If no drinking water service is available, water tanks or storage tanks are required

Don’t worry, these tanks are made with materials that do not transmit flavors or odors to the water. But it is necessary to perform maintenance to remove any sediment that is at the bottom.

Basic rules for organizing a kitchen-restaurant

The kitchen is the heart of a restaurant, being the space of the establishment used to prepare the dishes offered on the menu

That is why it must follow certain aspects so that the production of the restaurant is the best, so it is built according to the following rules:

Dimensions for the design of a restaurant kitchen

The minimum size of a kitchen to accommodate 50 people should be approximately 20 square meters, including the washing area.

If a larger kitchen capacity is required, 0.5 square meters is calculated for each person who will work in the kitchen.

For its part, the furniture must be located in places that facilitate the sterilization and cleaning of the restaurant spaces.

Floor and walls

The floor of the establishment has to be made of a smooth material and easy to wash. It is ideal that it is light in colour and has rounded corners.

The walls should also be smooth and easy to wash.

The corners must be rounded and glazed with epoxy resin at a distance of 2 cm from the floor.

Pantry and storage

The food pantry must be located in a high and very clean place.

In addition, it should be a place of restricted and controlled access, where no other food is handled

The warehouse should have several shelves, made of strong, washable materials if possible. These shelves should be used to store and contain non-perishable food.

For food preservation, you should have a refrigerator for cooked food, a refrigerator for vegetables, a refrigerator for meat and a refrigerator for dairy products.

Steel tables

The tables used to prepare the dishes must be made of stainless steel, as this material can be kept for a long time.

These tables can be separate or connected to other kitchen equipment, and that depends on the layout you handle in your kitchen.

Kitchens, practice above all

When you are talking to the designer to plan the kitchen-restaurant project, you sometimes tend to hear the ideas of the workers on the construction site.

These suggestions will only cause confusion on the construction site, so it is important to make it clear from the beginning of the work what design you want to make

The design must be functional, practical, simple and easy to maintain over time.

Use the necessary square meters

Good money management in a restaurant is important for its operation

Establishments with a good location, which are rented for cafeterias or restaurants, are usually more expensive per square meter and therefore every meter has to be used to its fullest.

In order to achieve this, it is necessary to make a planning where all the elements of the restaurant are located in a harmonic way and do not complicate the business activities.

We will look for the most suitable equipment for each need

Few companies manufacture all the equipment needed for the operation of a kitchen.

When choosing the furniture for the kitchen, you have to take into account the volume of dishes served per day in order to choose the appliances that will meet that demand.

All this furniture must be placed in an orderly manner, to make the most of the space in the establishment and to make cleaning easy.

Tasteful doses

The design of the kitchen will have the elements that you plan based on your tastes, the theme and the decoration that is handled for the rest of the restaurant.

All the decisions you want to make in the decoration of your kitchen must be agreed with the designer and the engineer, they will study the feasibility of each of your ideas.

This is because every decision depends on the structure of the premises and how productive the restaurant would be with these modifications.

Costs of an industrial kitchen

When you buy the elements of an industrial kitchen completely, you can expect that no fixed costs will be handled.

When calculating the prices of the equipment of an industrial kitchen, three scales are handled.

Without counting the prices of installation, civil work, basic services and rent of the premises, these are the packages for the industrial kitchen:

Low level industrial kitchen

This package includes low-end equipment and does not form a harmonious whole. They are usually purchased when hunting for bids and the machinery is not usually from the same manufacturer.

Purchasing the products for a low-end industrial kitchen usually costs around 700 and 1000 euros.

Price of a medium level industrial kitchen

This mid-range kitchen includes mid-range equipment manufactured by companies recognized in the territory.

It is not a luxury furniture or the latest technology, but it is designed to last for many years in operation.

It is priced between 1200 and 1500 euros.

High level industrial kitchen

This equipment is of recognized brands and has a high technological level.

It is a high quality furniture, but without many luxuries, so they also have quality finishes and combine between them.

Its costs are between 1600 euros and 1900 euros.

These prices only include the equipment of the entire industrial kitchen.

To this must be added the cost of civil works, services and establishment, reaching between 400 euros and 600 euros per square meter.

Essential products in every restaurant kitchen

In addition to the right space and industrial equipment you need in your kitchen-restaurant, you need other products to take your restaurant to the top.

At the Monouso virtual store you can find a wide range of products you need to run your restaurant.

Dishes, cutlery, glasses, cups, take-away packaging, trays, cups, straws, bowls and napkins are some of the most important products you should have in your restaurant kitchen.

The best thing about shopping for your products at Monouso is that you have a wide variety to choose from, highlighting recyclable, biodegradable and disposable products.