How to organize a commercial kitchen

Any commercial kitchen should be simple, efficient and easy to manage with flexibility. Good organization is one of the key foundations for any commercial kitchen to run smoothly and make your profits go up.

After you have purchased your kitchen equipment – your first and biggest initial cost, you need to find the best way to distribute it effectively in the available space. 

Here are some ideas to bear in mind before deciding what your kitchen layout should be like

Highway to hell’s kitchen: map and workstations

First and foremost, you’ll need to map out your kitchen in order to organize it according to its limitations. Always remember, the key to a good cooking workflow is circulation. Just like a highway, if you there is car accident, you’ll need alternative ways to surpass the chaos.

A way to ensure there’s enough space and movement within your kitchen is establishing workstations. Now, it may seem obvious, but it was not so long ago when kitchen layouts were simple-looking kitchens. It was thanks to McDonald’s that kitchen engineering changed completely when they introduced a ‘Fordist’ approach to cooking. This implied having different areas for specific tasks, so as to produce more meals in a faster way.

Workstations ensure effectiveness and efficiency. This is because you’ll likely need different equipment for different tasks and it is better to have everything in one place rather than dispersed throughout different places. Furthermore, this model prevents cross-contamination when it comes to food hygiene.

Hang up: shelves and more for your tools, pots & pans

Time goes by so slowly when you can easily find your kitchen utensils. An easy way to achieve that is hanging them up where you can see them, preventing your space to be limited by walk-in pantries or storage cabinets with doors and drawers when items are not on display. However, you must remember not to put shelves or “S” hooks so high that your workers can’t reach the equipment they need.

Besides shelves, racks and “S” hooks, you can acquire pegboards, towel racks or a magnetic knife bar. These are great ways to avoid drawers, while also a way to dry your utensils more quickly. 

Yes to labels: put a tag on it

One of the easiest ways to keep everything organized is using labels. This also includes any type of signaling you can think of: employees need to know where and what and how to do things in their workspace.

Refrigerators should have labels for workers to know where things are as well as any other kind of necessary information they might find useful. This not only accelerates the workflow, it also ensures there are no accidents. Everything from ingredients to cleaning products should have a proper label that is always visible.

Grease: grills & vent hoods

The grilling area is usually the messiest and most dangerous area in the kitchen. That’s why it’s really important to have this area well-organized to avoid any potential hazards.

Dirt and oil tends to accumulate easily in this area. That’s why it is of utmost importance that you locate your equipment far back against the wall, seal any gaps and install vent hoods. This prevents grease mounting up and leading to a fire in your kitchen. You can choose between a wall-mounted hood or an overhead hood. This will depend on the size, space, ventilation and appearance. Always ensure it is well-located and regularly cleaned. And remember to mount them as low as you can, while allowing easy cooking access.

If you need vent hoods installed or  your existing ones cleaning, it is important you hire a professional service who knows not only how to do the job smoothly and efficently, but also ensure a thorough, deep-cleaned job is done to best ensure kitchen hygiene and importantly, to prevent fire hazards.

We at Protech Facility Services have +35 years of experience on the field across the state of Texas, ensuring your kitchen remains clean and safe. Just contact us for more information! Our contact team will be happy to help.