A commercial kitchen is essentially a well-equipped facility used for food preparation with the intent of selling. More often than not, you can find all the components of a commercial kitchen in cafes, hotels, restaurants, and catering establishments. With this stated, you may also be looking into buying or building one of these kitchens and want to know what’s in them. If so, we’ve got you covered! Below, we’ve highlighted eight components of a commercial kitchen: a secure roof, updated flooring, accessibility features, comfortable temperatures, and more. Review this list and then contact the appropriate professionals who can help with updates and new installations to ensure your commercial kitchen is successful.
A Secure Roof
When considering the components of a commercial kitchen, a secure roof is an essential factor. In addition to protecting from various external elements, such as harsh winds, heavy rain, and hail, the roof of your commercial kitchen also impacts the amount of energy consumption the facility uses. For example, a good quality roof prevents valuable hot and cold air from leaking out, which reduces the demand for your HVAC system. Additionally, a secure roof can efficiently reflect the sun’s UV rays, which means less heat transfer and reduced energy needed to get your commercial kitchen to a comfortable indoor temperature. More often than not, a commercial kitchen needs roof repairs due to construction material deterioration. Deterioration is a common problem for these facilities because exhaust fans on the roof will emit grease and oil, which can quickly cause harmful leaks. Leaky roofs are the last thing you want, especially in a commercial kitchen, since they can cause water damage. Once water is in your kitchen, you can have other problems like mold growth, bad odors, and decreased structural integrity. With all of this considered, it’s crucial to contact the appropriate professionals to repair the commercial kitchen roof to avoid these mishaps and ensure the roof provides optimal protection from weather elements and energy waste.
Updated Flooring
If you’re building or buying an existing commercial kitchen, having updated flooring is a must. With this stated, there are some attributes that you should be on the lookout for when considering flooring. First and foremost, consider the maintenance required for the material. In a space like a commercial kitchen, it’s essential to have a surface that’s easy to clean and sanitize. The last thing you want is for the floors to have stubborn stains that refuse to come out. Plus, the flooring in a commercial kitchen should be extremely durable. Since the surface will no doubt have exposure to heat, spills, moisture, and more, you need to have a flooring material that will withstand these variables without crumbling. With all of this stated, if you believe the floors need updating in your kitchen, look no further than concrete floors. Concrete floors are common components of a commercial kitchen because they’re low maintenance, durable, easy to clean, and visually pleasing. Once you contact concrete services, you can discuss with professionals which colors and patterns you want to incorporate in your commercial kitchen. Some popular colors are ivory, grey, and black paired with beautiful patterns such as stamped wood, diamond-shaped, and glossy finishes.
Accessibility Features
Accessibility features are crucial components of a commercial kitchen because they promotes inclusivity and support to those who may have a disability. In light of this, if you’re commercial kitchen doesn’t include some key features, it might be time to purchase new gadgets or make improvements. One way to promote accessibility is by studying the height of the work surfaces, specifically the kitchen countertops. While a standard kitchen will have these surfaces at 36 inches tall, adjusting yours to 28 to 34 inches tall might be better for those in a wheelchair. Investing in adjustable countertops, which can change the height with a simple maneuver, might be the perfect solution for your commercial kitchen. Another accessibility feature to look into is elevators. Especially if your commercial kitchen is in a hotel or public restaurant, employees might need to get on a certain floor in the building to enter. An elevator maintenance company can visit your facility and give you a rundown of how much an elevator would cost to install or fix. Once receiving this professional help, you can be confident that you’re being a lot more accessible to everyone who might want to enter. Lastly, look into reconfiguring your kitchen so there’s a single work area for one task. For example, have a salad counter, baking space, etc., within the commercial kitchen. Arranging the components of a commercial kitchen in this manner will help everyone access the work areas from one singular position, enhancing access and preventing traffic jams.
Comfortable Temperatures
Keeping the inside of any facility at a comfortable temperature is essential, especially in a commercial kitchen. If you’re furnace malfunctions, you’ll soon be dealing with an overly hot or cold work area, which can impact work productivity. Additionally, if the inside of your kitchen is too hot, your food will become unhealthy and start to grow high levels of bacteria that can cause serious illnesses to customers. With this considered, it’s beneficial to schedule furnace repairs to be performed by a local air conditioning company if problems occur. Once these professionals inspect the furnace components of a commercial kitchen, you can be sure to have optimal efficiency. As a result of the enhanced efficiency, a decrease in energy bills is soon to follow. Plus, furnace repairs can extend the unit’s life and decrease the risk of total system failure. Professionals can make small repairs and prevent more costly issues that can add up quickly in the future months and years. Lastly, contacting a local air conditioning company to ensure comfortable temperatures in your commercial kitchen is essential to maintaining the manufacturer’s warranty that you might have on the furnace system. More often than not, you can find on official paperwork that professional visits can help you extend your warranties and decrease the risk of them becoming void shortly.
Free of Mold
Mold is one of the last things you want to grow in your commercial kitchen. In addition to being unattractive and having a bad smell, mold can also result in damage to health. Most commonly, individuals will react to mold growth with allergy reactions such as wheezing, sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, congestion, and more. Especially if those exposed have asthma, to begin with, these symptoms can be severe and be a real issue. With this stated, you may wonder where mold comes from if it grows in your commercial kitchen. Well, there are lots of different factors that might have triggered this mold growth. First, mold growth can come from a leaky foundation. Once moisture seeps through your foundation undetected for some time, the wet surface is the perfect breeding ground for this harmful fungi. Plus, mold growth can come from a cracked or broken wall. Like a leaky foundation, the damaged wall can let in moisture that introduces dangerous amounts of dampness to the components of a commercial kitchen. Other variables that might cause mold growth in the kitchen include leaky water pipes, high humidity, and poor ventilation. With this stated, if you believe that there’s mold growth in the facility, it’s crucial to contact a commercial restoration service as soon as possible. These professionals will arrive at your commercial kitchen and rid the space of mold completely and guarantee a safe and healthy area to prepare food.
Air Quality
According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, poor indoor air quality can be extremely unhealthy. In addition to general lung irritation, short and long-term exposure to poor air quality can result in heart disease, cognitive deficits, respiratory diseases, and various cancers. With this considered, three main types of pollutants can damage the air quality of your commercial kitchen. Poor air quality can most commonly come from human activities such as smoking, cleaning, and cooking. When considering the components of a commercial kitchen, the poor air quality likely comes from cooking and occasional cleaning. Another pollutant that can damage air quality is various vapors from construction materials and furniture. Lastly, poor air quality can come from biological components such as allergens, viruses, and mold. Luckily, it’s easy to test the air quality in your commercial kitchen. To do this quickly, you can schedule an examination from professional inspectors and receive exact numbers on the number of toxins in the space. If the results are poor, your next step is to look for feasible ways to alleviate the issue. To consistently purify the air in the kitchen while cooking, investing in an air purification system may be just the ticket. Additionally, it’s beneficial to schedule a duct cleaning if you’re air quality is poor. By cleaning the ducts, you’ll be able to remove the various debris, dust, dirt, and other allergens that might be stuck and compromise the health of the system.
Smart Layout
A smart layout makes the components of a commercial kitchen come together in the best ways possible. In light of this, you must have a layout that promotes productivity, efficiency, and organization. If you believe your current commercial kitchen needs some updating in this department, you can contact an interior design company that can help you with this project. First, these professionals will likely inspect your current commercial kitchen and see which layout types best fit the bill. The first type of layout plan that might be perfect is called the assembly line. With this plan, there is a center row and island that begins with food preparation and ends with the finished dish. If you have multiple cooks working in the kitchen, this layout might be best to ensure quick service. The island layout involves a range of stations that surround the main meal-cooking area. The island layout might be the ultimate smart layout for your kitchen if you like working around a central area will smaller stations in each corner. This layout tends to work best if the kitchen has an executive chef. The zone-style layout has specific zones for each part of the facility’s process. For example, there’s a dishwashing station, service area, and food prep area for optimal organization. Next, the galley layout has every station needed against one wall with the entrance and exit across from it. The galley layout is the best option for commercial kitchens that are smaller and have less demand from customers. Lastly, the open kitchen layout is a workspace that’s open to the public to see. Many commercials will have barstools by the kitchen with this layout to get a sense of community in a small space.
Efficient Delivery Order System
The components of a commercial kitchen wouldn’t be successful without an efficient delivery order system. In addition to improving communication tenfold, a delivery order system is fantastic for prioritizing tasks, receiving online orders, and increasing the productivity of all coworkers in the commercial kitchen. In light of this, it’s extremely beneficial to look into a local delivery service before running your commercial kitchen and serving the public. The best service for you will differ depending on your specific preferences and needs. For example, individuals might want an efficient delivery order system to decrease commission costs, own customer data, build an online presence, increase customer loyalty, or even create real-time reports of their work. No matter what the objective is, you’ll undoubtedly find a system that best works for you. Some examples of popular systems used today include UpMenu, FlipDish, BentoBox, Olo, and GloriaFord. Do your research to discover what each offers, and decide which one benefits you best.
While initially brainstorming the essential components of a commercial kitchen, you might not know where to begin to ensure that your facility is successful. After reviewing this list above, you can now have a better idea of what to add or upgrade in your commercial kitchen to ensure everything runs smoothly. So, begin today by getting a secure roof, updating flooring, adding accessibility features, ensuring comfortable temperatures, and more. Contact the appropriate professionals who can help with these tasks, such as roof contractors, elevator maintenance companies, or local air conditioning companies, to complete the projects with expert care and attention.