Commercial Kitchen Layout

Principles of Commercial Kitchen Floor Plans for Efficient Flow An efficient flow of activities is critical to the success of your foodservice operation, and achieved through commercial kitchen floor plans prioritizing coherence, simplicity, space efficiency, and flexibility.

One of the most important goals of any commercial kitchen is to keep its activities running as smoothly as possible. An efficient flow of ingredients, tasks, and team members improves the experience for both the guests and the staff. This is not always so easily achieved, however. It's not a piece of equipment you can buy, or a single technique you can implement. Rather, it’s a combination of key principles working together, the specifics of which will differ from operation to operation. Major principles of commercial floor plans creating efficient flow include: Coherence Simplicity and Space Efficiency Flexibility Coherence When there's no order to your kitchen, your team will be constantly stepping over—or into—each other. Tasks will be forgotten and accidents will happen. Designing your commercial kitchen with its order of activities in mind is the best way to create a coherent and efficient flow. All commercial kitchens typically have an order of activities that resembles: Delivery > Storage > Food Prep > Cooking > Service > Dish Return > Cooking There is no shortage of configurations, however, in which to arrange these activities. Some of the most common include: Assembly Line Island Open Ergonomic Zoning Each of these has a different movement of activities and is best suited for certain kinds of foodservice. Quick-service concepts might benefit from Assembly Line configurations, while a traditional, high-end table service restaurant would likely do better making use of a Zoning or Island configuration, for example. The one that will give your kitchen the most coherence will depend on what kind of operation you’re running. Simplicity and Space Efficiency The overall flow of even a coherent kitchen carefully configured for its particular type of operation will be disrupted if the space is cramped and cluttered. Kitchens with efficient flow must be simple, and use every inch to its full potential. Much of maintaining simplicity when developing your kitchen's floor plan is carefully deciding which large appliances you'll require, and limiting it to only what your staff will need on a day-to-day basis. This will prevent unnecessary supplies or equipment from cluttering your kitchen, getting in your team’s way, or taking up space that could be put to better use. Space efficiency doesn't mean having every bit of space filled with equipment, counters and storage, though. You also have to ensure there's enough room in the kitchen for your team to be working together without getting in each other's way. Local codes and regulations will establish minimum standards for how much space employees need to safely work, but if you know a particular part of your kitchen will see high traffic, perhaps consider widening the space to keep your team moving easily. Flexibility A floor plan that’s efficient when your foodservice operation first opens may not always stay that way. As your menu and business changes, what was once an efficient layout can quickly become disorganized. Keeping your floor plan flexible will prevent having to do expensive redesigns down the road. Tips for maintaining flexibility: Choose supplies and equipment with wheels. These can be easily moved if you update your layout. Consider reach-in refrigeration as opposed to walk-in refrigeration. Walk-in units are often custom-made and more difficult to move in the future. Choose workstations that can serve multiple purposes. Highly specialized stations can easily become obsolete, should your needs change. Find out more about how the design experts at Sam Tell can help you create an efficient workflow for your foodservice operation.

From beginning steps and common configuration styles to tips and insights about equipment, layout, and implementation, this useful guide is a valuable resource for achieving the perfect commercial kitchen design.

Commercial Kitchen Design: The 6 Design Principles You Should Know

Celebrity Chef Wenford Patrick Simpson's tips include never cutting corners, always considering plating, using a trustworthy supplier, and holding onto your dreams.

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Designing a Commercial Kitchen in 2023: Trends and Considerations Published June 22, 2023 Read Raising the Bar: Libbey Glassware Pours New Life into NYC's Beer Scene Published June 16, 2023 Read Configure Your Prep Sink with Perlick's New Back Bar Solution Published June 6, 2023 ReadChanges in food habits, styles, and technology have quickly evolved commercial kitchens around the world. Why? Because people’s preferences are changing, and so are restaurant menus. 

Restaurant Floor Plan: Designing One That Draws Diners In

And as restaurants adjust their dishes to help customers navigate their allergies, food intolerances, and requirements when dining out, they’re also adapting their kitchen layouts to maximize efficiency. Commercial kitchens are now planned down to the last centimeter to optimize their workflow.  A lot goes into creating a restaurant’s kitchen layout, and it all begins with understanding the principles of commercial kitchen design. So let’s dive in.

Before designing a commercial kitchen, you’re starting with a blank slate. You know how much space there is to work with, but what happens next? The first step is to define your eatery’s concept clearly. This includes the type of cuisine served, service style, location, and of course, target clientele. Part of developing your concept includes doing market research to determine what customers want and what type of kitchen layout works best for your menu, production volume, and team. But remember that different concepts will have unique requirements. 

Barbecue joints need grills, rotisseries, and even conveyor ovens to cook meat to perfection. In contrast, a bakery would have a different set of requirements. Their concept may call for installing high-volume vertical- or smaller batch spiral mixers and convection ovens into their kitchen’s design. Once you’ve determined your restaurant’s concept, think about how to adapt it to six commercial kitchen design principles. 

Principles Of A Commercial Kitchen Design

The Certified Food Service Professionals (CFSP) program is considered the gold standard certification for foodservice professionals located in countries across the globe. Their guidelines help to raise standards and quality for the entire industry. As part of their program, they use a set of guidelines found in the CFSP handbook. This handbook lists six commercial kitchen design principles organized into these categories: 

Busy kitchens have to pivot and adapt to everything from seasonal menu updates to the preferences of new chefs. And for these reasons, professional kitchens have to have the flexibility to move different stations around for easier prep work and cooking. Rolling grill carts, griddles, and other mobile shelving give professional kitchens the versatility to alter the layout to suit their needs.

As you plan your kitchen design, you’ll want to eliminate anything that could lead to inefficiencies for staff. For instance, storage is important, but unnecessary shelving inside a small space could lead to a cluttered, unorganized kitchen. This causes cooks to spend more time searching for what they need instead of doing what they do best. 

Design Your Commercial Kitchen Layout For Bar Or Restaurant By Bohdesign

When the lunch and dinner rush hits, the last thing teams need is to work in an environment that doesn’t match their workflow. Not optimizing commercial kitchen layouts to streamline service leads to confusion in the kitchen and injuries. 

According to the US Bureau of Labor, in 2019, there were 93, 800 nonfatal injuries in full-service restaurants — most commonly cuts and burns. Preventing these injuries begins with creating a space designed for how kitchens function:  

Prep to Production/Cooking: From there, staff will pull those products from cold or dry storage so they can start prepping. After preparing the ingredients, other workers will need to have easy access to cook them. 

Skilled Existing Company Modification Commercial Kitchen Planner With Layout Design, Pan India, Restaurant Interior

Serving and Cleaning: Once meals are fully prepared, there needs to be a place to conduct a quality check before serving. After service is completed, commercial kitchens should have a designated area for cleaning and sanitizing dishes, cooking equipment, and utensils. 

Since professional kitchens get daily cleanings, their designs have to include wash stations and waste disposal facilities to meet health and safety regulations. Mopping floors and wiping down walls are part of these requirements, along with periodic deeper cleanings. Because of this, your layout needs to allow for counters and other equipment to move around. This mobility makes it easier for staff to get to these areas.  

Open commercial kitchen layouts remove barriers that make it difficult to get food out quickly and efficiently. Walls, shelving, and other obstacles can affect how well people interact and could slow down service. And in fast-paced kitchens, where teams have to be on the same page about timing, production, and quality control, communication is everything. When planning any commercial kitchen, the design needs to make it possible for everyone to see what others on the line are doing during service. 

Types Of Commercial Kitchen Layout |foster Refrigerator

Your commercial kitchen layout plan needs to be optimized for your team and maximize every square inch of space. This means bringing in only the essentials your team needs and will consistently use. It’s a smarter investment and prevents equipment from lying around, taking up room in the kitchen. 

When used together,