Organization is key in any commercial kitchen. Here’s how to optimize your layout.
As anyone who has worked in a commercial kitchen knows, organization is key. Not only does it make the cooking process more efficient, but it also reduces the risk of accidents and mishaps with customers’ orders. With the added concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, customers are also more mindful of the cleanliness and organization of the environment in which their food is prepared. In this post, we’ll provide five simple tips for organizing your commercial kitchen.
1. Keep Small Appliances Readily Accessible
One way to make the most of your storage space is to hang frequently used items within easy reach. This can include pots and pans, cooking utensils, and other small kitchen appliances. Hanging these items near your cooking space can help you cut down on your prep time because everything is within easy reach. Hanging them also helps to open up valuable shelf storage space within your storage units.
2. Tailor-Make Your Organizational Zones
Designating zones within your kitchen is an easy way to stay organized. This means having designated areas for your small-wares, commercial food processors and mixers, etc. Not only does this help keep your equipment organized, but it can also help keep your staff focused on their designated area, which in turn helps to maintain an orderly and organized commercial kitchen.
3. Embrace Open Storage
Open shelving is a great alternative to closed storage units. Not only does this help cut down on your time spent searching for items, but it helps you to easily identify what goes where during your end-of-day cleanup process. With adjustable shelving, you can easily customize these types of storage units to suit your every need with little to no difficulty, which is especially crucial for smaller commercial kitchens where maximizing space is critical. While you can easily store many of your prep materials in these open storage units, you obviously can’t store your refrigerated or frozen products on these open racks. Utilizing walk-in refrigeration units often allows you plenty of space to organize your refrigerated items in a similar way to your non-refrigerated items.
4. Look at All Wall Space as Potential Shelving Space
Maximize employee convenience by installing shelving and racks that can declutter and better organize your establishment. They are necessary for storing food, cooking tools, washing towels, and storing other kitchen equipment. Fixed shelves, stand-alone units, moveable racks, and under-table storage are all examples of equipment that can contribute to simpler accessibility, less waste, and appropriate spacing.
5. For Refrigeration, Stick to the FIFO Principle (“First In, First Out”)
This is a sound organizational method all around, but especially for perishables like your refrigerated and frozen items. Remember, the business owner is ultimately responsible—liable is perhaps the more pertinent word—for customer and staff’s wellbeing as regards exposure to or consumption of your wares. The “First In, First Out” method helps to prevent food contamination by helping you organize your food storage. As more material is added to the unit, it gets placed in front of the original item. Instead of grabbing things from the front of your storage, you want to grab them from the back. The key to this method is to always put the item back in its place after you’ve used it, otherwise you run the risk of kinks/confusion in your expiration replacement system.
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Since 1971, Pine Heights Commercial Kitchen Service, Inc., has been the leader in Commercial Kitchen Equipment Services in the greater Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in Restaurant Equipment Repair Services, Commercial Refrigeration, Preventive Maintenance, in-shop repairs, and over-the-counter parts.
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