Setting Up a New Restaurant, Cafe or Bakery

To be a great chef, the professional needs top notch catering equipment, especially if they are working in a top notch hotel.

A commercial oven will have to do a lot of work, especially in a large hotel. A chef who is running such a hotel kitchen might want a battery of not only ovens, but ranges, pizza ovens, microwaves, deep fat fryers, char boilers and griddles. The chef would also have great use of a commercial coffee machine, refrigerators, freezers and other catering equipment.

What To Look for

The first step in choosing any sort of commercial cookware is research. The chef or hotel manager should consult other chefs who use products they're pleased with, the internet and other resources. All products should have good warranties that will replace them if they prove to be defective. The chef should ask questions about the product and make sure they know who would come to service the equipment if it breaks down. Nor should the chef be in a position to be surprised by hidden costs like installation, delivery or payment schedules. The price of all equipment should be up front and agreed upon before any of it is delivered or installed.

A coffee maker that is tasked to make great batches of coffee for many hours a day will make sure the coffee grinds stay moist to produce the best flavor and aroma and will make sure that the reservoir maintains a temperature between 190 and 205 degrees F, which is the best temperature for brewing coffee. It will also maintain a temperature that will allow the coffee to keep its flavor and aroma while it's waiting to be served. The coffee maker must also be clean and be easy to wash, as coffee that comes into contact with tarnish, rust or grime will quickly spoil. The coffee maker ideally should be able to calculate how much coffee is needed on a given day.

A good commercial convection oven might have a stainless steel doors as well as front sides, top and back for easy cleaning. It should have a timer, temperature controls that range from perhaps 150 degrees F to 550 degrees F, an oven cool switch, porcelain enamel interiors and a series of adjustable oven racks, as well as drip pans, and a good ventilation system. A stove would have burners large and robust enough for large pots and pans, and should be easy to clean.

The kitchen will have to have dishwashers. The chef can choose from conveyor type dishwashers, door type dishwashers, under counter dishwashers or sink type dishwashers, all of which should be able to wash several dozen racks of dishes per hour.

The chef will also need refrigerators, freezers and coolers, and, depending on the size of their clientele, these might have to be walk-ins. Ideally, no special refrigeration technician will be needed to install these pieces of equipment.

Also needed will be work tables, heavy duty mixers, equipment stands, racks, conveyor ovens for baked goods, pots, pans, mixing spoons and forks, meat grinders, meat saws, ice machines, fryers and pasta cookers.

Trevor Barnes

Ambassador Catering Equipment