Originally posted on https://drinkedin.net/blog/53025-essential-things-you-must-have-for-your-restaurant.html

Good service can enhance average food, great decor can help customers enjoy the restaurant experience, and consistency will definitely make your customers come back. If you are planning to start a restaurant business, buying the right equipment and hiring the right people are some of the most important things to do. No matter what kind of food you are serving or the theme and concept behind your restaurant, there are always those essential things you must have to kick-start your restaurant in the right way.

Wine Cellars

In restaurants, people enjoy drinking wine with food, and few believe that wine lightens the digestion load on their liver. There are restaurants that design a room for wine cellars, and others buy more mobile ones. According to TheBestWineCellars.com there are different sizes and shapes that can fit your restaurant space, regardless of whether you plan to store or serve wine. Compact wine coolers that are designed to be visible can add to your restaurant vibe and encourage your customers to try your wine, while others can save up space by easily sliding in between cupboards or under the counter.

Serving-ware

It’s all about presentation. A good restaurant knows how to present its food to customers. Besides placing the food and decorating the plate, gourmet food can be more fascinating and delicious looking with the use of the perfect serve ware. While choosing your serving-ware, take the type of food you are serving and the whole concept of your restaurant into consideration. This will add to the personality of your business.

You will need tons of cutlery, flatware, bowls, glasses, cups, and trays. Create an estimate of the number of tables and chairs you intend to add to your restaurant and consider a breakage percentage, as busy nights may create a chaotic environment where it is very common for customers or workers to break glasses or plates.

Cooking Equipment

Based on your menu and recipes, brainstorm with your chef all the different kinds of equipment you will need to execute it all. It is a long list for sure, but you can break it down to have a more efficient shopping experience.

1. Commercial food Production Equipment

You need to pick the right size and function of your cooking range. It is usually a standalone type of equipment with multiple burners, usually 4 and up to 8. It has an oven too and is used for cooking, frying, baking, and grilling. Look for the new induction tops; they are easier, safer and more efficient. In case your restaurant serves pizza, an electric or fire tunnel oven will be your best choice. Yet, if you are planning to serve baked products such as bread, croissants, and cookies, a rack oven will suit your kitchen better.

For the griddles, which are iron or stainless flat plates, mainly used for breakfast cooking food such as eggs, sandwiches, patties, and pancakes, you can pick versions with grilling tops that will make your food taste and look amazing.

2. Pans and Cooking utensils

You will need a lot of those pots, pans, steamers, stockpot, and wok. You can decide on the variety and quantity depending on your menu, too. Sick to big size stainless cooking spoons and don’t forget a thermometer so that your chef can adjust the perfect cooking outcome. In the case of frying food, pick standalone equipment; it’s easier to adjust the temperature that varies according to the type of food.

Don’t forget the knives. They have to be of good and durable quality. There are about eleven different knife types in the market, each with a different function, including a butcher knife, a slicer, a bread knife and more. Only your chef will know exactly what the kitchen workers will need.

3. Mixers

No matter whether you are serving dessert or savory food, you will need an overhead vertical mixer. Whether table-mounted or floor mounted, they come with different accessories: a flat beater for mashing and beating food like boiled potatoes, a wire whipper for whipping cream and eggs, and the dough arm for the heavy-duty of mixing bread and pizza dough.

4. Choppers

A good chopper and cutter will save a lot of time in the kitchen. Why hire one worker to dice and chop the whole day, while one piece of equipment can work faster and more consistently. A Chopper cuts, dices, and shreds vegetables and fruits. It may come with multiple wheels, such as a plain or zigzag cutter wheels that help in different food presentations.

5. Refrigerators and freezers

The commercial equipment market offers various refrigerator and freezer solutions, from small over the counter ones to a walk-in refrigerator or freezer room. The size depends on the restaurant, type of food and operation schedules. If you order your food from your supplier on a weekly basis, then you need to know the volume of your refrigerated and frozen food to select the best size for your restaurant.

Maintenance Equipment

After all the mess you’ve created in the kitchen and the eating area to prepare and serve your delicious food, in comes the maintenance equipment. These will keep your kitchen clean, your operations efficient and ensure a faster table turnover. There are three types you can choose from, depending on the size of your kitchen and the number of customers you are serving.

A dishwasher will wash the dishes and bowls all together at a specific time. It will still need someone to load and unload it, but it will definitely save time. You have the door type, which is a large machine that can come with a 120 dish rack, and the under-counter, which a smaller version. It is better to keep your glass cups away from your dishes, so the food traces and grease won’t affect your glasses. Add to your kitchen’s equipment a glass washer, which can wash up to 2000 glasses, and is used more in bars and bigger restaurants.

If you are not able to get any of these because of financial or kitchen space constraints, you can add a dish warmer that will serve half of what a dishwasher would do. The difference is that a worker will put in the plates after washing, and then it will dry them the same way a dishwasher would. The dish warmer is important after washing as it eliminates any contamination caused by wiping the plates dry.

The restaurant kitchen equipment market is getting bigger every year. The right kitchen equipment will help chefs store, prepare and sell food, and this will ultimately add to your business’s success. Talk to your workers and your kitchen designer to select the best equipment for you.