What Equipment Does A Restaurant Kitchen Need (Full List)
Thinking about updating your restaurant’s equipment or maybe even opening a new one? There are so many things that you need to know and have to take into consideration that it may sometimes be overwhelming. Luckily we are here to help you get started with a list of restaurant supplies and equipment.
When thinking about restaurant supplies and equipment’s first ones to pop in mind are probably knives, ovens, and countertops. In reality, there are dozens of different kitchen equipment that you need to have in your kitchen. How many exactly you need depends on what kind and how large and busy your restaurant is.
When compared to a large catering kitchen which may prepare food for hundreds or even thousands of people for a single meal, to a quiet street corned diner which may be serving food to 50-100 people in a day, the differences and needs for restaurant supplies are really big. Let us see what the most used and needed equipment is.
Contents
Preparing Tables, Countertops, And Cutting Boards
Let’s get started from the basics. There are a couple of things that are needed to know before getting a countertop and cutting boards. What is the best material and what kind of products to choose from?
We would recommend only getting Stainless Steel countertops because they are so sanitary, easy to clean, and durable. When keeping these in mind your prep table will most certainly last for many years! And the best ones have little refrigerators beneath the countertop for easy ingredient storage which will ease and fasten your work considerably!
When diving into the world of cutting boards there are so many choices that it can be difficult for a first-timer to choose and I get it. I Have been there. The best ones are plastic cutting boards with different colors on them. Plastic is hygienic and you can easily and without further thought place them in a dishwasher without the need to oil them from time to time.
And what comes to the color-coding of the boards we have always used a green board for vegetables, red for meat, blue for fish, and white for general preparing and cutting. This is a safe and easy way to keep good hygiene in your restaurant which is really important.
Ovens
Ovens certainly are one of the things that come first in mind when thinking about restaurant equipment. That’s good because it is one of the most important ones. The first thing when thinking about kitchen ovens is to forsake all the pictures in your head about the oven in your home because restaurants use much bigger and powerful ovens with different cooking options.
There are a couple of different oven types that you need to be familiar with. The main ones are the convection oven, combination oven, and pizza oven. Let us see the perks of these.
Combination Oven
Combination ovens are probably the most used and for a good reason. You can bake, roast, steam, and if it is a high-quality oven you can even clean it with the different options. These ovens don’t take too much space because you don’t need to have 3 different ovens next to another.
Convection Oven
This kind of oven is the best when it comes to just cook, roasting, and getting that even heat through your food, and getting the top quality. They have built-in fans that will circulate the heat in the oven giving it the perfect and even heat. Modern Combination ovens also have built-in fans.
Pizza Oven
This one probably doesn’t need an introduction. It is used to cook pizza and this is when the real heat comes in. If you have ever eaten a pizza that is done in a real pizza oven you can most certainly taste the difference. If you are opening a pizzeria then this is the oven you should get.
When considering the right oven for your need this is one of the equipment’s that you want to invest in. A poor oven is no good and only will make troubles down the road.
Ranges And Grills
This one shares the title of one of the most important pieces of equipment in a kitchen. You can use pans, kettles, pots, and all kinds of cooking wear to get your food cooking and water boiling when using a range. There are a couple of basic ranges that need to be addressed.
Electrical Range
This is our recommended range and that is for a couple of reasons. First, you don’t need to worry about ordering gas and worrying about forgetting to get it because that’s when you are screwed. You can also clean them a lot easier than a gas range. However it will heat up more slowly but it is not a crucial difference, especially if you are getting a quality electric range.
Gas Range
The gas range will get you a faster heating time that can be useful in some situations. And you can have a nostalgic feeling when cooking because of the open flames. It truly brings the old days to mind. However, with gas, there is the risk of getting gas leaks which would not be good.
Grills
There are two main ways to heat up a good grill that are again Electric and Gas. Grills are the perfect tool to get your burgers and steaks into nice and juicy high points of your customer’s day. However, be sure to make regular use of grills because they are not small and the smoke and grease that come out of them require a big ventilation system. Which will take us to our next subject.
Ventilation
This one may not come first in mind as one of the most important pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen but hear this. It is essential to have good quality ventilation because your eye can’t see all the steam and grease which will vaporize in the air when cooking, and when cleaning off the ventilation system, you will understand why it is so important.
Ventilation also impacts the working environment and comfort of your kitchen. When air is flowing and it is not so hot that your working clothes are soaked with sweat, then you focus better and therefore make better meals for your customers. You also need to be aware of the regulations considering the ventilation systems in restaurants so plan out your system’s size with that and your restaurant’s size in mind.
Refrigerators And Freezers
Every kitchen needs a powerful refrigerator and freezer that can handle a large container full of hot food and not get warm over it. When you have these two in order other things will come cheaper. For example, when you are ordering ingredients you can store a lot of food in refrigerators and freezers so you don’t necessarily order every day, which will lower the cost of order and transport.
You will have two choices to choose from. A walk-in fridge and freezer or a regular one. If you have many customers coming in every day and you need a lot of ingredients, then a walk-in could be a better option for you because it can hold much more food in it. However if you can survive with regular ones, there is no point in getting a walk-in because you will save a lot of money.
In either case, you choose always to get a professional to install them and you will save a lot of money if there will be a problem in the future. In any equipment installation if you’re not sure how to do it yourself it is best to get professionals to do it. I Have seen cases that a person wanted to save a little money and then lost a whole lot more because of malfunctions and poor installation.
Shelves And Storage
With every restaurant, there will be some point that your gear will pile up and you start to eyeballing your overall look and think about storage. Shelves and good storage rooms will help you with that astronomically. Well-placed shelves can greatly help you in the speed and functionality of your restaurant. You can store frequently used supplies near you and you won’t need to run to another side of the kitchen to get what you need. Good placement is super important in a busy kitchen.
Sinks
Ever heard of the saying ”working in a kitchen is 20% cooking and 80% cleaning” Well it’s true more or less. A good sink will ease your life drastically and it is one of the most important pieces of restaurant equipment. Kitchen regulations come strong here as well and it depends on the size of your kitchen but you should familiarize yourself with what is required from your restaurant. Typically you need a sink for washing your supplies and a different one for your hands in addition to a dishwasher where we will get shortly.
There are many kinds of different sinks but for a restaurant, you will need at least the following.
Double Sink
This is the bare minimum that you will need to have in your restaurant in order to keep your business running. Along the way you will notice different ones and probably lean towards even a bigger one, depending of course how big is your restaurant. You also need a separate handwashing sink
Handwashing Sink
At least one handwashing sink is required by the authorities for separate hand washing and it truly makes sense because contamination is always a risk in the kitchen that needs to be taken seriously. You should familiarize yourself with your local regulations because when another thing might be true in America it may be very different in Europe.
Dishwasher
This is one of the big and really important ones where you should not try to avoid costs because a bad dishwasher is worse than a no dishwasher at all, at least what comes to restaurant functionality, time, and poorly invested funds. However, you should not throw every penny at this machine because it can get really expensive really fast. Find good reviews, ask a business partner which one they use and browse the manufactures that you trust and you will certainly find the perfect one for your needs.
Food Processors
If you want to run a fast kitchen that doesn’t waste time then a food processor is what you need. You can dice, slice, grate, and mash everything you need with these time savers. You can make salads, sauces, and get your ingredients to the right size for your main dish fast and efficiently. There are a variety of different food processors and here are the best of them. The first one is the most powerful and the list will go down from there.
Buffalo Bowl Processor
For the experienced restaurant workers, this bad boy needs no introductions. It’s the most heavy-duty processor on the market and you can process anything with it. It will help you cut meats, fruits, veggies, and make salads, coleslaw, bulk dips, and anything you need. Most of the buffalo bowl processors can easily reach 1450-cuts per minute even with tough ingredients. A really good addition to your restaurant equipment family.
Multi-Function Food Processor
If I would need to pick only one processor it would be a multi-function one. With this, you can change the rotating discs and get all kinds of shapes from your ingredients which will ease and fasten your life dramatically.
Batch Bowl Processor
This one comes really handy if you are doing for example garlic oil, chili paste, or anything in between. Just select the blade and throw in your ingredients and voilà you have what you need in an instance.
Mixers
With mixers you can easily toss in the ingredients and go do something else in the meanwhile when the mixer will mix your dough for bread, buns, desserts pizza doughs, you name it. There are different size mixers for commercial use, we list them from the most powerful down as before.
Floor Mixer
This kind of heavy-duty mixer will mix your troubles away among other things. You can make huge badges of bread, cakes, desserts, dough, and anything between. However, if you have a smaller kitchen you may not need one this big.
Countertop Mixer
The most common one and for a good reason. With these, you can quickly toss your ingredients in and make whatever it is that you need efficiently. The containers are easy to toss in the dishwasher.
Hand Mixer
With a hand mixer, you can easily whip your cream or eggs in a bowl and you don’t need to pour them into a separate mixer. Truly the fastest way to mix a small number of ingredients.
Safety Equipment
Another important subject to take into consideration is that every employee and yourself is wearing the proper gear. That includes safety shoes in the kitchen because it can get really slippery when washing the floors with soap water, or walking directly into a drop of oil. There have been multiple cases in my history that have resulted in an injury. Another thing why safety shoes are so important is so that if a knife falls down from a countertop to your feet, the hard top of the shoe will protect you and your employees.
You will also need a fire extinguisher and a med kit. Regulations come strong here as well and you should double-check your local regulations and laws about this matter.
You probably know that when in a kitchen and you’re going from someone’s behind it is always a good thing to say ”behind” but if you didn’t know then there is a bonus tip for preventing injuries and close-calls.
Restaurant Supplies
Cooking
You might have your ovens hot, processors rolling, countertops clean, and a chopping board ready to be used but without prober Restaurant Supplies they are as good as nothing. You will need cookware, knives, spatulas, mixing spoons, soup ladles, bowls, containers, and everything imaginable and if you are thinking of getting for example 5 spatulas because you think they will be enough, get at least one more because one will be behind a countertop, a couple will be in the dishwasher or soaking so extra supplies will come in handy you have my guarantee on that.
Serving
The ones above are only for cooking, where are you going to serve? There will be a need for plates, cutlery, glasses, cups, and serving baskets. Get as many as you think you need and hope to serve each day so you will be covered. Get more of these as well because over time some will get lost and broken.
Storage
When you have everything above you will need someplace to store your cutlery, plates, spatulas, and everything mentioned above. Luckily with many countertops have built-in drawers where you can store your utensils and on the shelves, you can store your extra plates and glasses. However, you will need some storage containers to store everything. It is a good idea to write everything down and only then order your storage containers. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to get some extra containers as well.
Cleaning
If you want to keep order and a good work atmosphere in the restaurant, the number one thing is to keep it nice and clean with proper cleaning supplies. You will need brooms, mops, gloves, brushes, baskets, towels, rags, and restaurant-approved sanitizers and soaps. It’s important to wipe every counter and wash floors to keep order and hygiene in your restaurant.
Microwave Oven
You would be surprised how much you will need a microwave as well. From time to time someone will come and ask if you could heat a baby’s milk or food so it is really good to have one. Also, it is perfect for fast defrosting and general heating.
Ice Machine
A quality ice machine will come in handy in all kitchens. Customers will need and expect ice with their drinks if they are not saying otherwise and it is just a must-have product. There are a variety of different ice machines and for restaurant use, the best one comes with an automatic water inlet so you won’t need to run off and make ice, it will be made for you.
Communication
It is essential that there is good communication between chefs and waiters. Luckily there are easy ways to ensure that.
Receipt Printer Or Kitchen Display System
With either of these chefs will get orders all the way from the sales counter to the kitchen. An easy and simple way to keep order communication up to and running. Kitchen Display System is the modern solution for order managing, and many restaurants have transferred their systems from a receipt printer to KDS.
Point Of Sale System
With POS you can make a connection between your Kitchen Display System and the orders communicate between these really well. Serving Staff or cashier simply select what the customer has ordered and it will show in the kitchen instantly and chefs can start preparing the order.
Conclusion
From the list above you will find a great selection of restaurant equipment and supplies. It is best to put it all on paper, calculate everything and only then go and search for what you need. Overwhelming can be hard in every situation in life but once you get organized you will see how easy it all is.
If you are not certain about something, be sure to ask a professional and you will save a lot of frustration, time, and money when you don’t go solo and break your expensive Restaurant Supplies. Feel free to browse our Review and Top List pages to see the best equipment’s out there.