Considerations for New Catering Equipment Whatever the size of your commercial kitchen, and whatever you offer from it, there will be times and situations where you need to either replace items of equipment or splash out on brand new items. Sadly, even with warranties and maintenance nothing will last forever. This is especially true if it’s being used on a daily basis and as your needs as a caterer change, it’s likely that the equipment you need and use will have to change too. Therefore, buying new equipment is inevitable. It is also highly likely that you’ll need to have your kitchen design altered or amended in order to make way for your new item of equipment, and for that you’ll have to consider your catering equipment installation.
However, as you consider both the item of equipment you’ll need and the installation of it, there are some other considerations you should make.
Cost Everything in your business should come down to cost. Even the Savoy has a budget and although your front of house area might be selling luxury, your bottom line has to be your profits and the continued health of your business. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to shop around, to see what is available and to assess that what you’re planning to buy fits in with what you can afford to spend.
Space In all kitchens, both domestic and commercial, space is a huge factor. It’s virtually impossible to shoehorn a giant oven or range into a small space and therefore as you’re considering any addition to your kitchen, you need to think about where it will go, where other equipment in the kitchen will move to as a result, and what that will mean for the layout and flow of your kitchen.
What can it do? It’s all very well and good to add a huge piece of state of the art equipment to your kitchen as long as you can justify its’ existence. However, if you struggle to work out what it can do, how it can improve your business and why you really need it (beyond simply wanting it), then the chances are it’s not the equipment for you. Anything in your kitchen must not only be justified but must also offer you real value for money, so if an item is unjustified or won’t be used to the fullest, then you must be sensible and consider that it’s probably best to leave it in a showroom.
Training Another consideration for any new equipment is who will use it. Whether you’ve got a full chef team or a cook who is great at what they do, you’ll need to know that they can either use (and make full use of) the equipment in question, or that you’ll be able to offer them the necessary training to do so.
Author Bio:- Summer Martin has a keen interest in commercial catering. His articles on the subject inform readers about all aspects of commercial catering equipment design and installation across the UK. Resource Link: http://www.dailywaffle.co.uk/2015/05/considerations-new-catering-equipment/